<p>Are there any advantages in self studying APs (from a college admissions point of view) if you go to a Competitive school that offers tons of APs? I'm also pursuing (well on track on pursuing them) the IB Diploma (so my schedule doesn't offer great flexibility).</p>
<p>Would Self Studying APs be taken as Dedication/Passion/Motivation and all that good stuff?</p>
<p>Also is aiming for the National AP Scholar (before Senior) year a good reason to self study APs?</p>
<p>I self studied for 2 APs my junior year, and I got a 5 on both of them (AP Computer Science and World History), so it can definitely be worth your time. </p>
<p>If you get National AP Scholar, that will probably look nice. I've wondered though, if colleges see self-studying as showing motivation. So really, I am in the same boat as you...</p>
<p>Ditto on that. I'm self-studying French to add to my list of luent languages and it's working out great. I just wonder if it's worth it. Since languages/culture IS my passion, I would expect that the admissions committee would look at that in a positive manner. I'm assuming that, of course. But if anyone would confirm that, I think all three of us would be a little enlightened :)</p>
<p>How impressive does National AP Scholar look?</p>
<p>That's 4 people who want to find out :)</p>
<p>There have been a lot of threads about this topic and what I know from talking to other students, tour guides, and admission counselors is that self-studying AP's not only shows dedication and passion, but also initiative. So it is a plus on college applications. If you do go to a school though that already offers a lot of AP's, it might not look as good as some one who self studied and went to a school that offered little or no APs, but it sounds like you have a pretty heavy courseload and your willingness to self-study would compensate.</p>
<p>And wanting to be National AP Scholar is a retarded idea to soley study APs. Do it for the enrichment.</p>
<p>I think National Scholar is a quick way to show you have 8 good scores, and if you are putting it on your college app, that means you did it before senior year. OTOH, if you are putting a list on your app somewhere, or the summpiment wants you to self resport your scores, the National Scholar doesnt mean that much - since the adcomms can add. They know that some kids quickly self study for an easy AP or two to make that designation, and what is going to look best are the more difficult APs.</p>
<p>I don't think whether you self-study or not determines how easy the AP is... Are AP Computer Science and World History considered hard?</p>
<p>I have a similar question, which would probably be appropriate here:</p>
<p>If I am studying another language outside of school but do not intend on taking an AP test for it, should I list it on my application?</p>
<p>bump I'm also interested in the answers/..</p>
<p>Where should I put AP test scores on the app? There doesn't seem to be a place for them...</p>
<p>Some applications say to put it in academic honors.</p>
<p>Would it look more impressive to a college if you self studied an AP or took an online course thru like NU? and say you would get the same score, which one would look more dedicated?</p>
<p>Agreed - AP test scores go under academic honors</p>
<p>One more thing:
I think it would be good to self study for APs if your school offered few AP's, but if your school offers a lot of AP classes, taking even more AP's by self study might not be very much of a boost for your college application (if that is why you are doing it). An exception, I think, would be learning another language. One more language looks great on the college application of any student from the USA.</p>
<p>re: where to put APs. Check the suppliments, if any, of the colleges you are applying. Some of them have space for that. </p>
<p>I agree with JJG - self studying for APs when your school offers a good selection looks like you are just trying to pad things. Some AP tests are fairly easy to study for, but if you took an actual class you would probably learn beyond the scope of the AP test.</p>
<p>Like what I pointed out to you, Milki, on the other thread - I think the importance of self-studying APs diminish accordingly when the AP course offering of your high school gets progressively larger. Generally, there's no reason to pursue anything outside of the classroom anyway, because you could just take the equivalent AP course. If you are aiming for a full IB diploma, I think that in itself is mark of academic rigor. Self-studying additional APs will just be like piling on more icing on an already fully-decorated cake - the effect is probably fairly minimal, at best.</p>
<p>I personally consider IB to be more rigorous than AP, so I think you're fine.</p>
<p>I gotta disagree that AP classes offer a better education 100% of the time. I took AP World History exam and got a 5, whilst a lot of people who took the class were clueless and got a lower. Some people thought Japan lost the most people in WWII, which is pretty amazing. </p>
<p>I think that AP exams are an indicator of what a student really knows, the grade more reflects how the teacher teaches. A lot of teachers at my school give the tests in their AP classes as "group work" or let the students use their books to find the answers, and then everyone bombs the AP exam. </p>
<p>In my situation for AP self-study, I took AP World History and AP Computer Science. My school offers tons of APs, but not AP Computer Science, which I took because it wasn't offered. I didn't take the AP World class because of scheduling conflicts.</p>
<p>You can fill in AP scores under academic honors, but many of the supplements I saw also had a place to fill in AP scores.</p>
<p>I self-studied for Micro and Macro econ, since my school couldn't offer the course this year. I mentioned it on my app and I think it helped, since I also mentioned econ as a potential major.</p>