Prepare for College at Your Own Pace
CTD’s Online AP® program gives students access to college-level courses in a flexibly paced environment that accommodates early readiness for advanced content, full course loads, or limited availability. Online Advanced Placement courses help students learn important skills and concepts, time management, and self-advocacy skills essential for college success.
Why Choose Online AP® Courses?
CTD AP® courses allow students to practice building their own schedule and managing challenging course work at their own pace to set them up for success in college and beyond.
Benefits Include:
- Access to a wide range of challenging AP® courses that may not be available through a student’s school
- Development of students’ critical thinking, study, and academic writing skills
- An opportunity for students to demonstrate readiness for college-level courses
- Preparation for success on AP® exams. Courses are authorized by the College Board and aligned with the latest AP® course and exam frameworks.
In addition to AP® courses, CTD offers a diverse range of online program options; view a full list here.
When you are ready to apply for a course or CTD program, you can do so by creating or logging into your MyCTD account found on the top right corner of this page. Once you have logged into you MyCTD account, please follow the prompts to enter required account information, apply for the course(s) of your choice, and submit additional application materials if necessary.
For detailed guidance on the application process, we encourage you to reference the following documents:
Many Online AP® courses have prerequisites. Please read the course description carefully.
To qualify for Magenta Tier Online AP® Courses students must be in grade 9 through 12 and must also provide one of the following:
- Achievement of a score of 95th percentile or higher on a nationally normed grade-level assessment in the required qualifying subject area (Verbal, Math, or Science) for the desired course.
- Successful past completion of a CTD course, with the same qualifying subject area (Verbal, Math, or Science) within the past two years.
- Submission of a portfolio application, consisting of a teacher recommendation and the student’s most recent report card demonstrating that the student is performing exceptionally well in the qualifying subject area.
- Participation in above grade-level testing such as the PSAT™8/9 test taken in grades 3, 4, 5, or 6, the ACT® or SAT® test taken in grades 6, 7 or 8 (Above-Grade-Level Assessment) within the last two years.
Prerequisites and Graded Writing Sample
Many courses require additional prerequisites for admission. Any prerequisites are included the course description. Any student applying to a course with a prerequisite must submit documentation showing the prerequisite has been met unless CTD already has such information from previous applications, or if the prerequisite has been met via a CTD course.
Graded writing samples are required for many English/Language Arts classes. Evidence that the writing sample has been assessed for academic purposes can be provided on the writing sample itself or by submitting an accompanying rubric or other feedback that is clearly tied to the writing sample. Providing an ungraded writing sample will result in a delay of the application being deemed complete and may cause an applicant to miss out on a class that fills to capacity.
English Language Proficiency
Because courses are taught in English, test scores are used to assess proficiency and assist in course placement. TOEFL (or TOEFL Jr. for grades 4-8) or IELTS scores are required for students for whom English is not the first language and who do not have PSAT, I-Excel, SAT, ACT, ASSET, or PreACT scores.
Requests for Grade Advancement/Acceleration
Due to College Board rules, students MUST be in 9th grade or in the summer before 9th grade to apply for and be enrolled in an AP certified course.
Tuition
- One-credit AP® course: $865
- Two-credit AP® course: $1,445
Tuition increases by $25 after January 17th for Winter session.
Withdrawals
- Please see our withdrawal information for policies specific to this program.
Financial Aid
CTD offers need-based financial aid awarded as requests are received. Families are encouraged to apply early because the amount of aid available is limited. Please see the Financial Aid page for details.
- The deadline to complete a financial aid application for the Winter Online Program is January 1, 2025.
- In order to start your class, any balance due must be cleared. Once a financial aid decision has been made, you must clear any remaining balance before you can begin your class. If your balance is not cleared, your start date will be moved to the next start date available.
- Students will not be able to be begin their class between published start dates.
- You will receive the FACTS application link in your application confirmation email once the $60 dollar tuition deposit is paid and the application is submitted.
- It is imperative that you complete the financial aid application as soon as possible as it may take FACTS up to ten days to process your information.
- If you previously completed a FACTS application for the 2023-2024 academic year for CTD, you must still attach the 2024-2025 FACTS application to your FACTS account. You will be able to link your FACTS account to this new FACTS information. You may need to update financial information.
- If you experience difficulties with the FACTS process please call the FACTS helpline at 866/412-4637.
Students in Online AP® courses should expect to spend 6-8 hours per week engaged in rigorous, independent course work, guided by an instructor.
Students have flexibility in terms of when they complete course work, and instructors provide individualized feedback to help students stay on track with course material.
