Homeschool World Forum

Having tried both methods, I'm not a big fan of correspondence courses. You basically end up teaching yourself from the textbook anyway, no point shelling out money for a course that doesn't add anything useful. Online courses are a lot better, but even among those there are some where the teacher doesn't show up / post much, and there aren't enough other students to get a good discussion going. Still, online is usually better than doing it on your own.

I've taken junior high / high school-level online courses from:
PA Homeschoolers (AP prep)
Scholar's Online Academy (full accredited diploma program)
Escondido Tutorial Service (classical learning)

Community college courses are even better in some cases, of course, such as lab science or math-based courses. And community college will generally take you up through your first couple years of college credit, a cost-effective option if you don't have a good scholarship to the college you want to go to. I took Calculus III locally, wish I'd done Calc I and II that way as well.

Receiving an accredited diploma just means somewhat less paperwork for you. It doesn't mean your chances of getting into college are necessarily any better than those of someone submitting test scores and/or a portfolio of work.

Personally, I prefer a lot of testing and a little community college, it's still accredited but allows you more emphasis on difficult (or expensive) subjects and less emphasis on subjects you can breeze through. If you can show course by course that the high school graduation requirements for your state have been completed, you don't need an official diploma - you can award yourself one.

the only online school I've done courses through is Memoria Press. I did the logic all the way through. But, I'm not sure that's what your looking for!