Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Help finding online college classes for 15yr old

My son has been subject accelerated in high school. He has completed senior level history and English AP classes as high school sophomore. Does anyone know any colleges that will let him subject accelerate while he finish his other work in high school. I know University of Missouri but they have limited history and political science courses. He is going to do a course at community college but it is very difficult to coordinate with the rest of his high school schedule so online gives the most flexibility. He might be able to take 1 class at University in town but the university is on quarters and classes don't match high school schedule. (And university doesn't let him enroll until all other students are registered so chances of getting into a class are low). We live in Illinois.

For courses offered in the University of Illinois system, you can go to http://oce.illinois.edu/Catalog and click on the "Switch to Advanced Course Search
(find courses by type, program, subject, location & delivery method)" link.

You may wish to begin your search by consulting with your son's high school policies and practices, as high schools may reserve the right to offer or deny credit toward high school graduation for outside courses, including college-level courses, taken by a high school student.

Some high schools require proactive approval of any outside courses for credit, a process which may entail a family providing the high school with information such as the college course syllabus, grading scale, and accreditation information on the particular institution(s).

It is becoming more common for high schools to have dual enrollment agreements with a number of colleges and universities, which may make it easier to choose a course for which the high school will grant credit.

That being said, BYU Independent Study offers online courses at the college level, including History and Poli Sci. (To navigate, click Courses, then under Course Catalog click University Courses.)

University of Nebraska also offers a number of online courses.

Most universities have "distance" educational offerings (online or blended). Your in-state institutions may be a good place to begin looking.

Many also have options for non-matriculated students to take a course here and there, provided that the student is otherwise qualified for the course (in your child's case, the high school transcript showing the courses he's completed should suffice), and that the instructor approves. Usually such courses are in a foreign language or in mathematics, but there isn't any reason that I can envision why a high school student should not be able to manage the expectations and environment of a social science course or one in the humanities.