Students who have the most success in Online AP® courses are active, independent learners who take initiative, have strong communication and organization skills, and have a desire to learn in an online platform. A student’s ability to manage their time, meet deadlines, and adjust their efforts accordingly is imperative.
Schoology, the learning management system used by CTD, is a user-friendly platform designed specifically for K-12 online learners, and is COPPA compliant.
Students will receive login information to Schoology via e-mail 12-24 hours before the course start date.
With their login information, students will receive information about a live, online orientation for all new Online Program students. (Returning students are also welcome to repeat the orientation.) The orientation will be recorded for students to view at a later time, if desired.
Access to course material, including instructor contact information, syllabi, and assignments, begins on the course start date.
The course acceptance notification email will contain a link to CTD’s online bookstore, where students can find textbook requirements for their course.
Textbooks can be purchased from CTD’s online bookstore, or from another vendor of choice. The use of a textbook varies by course, and not all online courses require one, though most online honors and AP® courses do require textbooks.
Textbook and supply costs (i.e. lab kits, if applicable) are not included in course fees.
Course Pacing
Students enrolled in Online AP® courses have up to 16 weeks (for 1-credit courses) and up to 34 weeks (for 2-credit courses) to complete their course work, depending on the session and the student's enrollment date. Students are welcome to accelerate through the course in a shorter time frame and should share their plans with their instructor if they plan to do so.
Extensions
Students in Fall and Winter Online Honors or Online AP® classes may request up to three, 1-month extensions from their instructor. Online Summer (ASO) students can request up to two extensions. All extension requests are considered on an individual basis. To qualify for an extension, students need to have made significant progress towards completion of course work. (At a minimum, students need to have finished more than half of the course work to submit a request for extension.) Additionally, a student must have demonstrated the desire and capacity to complete the course in order for an extension request to be approved.
Course extensions begin on the course end date, and are consecutive, and are not able to be delayed. A $125 fee is assessed for each month of an extension.
Requests for course extensions should be directed to the course instructor in writing and must be approved by the course instructor and CTD.
Credit
For each successfully completed semester (with a grade of C- or better), students will receive one high school credit through CTD.
As an accredited institution, CTD issues credits to students successfully completing Online Honors, Online ASO, and Online AP® courses. However, acceptance of credit from CTD is a local school decision. Students interested in pursuing credit should discuss their school’s policy concerning credit from outside institutions with an academic counselor or school administrator before applying.
Currently, the AP® Course Ledger on the College Board website lists the CTD Online Program as Northwestern University - Center for Talent Development Gifted LearningLinks Online Program. All CTD Online AP® courses are College Board authorized.
Evaluations
Online AP® students receive a letter grade and evaluation at the end of the first semester and again after completion of the course (for two semester courses). The final evaluation provides feedback on the student’s achievements in the course, ability to navigate the online course environment, and future course recommendations. An e-mail notification will be sent when the evaluation is available for access via MyCTD.
Transcripts
Unofficial transcripts can be generated via MyCTD (go to the student's profile in MyCTD and click the button for an unofficial transcript at the top of the page) upon completion of the course and final approval of the student’s evaluation.
An official transcript can be requested at the time of your application. CTD will send out official transcripts in batches on pre-determined dates. Additional official transcripts can be requested via the Transcript Request Feature in your MyCTD account.
CTD does not administer AP® exams.
All AP® exams are held in May, as determined by the College Board. Most schools require students to register and pay for AP® exams in early fall. See registration details, including information on finding local AP® coordinators.
Students are strongly encouraged to speak to their school counselor or AP® coordinator prior to registering for an AP® course to see if taking the exam at school will be an option. Many schools allow homeschooled students and students from other districts to register for an exam being offered at the school, with advanced planning. (It is not a requirement for a school to offer a particular course in order to administer that AP® exam.)
See additional information on AP® exams from the College Board.
All course work and communication (including instructor contact information, the course syllabus, and assignments) take place within the Schoology course site. Schoology can be accessed on a desktop or laptop computer, or with the Schoology mobile app for iOS or Android tablets and phones. While tablets may be sufficient for most course work, some web tools and/or websites may require the use of a computer.
Students need access to a stable internet connection and updated web browser.
Participation in “live” course activities or multimedia recordings may require a computer web camera, microphone or headset.
See Frequently Asked Questions about Online Program courses.
- For questions regarding Online Program admissions and financial aid, please contact:
ctd-admissions@northwestern.edu - For questions about current Online Program enrollments, please contact:
ctd-online@northwestern.edu - For questions about school partnerships with Online Programs, please contact:
ctd-school-services@northwestern.edu
