hello. i’m a rising junior and kind of worried. my school doesn’t really offer any APs (aside from music theory) in the years before junior year, and absolutely no APs are allowed freshman year. we’re only allowed to take AP classes in junior and senior years, and only REALLY allowed to take as many as we want in senior year. i’m taking AP Physics 1, APUSH, and AP Calc BC this coming year. yeah. only 3 aps on my transcript. i’m worried because my county is upper middle class and colleges may see my transcript and be like ‘lol what, this b only took 3 aps and her parents make how much??’ also – we don’t even offer honors english classes or honors science classes! just more accelerated versions. the honors classes that are available, though (math, foreign lang), i do take. they’re weighted the same as a normal class, though.
and – do colleges really consider what you take in senior year? because senior year i’m taking AP Physics C, AP Chem, AP Stats, AP French, and AP Drawing. but still, i feel like i’m at a disadvantage.
i’m planning to self study AP Enviro and AP Compsci Principles this year to make myself more competitive (and cause i like the subjects). will this be possible? thanks in advance!
You shouldn’t be at any disadvantage at all. You GC shoukd be sending out a profile of the school indicating what classes and APs are offered and if there are limitations such as what you described.
FWIW perhaps the top HS in all the Bay Area in California, where close to 100 NMSFs exist every year and Intel Scholars are abound, they allow no APs at all in 9th and 10th, and everyone seems to do fine. I think if you end up with 8 you are more than ok.
There’s no point to self studying those 2 classes unless you really wanted to. They won’t impress AOs plus both are fluff classes more or less.
Self studying because you like the subject s is fine, assuming it does not detract from your other classes or your ECs. But don’t self study to make yourself appear more competitive; colleges don’t care about self studying.
As @ProfessorPlum168 says, admissions will view your transcript in context. No college expects you to take a class not offered.
Hurrah for your school! If I were dictator of the world, then APs for high school freshmen would not be allowed. Of course, I am not.
I think that you should be very careful about self-studying for APs. Limit this to very few (probably one or none) in your very best subjects. The only person that I know well who self-studied for an AP did very well in it, but she only did one and it was in her best subject (straight A+'s throughout middle and high school).
Also, don’t worry about how your high school computes weighted GPA. This varies enormously between high schools. Universities will see what was available to you, what you took, and what your grades were.
As @ProfessorPlum168 says, universities will be told what rigor is allowed in your high school. You should do fine in university admissions as long as you apply to a realistic range of schools. I have seen students who APs were much more limited than yours getting into very good universities.
On other threads you asked about some of the most competitive colleges out there. You have to know that, while rigor is important, admissions is not some race to collect the most AP, that adcoms know high schools have different offerings and restrictions. (Many top hs either don’t offer AP or are cutting back on tis arms race. They put rigor into the classes they do offer.) And you should try to learn more about what does impress them. You say you’ve read the MIT blogs.
Choose what you pursue wisely. Self studying doesn’t offer the class or lab experiences, the interaction with peers and the teacher.
No APs freshman year at my daughter’s school either and only 1 sophomore year. Didn’t seem to impact anyone during the college admissions process. As stated upstream, your school will send out their report with your transcripts so the adcoms will know what was offered and you challenged yourself based on what was available to you!
Make sure you take the time to enjoy high school. So often we read CC posts from students that are singularly focused on elite university admissions. It’s great to have goals, and you should pursue them (if you truly want that because of actual interest - not for others), but there is no need to neglect the activities that make you happy. Ironically, those will come across in your applications and you will do quite well anyway, just with a more enjoyable experience.
Whatever is listed on your transcript will be taken in context. Some schools don’t offer ANY AP classes, so those students don’t take them. Others offer every AP available, and a student who only takes 1 or 2 is not likely to be considered as having taking the most rigorous schedule available. You school will sent a school profile along with your transcript, so if adcoms are not familiar with their school, they can put it into context. Don’t worry, you’re fine as long as you are taking classes that challenge you. If you create your application list well, you will end up in a good school that fits you.
As already mentioned, don’t bother self-studying unless you are specifically interested in those subjects. AP exams don’t carry much weight in college admissions - they are used to get credit once you’re there, If those two subjects apply to your intended major, they will help provide a background, but any credit you get might not apply to your major, except as low-level unrestricted electives. Spend the time on something you enjoy.
AP exams do matter to tippy top adcoms. The credit issue only plays if you get admitted. But exams from self studying, very little. You miss the class entirely. It’s like reading the Cliff Notes just to pass the final.
Self-studying APs does not help you with admissions. They don’t look at your AP test scores for admissions…seniors who take APs don’t get the scores back until after they are admitted.
So if you do it, you would be doing it for College credit. See if your colleges of choice would give you credit and if that credit would be useful. Like for ES…if you want to be an engineer you would take other sciences…maybe you could get elective credit?
Also realize that doing well in your HS courses is vastly more important than self studying…also would you have time to do ECs if you are self studying?
Just saying. You can’t say adcoms don’t consider AP scores. OP has some reaches in mind that will. But right, they won’t see scores from courses in senior year.
There’s some debate as to how much AP scores impact the admissions decision at top colleges. I’m of the opinion that it does not for the vast majority. Others may have different opinions. Obviously a string of 5’s will be viewed better than all 2’s, but beyond that, who knows.
All that said, even for schools that factor in AP scores for the admissions process, I would hope that they would not base a decision on a 3 hour test that one crammed for the weekend before.
Nonetheless, they are part of the picture one offers. Whether they are part of a “formula” (and we know tippy tops don’t have a specific formula) or exactly how they “factor,” (again, in holistic, it all matters,) I’m not in favor of declaring they don’t matter, except for later credit. At the school I know best, they are absolutely part of the short notes. How they subsequently play in decisions depends on the whole app.
I think most of us agree OP will not be held back by his school offering few AP options. And that self study is not a tip.
Don’t worry. Your school sends out a report explaining what levels of classes are offered, and they especially include how few AP classes your school offers. There’s no need to worry about your school not offering that many classes; instead, worry about trying to get your GPA up while taking the most strenuous classes available.
