Will Taking MOOCs help high school students get into selective universities?

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Shriram Krishnamurthi

I can't speak authoritatively about undergraduate university admissions committees. I haven't worked on one. However, they do sometimes ask for faculty input in judging a student's proclaimed expertise. This is something where taking a MOOC can potentially make a difference.
However, most faculty are, I think, quite jaded about MOOCs now. As the stats show, the vast majority of students only sign up for MOOCs; more of them watch the MOOC (assuming there are videos, which most have); few of them do any substantial work; and very few actually finish anything. And even if they claim to have finished one, there are questions of authenticity.
Therefore, only some form of validated credential that demonstrates completion is going to matter. I have not kept up with the MOOC scene to know what form that would take (so please don't ask me questions about specific providers and specific schemes — I don't know (or care)). Anything that can't be attested to a person is going to viewed with suspicion (because who wouldn't want to pay someone to do a MOOC in their name to help them get into a place like Brown?). And someone who merely lists a lot of MOOCs without showing any real completion is going to be viewed at best as a dilettante. As a faculty member I would have no respect for that (indeed, the contrary), but it's possible an impressionable, idealistic admissions committee member might be more taken in by that—but I very much doubt it. Admissions committee members at an elite university have seen every trick in the book and a few not even on the books. I should hope they pretty quickly get at least a little jaded.
I wonder what someone like Parke Muth has to say. (-:


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Igor Markov

TL;DR: It can, indirectly, but not as an isolated activity.

While I have not served on undergraduate admissions committees (only graduate), it's pretty clear that three aspects of the student's application matter

• Formal grades and test scores capture technical competence/depth and learning efficiency,
• Extracurricular activities, experiences, and the overall story represent applicant's personal interests, level of motivation, breadth, creativity, and overall potential,
• Letters of recommendation provide supporting material to corroborate conclusions drawn from the above two aspects.

Where do MOOCs fit in this picture? - Under personal interests, experiences and motivation. They can also add a few good sentences to the overall story. If the applicant claims interests in, say, astrophysics, then having taken a related MOOC would add realism to that claim. Will good grades in a MOOC change the perception of technical depth? - probably not, as of 2016. High school grades weigh in much more hevily.

Strong university applications at any level show a good degree of consistency. Taking arbitrary MOOCs that do not contribute to the overall story can make the application unfocused.

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