How to Compare Advanced Placement Courses

Advanced Placement (AP) courses are a great way to save money on college. They can also keep your child out of trouble if he's extremely bright and regular high school classes bore him to the point of misbehaving. However, not all AP courses are created equal. You may not be limited to courses offered at school. Courses available online or distance learning alternatives may prove a better match.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Clarify your child's areas of interest for college. There's no point in taking advanced placement math courses if she wants to concentrate on the social sciences.

2. Find out as much as you can about the teachers. They're the backbone of any class your child takes. They get special training to teach AP classes, but the more experience the teacher has, the better the course.

3. Ask how much personal attention your child will get. AP classes are meant to nurture gifted students, but there's been a higher demand for them in recent years. Popular courses where your child is treated like a number may leave him wishing he'd never bothered.

4. Check into the availability of the courses your child wants to take. A class in a subject she needs for college won't do her much good if it conflicts with other important courses. In that case, an online option may be a good choice.

5. Compare the cost of online courses if your school doesn't have AP classes or you're not satisfied with what they offer. Remember you save money later when your child gets to skip introductory college courses.

6. Judge how much interaction your child will have with the teacher of an online course. She should get a quick response by email at least. Live interaction with the instructor as well as other students is better, however.

7. Determine how much support the online advanced placement course provider offers. There's nothing more frustrating than signing up for a course and having to call and email multiple times to solve technical issues.

Tips & Warnings

• Be aware that some colleges still make students take certain introductory courses even though they've successfully completed advanced placement classes.

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