5 Reasons to Enroll in AP Classes at an Online High School

An online AP class is one that involves the material and workload of an in-person AP course. Thus, you will have the same readings, lectures, quizzes, and exams like in regular school. The only difference is that all of your communication with your teacher will take place through your computer. The communication, in this case, shall mostly take place through e-mail and IM. Video-chatting with the online instructors or virtual lecture sessions might also be used in some of the online courses.

In reality, every AP class you could take online is going to be a little different. This is why if you ever decide to take one, it is crucial to do research on which course to enroll. There are a certain number of courses that are accredited by the College Board, while some are not. Some courses might be free, some might cost a considerable amount. There are some that are graded independent study while others have scheduled virtual “class” meeting times.

Taking AP courses online have their own share of pros and cons. So, you need to be aware of these.

When you are determined to take an online education, you should consider enrolling in an online high school with Advanced Placement (AP) classes.

It is still debatable whether enrolling in AP courses should be the route to earning college credit. Based on which colleges you apply to, there is a chance some may not exchange college credit for all of your AP courses. It is the same even if you passed them with decent scores.

When you are intent on earning college credit through AP courses, make sure to study so that you can earn a score of 4 or higher. Usually, 4 is the minimum required to qualify.

When you are genuinely interested in attending college, taking introductory college-level courses can help you prepare whether or not you earn those college credits. It helps you to get that much-needed jump start. You can contact the Admissions Officer or Representative of Ogburn Online School to discuss your AP options.

Here are the top 5 reasons why you should enroll in AP classes in an online high school:

• Heighten your college admission rates

Most of the college admissions counselors take into account as to which type of courses a student takes during high school. In fact, most times, it forms one of the top factors they consider while reviewing a student’s application. Keep in mind that college admissions are not solely based on GPA and SAT scores.

• Get groomed for college-level courses

Apart from boosting your ability and potential to get into the college of your choice, taking AP classes also can help you to succeed in the long run, whether at your workplace or your college, once you get there. It automatically gets easier for you to cope up once you step into the next level. You find no difficulties while taking introductory college courses. Most of the times, this leads to a smooth and seamless college life or job life. After all, even a bit of experience can work wonders by the time you get to college.

• Increase the weight of your GPA

In most of the high schools, including online schools, advanced placement courses are used to boost the weight of your GPA in totality. So, on the integration of AP grades, a 3.5 out of 4.0 GPA may have the equivalent of a 4.7 GPA.

• Understand where you really stand

If you want to experience a true course of wholesome learning, simply get enrolled in AP courses. This is really for those who enjoy in-depth learning. With AP courses, you can expand your knowledge and skills in a specific subject or a set of subjects that you genuinely enjoy. These subjects surely include Chemistry, English and Biology and many more.

• Secure college credit

There is a high chance for you to earn college credit when you take AP courses. It could help you graduate early as well as save you some funds in tuition expenses.

Thus, in order to stay competitive in the college admissions process, you need to have AP Courses under your belt. Also, it helps in your overall grades inflation. Most of the regular high school classes are weighed on a 4.0 GPA scale, AP Courses are graded on a 5.0 scale. Thus, when you get an A in a regular high school Biology class, this counts as a 4 towards your GPA whereas receiving an A in an AP Biology course counts as a 5. This highly improves your GPA as well as class ranking. When you take AP courses, most of the admissions officers of the topmost colleges and universities get convinced that you are serious about school and your studies.

As mentioned earlier, AP Courses count as college credits as well. A majority of the colleges you plan on applying to accept AP Courses as college credits. This makes it possible for you to skip introductory college courses and jump right into the more vital courses where you can make friends with older, or the senior classmates. Also, managing to skip introductory courses gives you a lot of free time to explore other classes outside of the subject of your major interest.

You can take a lot of AP Courses in order to challenge yourself. However, do so only if you have enough time to manage all these courses together. An AP course is certainly no child’s play! So, be certain.

Online high schools usually offer plenty of different AP Courses. So, you have many options to choose from. Do not restrict yourself by taking AP Courses only in subjects that come naturally to you. Get ready to challenge yourself. Show your admissions officers that you are someone who can make the most out of the college academic experience. Admissions officers always get inclines towards well-rounded students. You need to sell yourself by proving that you can be an all-rounder in your campus.

