Students might not be thrilled about the idea of taking more classes online after having spent most of their spring doing the same. But online courses can help students keep the academic mindset going over the summer as they prepare for college. They also give them a chance to dive deeper into an area of interest and develop new skills.

Online learning isn't new, which means there are loads of options for high school students, regardless of what they're looking to study.

ONLINE CLASSES HOSTED BY COLLEGES

You might be surprised at the broad array of colleges that offer classes open to high school students. Here's just a sampling of the following colleges’ offerings, but we encourage you to review the full course listings.

Brown: Courses include Neuroscience, Humanities, Coding, and Biomedical Engineering, among others

Cornell: Courses include Classics, Psychology, and Economics, among others

Yale: Courses include Engineering, Physics, and International Relations, among others

Purdue: Course include Medical Sciences, Economics, and Psychology, among others

Georgetown: Courses include Marketing, Film and Media Studies, and Art History, among others

Washington University: Courses include Business, Math and Statistics, and Social Science, among others

Emory University: Courses include Film, Languages, and History, among others

Tufts: Courses include Behavioral Health, Logic, Psychology, and Anthropology, among others

Austin Community College: Courses include Medical Terminology, Graphic Design, and Computer Science among others

ONLINE COURSE PLATFORMS

In addition to classes hosted by colleges, there are a number of platforms that deliver course material for independent learners to work on at their own pace. Each addresses different niches and levels of expertise. Here are some of the most popular and relevant.

• Coursera: Coursera works with universities and other organizations to offer online courses, specializations, and degrees in a variety of subjects, such as engineering, data science, machine learning, mathematics, business, computer science, digital marketing, humanities, medicine, biology, social sciences, and others. Of interest to many students is a new class offered by Johns Hopkins on the coronavirus pandemic and how it can be combated through epidemiology.
• edX: Created initially by MIT and Harvard, edX now hosts classes from more than 140 schools, nonprofit organizations, and corporations. edX classes are delivered in weekly learning sequences.
• Udemy: Students take courses on Udemy largely to improve job-related skills. Some courses even generate credit toward technical certification. As of 2020, there are more than 150,000 courses on the website.
• Udacity: While it originally focused on offering university-style courses, Udacity now focuses more on vocational courses for professionals. They have begun to offer bootcamps and certifications specifically geared toward STEM careers.
• Khan Academy: Many students have used Khan Academy, which delivers content through instructional videos and offers practice exercises and personalized learning. They offer courses in math, science, computer programming, history, art history, economics, and more. Khan Academy has partnered with institutions like NASA, The Museum of Modern Art, The California Academy of Sciences, and MIT to offer specialized content.

There are so many courses on these platforms to choose from—everything from psychology courses taught by professors at top universities to an introduction to engineering mechanics, a course on entrepreneurship in emerging economies, and the well-known Yale “happiness” class. Whatever your student wants to study, there will be a course available for it. And the best part: the courses are generally affordable.

Before jumping into a course, however, we encourage students to do their research. Because there are so many options—and often multiple platforms will offer the same course—that does mean that some of them are a lower quality than others. Students should read the full course descriptions and read any reviews that are available before selecting a course.

Click here to keep updated about opportunities for online courses.