Has anyone tried Apologia Online Academy classes for science? Opinions?

[HappyGrace]

I'm looking at their Advanced Biology for dd17. But I'd love reviews or opinions from anyone who has used any of their classes!

 

And would you recommend live or recorded classes? THANK YOU!!!

[MerryAtHope]

We didn't but my dd did use Apologia Advanced Bio with the book--excellent course! (And much easier on Mom than Chem & Physics, LOL!)

[Brenda in FL]

I am bumping this because I would really like to read some info on Apologia Online Academy.  I am about to enroll dd in Chemistry, but I can't find any reviews.

[kolamum]

I haven't either, but did you know that the apologia courses {including advanced} are available through VirtualHomeschoolGroup.org You can do the LIVE or AtYourOwnPace courses. My son has done his previous Apologia courses with the AYOP, mostly for taking the quizzes online {both module quizzes & study quizzes}, he uses their blueprints for labs, & has conversed with the lady who runs the sight to point out a few errors in one of the courses he took. All up he really enjoys it he's aiming for a third one this year. 

The only Apologia Course I didn't spot over there was the Marine Biology {bummer}, & I so wish they had the new Dr Wile Chemistry there, but alas.. 

[backroadsmom]

We used some on the pay as you go, self paced Apologia Physical Science classes last year and found them to be decent.  The lady doing that class was just lively enough, but not annoying and certainly not dead, as some people are.  My daughter, fairly easily bored with boring presenters, liked them ok.

[debbiems]

We did the Apologia online class in Chemistry 2 years ago with my son.  I have very mixed feelings about it.  As you probably know, the Chemistry book has been revised and the 2nd edition is a tome.  It is a challenging course.  I found that the teacher that we had made it about as tough as you possibly could, really very much a college-level class.  He added many requirements to what you would normally do if you did the class at home, and he made his own tests.  My son consistently scored worse on his tests than the tests that are made by the publisher.  I finally started having him take the book tests, so I could see if he understood the material better than I thought.  When it comes down to it, I would say, if you are going to put that much effort into a class, you may as well take it at your local community college and get college credit for it

 

Another issue I had is that the teacher did not do any of the experiments during the online class, so with all that we paid, we were back to trying to do the experiments at home with no guidance.  We had had the option of a local group that meets every other week to do all the experiments for each chapter, writes up the lab reports, and the teachers of this class give instruction on the experiments and on the chemistry mathematical problems.  I was so sorry I didn't take advantage of this class instead of doing the online class, because I could not help him with the experiments.  

 

Finally, we have done other classes at the Apologia academy in apologetics and the teacher was great.  But the guy that taught this class was young and not helpful when I brought up my concerns.  I finally let him finish the course at home.

 

 

[ASauce]

My son has taken two classes with apologia online classes and I would not recommend them. They don't do a great job of explaining the difficulty level, for example- the literature class he took was not rigorous, the teacher did not really make comments on his writing, and we just felt there were better curriculum options out there. The science was pretty good- but- the age range was huge they they stated for the class 7th to 12th, and the deadlines are firm. So if your family is sick, you're asking for an extension. I did not love that. It's also a FULL YEAR commitment, no refunds, no exceptions. As homeschoolers, we like to have the ability to pivot if something is not working, and this does not afford you that opportunity. They state your seat is paid for- but - if you put your child in private school for a month, you pay for one month. The teachers also end up calling out of a lot of classes when they have plans and doing videos, and, while there are lots of students in the classes, there are very little opportunities to ask questions or interact. They mostly keep the kids on mute. The whole thing is just okay, and now we're stuck doing it this year.