Surprising Benefits of Online Middle School

In general, virtual schools offer multiple benefits. And so do online middle schools.

Here are the top 3 great reasons as to why your child would benefit from taking online middle school courses:

• Exposure to the world of technology at an early age

When the student is exposed to the virtual world, he tends to take special interest in the technological aspects. In fact, he has to in order to succeed. Thus, when you enroll your child in an online middle school, he tends to learn technology in a fun way!

Technical skills often come in handy when the child moves on to the high-school phase and college-level phase. For any work-field or study area, a certain level of technological understanding is certainly required.

Online middle school students are supported by the open source and the web-based course management systems. These allow students to communicate with each other and their teachers. Online students get a proper head start in developing their technological competencies. This certainly helps them in the long run.

• Introduces the child to the world of Independent Learning

Online learning tends to instill life values in the child that often helps the child grow personally. After all, it is important for students to learn life-skills in order to maintain a proper work-life balance in their lives. Online learning helps a student to develop the skills needed to be an independent learner. This goes a long way in preparing them for their experience in high school online and college.

Online learning also teaches essential lessons related to time management. It involves learnings as to how to budget time for studying and completing assignments around a busy schedule. All the same, middle school children learn how to communicate well right from an early age. Virtual learning is highly dependent on virtual communication. Thus, students are bound to express their queries or worries to their online teachers. Most times, they need to initiate conversations with their teachers. This helps them to keep in contact with their instructors and occasionally interact with fellow students as well.

Online students also learn the skill of self-advocacy. It implies that the student identifies with their strengths, needs and personal goals.

• Provides customizability to the child to suit the child’s individual learning style

With time, every student develops their own personalized approach to learning. This approach is usually cultivated without them even knowing it. Middle school-aged students begin to recognize that they have full control over how they learn. Online schooling can be personalized to fit individual academic needs. After all, the one size fits all approach is not counted here.

 Thus, an online educational program can be of massive benefit to middle school students who are eager to learn and put forward the effort necessary to excel academically. The online students can build their own schedules and manage their own education. After all, there are some students who thrive in a more flexible environment while some may struggle. The self-discipline and time management skills are not easy to develop in general. Online middle school courses tend to make students develop these skills on their own.

Online middle school can be of a great relief for parents who are looking to ease their child into self-driven studies. Many online schools provide part-time enrollment options as well. These classes are almost necessary for developing the necessary traits of online learning.

Here are some common benefits of online learning mode:

• One-on-one focus

Online schools follow the concept of one-to-one attention. This facilitates the online students. They need this kind of attention, especially in their growing years. Children who are in smaller classes from grades K-3 usually perform better in reading and mathematics than students in larger classes. The children in smaller classes have been seen to perform better because they had teachers who were able to devote more time to each individual student in their class. In the present times, educators are starting to see the positive link between individual attention from teachers and the success of students.

Online schooling lets your children have the attention and focus they need from their teachers. This attention is very much required in order to succeed. Online middle school students get personalized assignments and lesson plans based on their teacher’s evaluation of their skills. The online students receive an education that is specifically designed to teach the individual. This is not the case for traditional middle schools where every schedule is designed keeping the entire bulk of students in mind. Due to the lack of personalization of curriculum in traditional middle schools, students seem to be disappointed in the system most times.

• Providing an open environment to bring out the creativity

There are some parents who wrongly believe that online schools don’t offer their students a chance to participate in classroom discussions. However, just the opposite happens in brick-and-mortar schools. In online schools students participate in meaningful discussions with their teachers and fellow students in classroom discussion boards. These boards give students an open environment to express their ideas. At the same time, they do not have to get under any sort of added pressure of having to speak and stand in front of their students. After all, there are a good number of reticent kids who need the online platform to blossom socially. These students are the ones who are unable to interact and speak with others in a safe environment. Students are able to work on their interpersonal communication skills this way.

• Provides self-paced learning

There is no personal learning speed in brick-and-mortar middle schools. Teachers are forced to move onto different subjects in order to meet the district’s curriculum standards. Online education lets students to learn at their own pace. They can regulate their learning tempo as per their convenience. Students do not have to wait for after school hours or review sessions to learn more about specific subjects.

Thus, online learning is a blessing to students of all age groups. The middle-school students can gain more than expected by taking their middle school courses online.