If your school doesn’t offer any AP classes, but say a handful of students from your high school take AP exams in European History, would colleges look down on you for self studying and taking 2 other APs (traditionally “easy” APs like Psychology or Environmental Science, or any other 2 traditionally easy ones) as well for the sole purpose of getting the AP Scholar award? These are topics that interest me, but is my time better spent focusing on the ACT test and/or SAT Subject Tests? And is the AP Scholar award even that attractive to colleges anymore, but considering that my school does not offer any AP classes?
Anymore? I’m not sure it was ever attractive. IMO, it’s slightly better than NHS. I’m being slightly facetious, but not by much.
If your school offers no AP’s, there will be no expectation from any US college that you need to take AP exams. If you are truly interested in the subject, by all means self study. But if it takes time away from SAT/ACT prep, I wouldn’t.
The general consensus on CC is that top colleges are not impressed by self studied APs. AOs for Princeton and the like have literally said not to do it because it does not impress them. However, if you are taking them for credit, or placing out of prerequisite courses, that’s a justifiable reason to do them. Taking them to qualify as an AP scholar is not going to be impressive. Many thousands of students get AP Scholar status.
My own kid self studied AP psych, but she did so because our school didn’t offer it and she is planning on majoring in psych. She got a five on the test and I am sure it didn’t hurt her application. Interestingly, she could have placed out of Intro psych in college, but decided she should take it, as she is planning on majoring in psych. It was her lowest grade and her hardest class. She got a B+. She definitely feels that going right into Psych 102 would have been a mistake.
Self studying a bunch of APs is not a good idea if it is taking away time spent on ECs, school work, and studying for other standardized tests. If you are doing Euro history in school already, I see no harm in taking the AP test though. Bear in mind also that carrying out this plan means doing it before senior year. Test scores don’t come out unitl summer, long after your apps would be submitted if you are a senior.
If you do self study, IMO you should only study the ones you are actually interested in. Some tests are considered very difficult to self study for. I personally don’t think ES would be “easy” to self study. It’s up to you of course. Bottom line is that if you think doing this is going to boost your application in the eyes of top colleges, it won’t. The advantages are purely for you personally.
Sorry just to clarify I am currently a junior @Lindagaf
You need to request any AP tests you are considering taking, right now. Schools have to order tests if they don’t routinely offer them. I see zero point in self studying as a senior, at least for the purposes of your college application. No college will ever know if you get AP scholar.
See above @Lindagaf
I saw it, you are a junior. What else do I need to know? Are planning on beginning self-study for three AP tests right now?
I suppose but I don’t know how valuable doing that would be-- I’m not even particularly strong at European History (have a low 90) and I’m more interested in the STEM fields; thus, how valuable would a self studied AP even appear to colleges? A few other students will take AP Euro, and a few others as well took APUSH last year (my school only offers the honors equivalents for each of these subjects) but I cancelled last minute on this sophomore year because I was bogged down for time. Would self studying an AP really look that valuable to elite institutions (Duke, JHU, etc.) if your school doesn’t offer AP classes to begin with? Also is it really a smart choice to self study for this AP (and possibly 2 others in the hopes that I can get the AP Scholar award) when I also have to worry about the ACT in April and 1, possibly even 2, subject tests in June?
Generally kids in the grade above me told me the test is a 5 if you prepare thoroughly (AP Euro)
If you are asking if colleges will be impressed by your initiative in taking AP exams without a course, the answer is no.
When I was going through the admissions process, I went to an Exploring College Options event, which had reps from Harvard, Stanford, Penn, Duke, and Georgetown, among others. During the Q&A, someone asked, “What do you think of applicants who self-study for additional AP’s over and above the AP classes they take?” One rep responded, “Please don’t do that. We’re not impressed by that.” The other reps all nodded.
While there are valid reasons to self study, as @Lindagaf mentions, an edge in admissions is not one of them.
Alright fair enough but am I at a disadvantage if say I don’t take any AP exams while other friends at my school (keeping in mind my school does not offer AP classes to begin with) do? Do adcoms even judge applicants between high schools or is it more of the general area you’re coming from? My school also doesn’t rank.
No.
Obviously, AO’s will look at your application versus other applicants from both your HS and from others. However, as I said above, no college will judge you because your school does not offer AP classes.
This is not unique. More than half of US HS’s do not provide an ordinal rank. Colleges will be able to evaluate an application without it.
Can you even place out of gen ed history freshman requirements if you solely take AP Euro at most universities or does it depend? And @skieurope if you don’t mind me asking are you a parent or a student?
AP credit depends upon the college, as does whether the credit will apply to gen ed requirements.
College sophomore.
@junior1818, do you have the opportunity to take any classes at your local CC? The colleges are looking to see that you want to challenge yourself academically and stretch in terms of learning, and that might be a route available to you if your school doesn’t offer the AP course.
It IS true that at some schools, the credit can be valuable because it will let you skip a distribution requirement or skip to the next level of something. But that is very school and subject specific. In fact, at many schools, students are advised to take the basic class (even if they had a 5 on the AP) if it’s in something that’s part of their major because it may be taught differently at the college and it’s such an important foundation. (That’s the story @Lindagaf tells above.) The greatest value, IMO, would come from a pre-med being allowed to skip foreign language as a result of a AP credit or a prospective history major getting to skip science, in both cases where there would have been no interest other than fulfilling requirements. If you’re loving the subject and need to take SAT subject tests, that might be a better use of your study time.
A lot of senior friends end up taking an AP Lang, but obviously you can’t put this on your app when applying to colleges. I may also do this, but I guess the main thing I was attempting to find out was: does taking an AP test when your school doesn’t offer APs (only honors) really that smart of a choice but I suppose the answer is no as stated above.
My school doesn’t offer APs but I took 2 anyway just to get possible credit for some classes in college. They won’t really help, especially at top colleges, but I passed so hopefully I can get some GE requirements filled!