University Admissions Perspective

We reached-out to top universities requesting feedback from admissions departments regarding the reception of student efforts through HigherCred. The responses were all-around positive indicators that working with HigherCred will provide an encouraging perspective for admissions counselors when reviewing student applications. Below are some responses from admissions departments.

University of PennsylvaniaMajority of Penn’s first year applicants are dual-enrolled or take college courses while in high school.  All information submitted by the applicant is taken into consideration during the admissions process. — **University of Pennsylvania**
Majority of Penn’s first year applicants are dual-enrolled or take college courses while in high school. All information submitted by the applicant is taken into consideration during the admissions process.

Cornell UniversityWe would consider dual enrollment through Harvard or Boulder to be a strong course option – certainly just as strong a course as an AP. We don’t typically award credit for dual enrollment courses, but they can certainly help a stud… — **Cornell University**
We would consider dual enrollment through Harvard or Boulder to be a strong course option – certainly just as strong a course as an AP. We don’t typically award credit for dual enrollment courses, but they can certainly help a student present a compelling academic profile. We always appreciate when students find ways to take courses beyond the highest levels offered by their respective schools.

University of North Carolina, Chapel HillWe encourage students to take full advantage of the opportunities for advanced coursework that are available........It sounds like your program allows students to challenge themselves beyond what is offered w… — **University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill**
We encourage students to take full advantage of the opportunities for advanced coursework that are available........It sounds like your program allows students to challenge themselves beyond what is offered within the traditional school curriculum, and that this type of rigor would certainly be impressive when it comes to reviewing our first-year applicants.

Lafayette CollegeIn general, I believe colleges and universities look favorably on high school students who challenge themselves with college course work.  As long as classes are taught by a college professor and include college students as wel… — **Lafayette College**
In general, I believe colleges and universities look favorably on high school students who challenge themselves with college course work. As long as classes are taught by a college professor and include college students as well as high school students, they would be deemed academically rigorous. If a reputable college was issuing the transcript, I believe many colleges would offer course credit. The exception might be if the class was required to fill a high school graduation requirement

Wellesley CollegeIt is not rare for us to see students earn grades this way and we would actually understand that your students are not taking classes this way just to get out of taking rigorous courses at your school, but instead to continue their … — **Wellesley College**
It is not rare for us to see students earn grades this way and we would actually understand that your students are not taking classes this way just to get out of taking rigorous courses at your school, but instead to continue their learning in a subject in which they are really interested. The "5" on (an AP) exam is a great sign; the undertaking of these additional classes after the exam would be icing on the cake.

Vassar CollegeWe recognize the additional rigor of advanced courses through an online dual-enrollment option, and the courses would be seen as similar in rigor to an AP level class. — **Vassar College**
We recognize the additional rigor of advanced courses through an online dual-enrollment option, and the courses would be seen as similar in rigor to an AP level class.

How would you view the participation in an Extension course when reviewed on an Application?

The advice we provide students is to enroll in the best available and most challenging courses. We generally expect students to enroll in five academic courses per year, and if a student does not take four years in a particular subject area, it should be replaced with an academic course of equal rigor. For students applying to the Pratt School of Engineering, we require coursework in calculus and strongly recommend physics. We also encourage students to enroll in advanced-level work in as many areas as reasonable, regardless of your intended major. For some students, this will include AP or IB courses, whereas for others it will include honors, accelerated, or college courses. As we consider it during the application process it’ll be looked at favorably. As for the credit students will receive, that is up to the discretion of our registrar. -- Duke University

I'm happy to respond for the two of us at Carleton. If students have maxed out of the advanced courses they can take at their high school (foreign language, math, science, social studies, English), we are delighted to see them continue with college courses on-line or locally, if that option exists. It's helpful to know that the student is doing so and that a transcript is provided from the college or university, if the courses are not listed on the high school transcript. If college courses are listed on the high school transcript, that is sufficient for our review.

Occasionally there is a scheduling conflict for a student; for example a student may want to take AP Latin but it conflicts with AP Bio. In that case it makes sense for the student to take AP Latin on-line if the option exists to do so. It does help for us to know if there was a scheduling conflict that necessitated the student taking a course on-line. -- Carleton College

We certainly wouldn’t look negatively at students who’ve exhausted the curriculum and take courses through the programs you reference. Again though, the key is that they’ve exhausted the curriculum. This includes not only in that specific discipline, but overall. In other words, while we think it’s fine for a student to take these additional elective courses above and beyond in a discipline, we hope it doesn’t come at the expense of taking strong coursework across academic disciplines. -- College of William and Mary

Thanks for reaching out. In short, I’d say the answer to your question is yes, we would consider a post-AP extension course as a good thing. We most frequently see this in math, when students complete BC Calculus and move on to take more advanced math courses like multivariable calculus, differential equations, or linear algebra. We also sometimes see it it in other disciplines, with examples similar to the ones you’ve described. -- MIT Office of Admissions

Thank you so much for your email. We love to see students challenging themselves and if they have exhausted their high school curriculum we are always excited to see (but do not expect as we read every student in the context of what their high school has to offer) college level courses such as the ones you have described. -- University of Chicago

We definitely view it favorably when students are taking college level courses after they have exhausted their high school curriculum. I would say we definitely want to see students who are exhausting their high school curriculum first and then going on to college level courses rather than, for example, taking a college level stats course instead of AP Calculus BC. -- Columbia University

In general, I'd say it sounds like an excellent opportunity for students to pursue advanced work in an area of their interest. It certainly reflects positively on students if they do well in them, in terms of taking on challenge and pursuing a subject in greater depth than the usual curriculum. That said, we are mindful that this kind of opportunity is not accessible to everyone, and we don't have any kind of weighting system to compare these courses with APs. -- Brown University