APs and Highly Selective Colleges Admissions??

Applying to College
1

Hi all,

I am a junior in high school right now. I am so sorry for the long post but I hope some of you can give me your opinions.

My schedule for this year is as follows:

APUSH
French 4 Hnrs
AP Lang
Math 3 Adv (advanced junior year math class, our school is weird)
AP Studio Art and Design
Self studying AP Bio

My counselor completely messed up my schedule this year, and did not enroll me in AP Biology. I tried for about a month trying to get into the class, but she said it was completely enrolled and could not add me in. This really angered me because I had wrote it down for my course requests and she basically messed up, and put me into a second year photo class (ap studio art, and i had taken photo the year before). I tried getting into AP chemistry instead because I had taken honors chemistry the year before but that was full too. So, I enrolled in an accredited ap bio online course in the beginning of the year to help me self study for the exam. I am not going to submit the online course on my transcript because it really doesn’t feel like an ap level class, and just looks like I tried to find an easier way to take an AP.

So, for my senior year (next year), my courses are as follows:

AP Gov
AP Lit
AP Chem
Sports Med
AP Calc BC

Pretty much, I am kinda worried about my course rigor for some highly selective colleges (Vanderbilt, emory, etc.). Overall , I have a 4.0 uw and a 4.65 weighted, so i have been getting good grades in my classes. I am just concerned that colleges will think its weird I didn’t take ap bio in school since I did well in hnrs bio/ hnrs chem/hnrs physics in my freshman/soph year. I don’t really have space on applications to tell them what happened with the counselor and course mess ups. Oh and also, the only AP I could have taken sophomore year was AP Euro, which I decided not to do because the teacher at our school is horrible and I don’t really enjoy european history. So, when colleges look at my application, they are going to see I didn’t take two AP classes that our school offers.

I am really hoping that colleges will look at senior year courses/grades because I feel like I have a much more rounded year (w/AP Chem and Sports Med). I don’t have a science showing on my junior year transcript, which worries me. I still have fulfilled all of the lab science requirements, but I wont have any science APs until senior year. I am probably going to be applying as an econ major since that’s what I am interested in, but I know a lot of selective colleges like to see well-rounded students. My ECs and SATs are good, so I’m not worried about those, just APs and course rigor.

I was just wondering if any of you guys think my course rigor is good, especially for highly selective schools.

Thanks!!

2

You can ask your counselor to note something about the scheduling snafu with AP bio in their LOR to colleges.

FWIW, I would submit the online course for bio with your transcript. Easy or not, it shows you took a science course your junior year.

3

I agree with momofsenior1 above. It seems like you should list the online AP bio class you took. Check with your counselor to see if the school will list it on your transcript. They may, though they might exclude your grade from your GPA. The online class shows initiative and interest. Since it sounds like you may be concerned with having too few AP science classes, consider taking online Environmental AP or some such over this summer. Go with the company you used previously or find another.

4

Sending you a pm. I agree you should list the AP Bio course.

5

Hi all, thanks for responding. My counselor said she’s never personally had someone who has taken an AP at home when the class is offered at the school. She has only had people take an AP at home/self study for APs that were not offered by our school (Micro, Spanish, etc.). When I was talking with her last, she said it might appear weird that you took an online ap class when it is offered at the school. She said that it could raise a red flag, making admissions officers think I had some problem with the teacher or was too scared to take the “real” class. Arguably, an at-home AP is a lot easier. We take tests and quizzes online, which leads to a lot of grade inflation. I don’t want to submit the course because it looks like I was trying to find an easy way out, and get another AP on my transcript. Also, our school doesn’t weight online APs if we turn them in, so it will just appear as a regular class. That’s not the end of the world, as it only lowers my GPA a little, but is still annoying. For the past month/month and a half, I have been spending about 3 to 4 hours a day studying for the AP. I have done almost all of the practice FRQs College Board has. I also have been studying with some friends over the phone who are in the actual class, and I know the material far better than them. Right now, the plan is to take the AP and get at least a 4 so I can put in my college application and note I self studied. I think it will just look better that I self studied and was able to do well. That shows that I took initiative to add another course to my load, and saves me the headache of having to explain the online course. If I end up scoring a 3 or something like that, I will just submit the course so that they can see I took the class.

Also, I will be applying as an econ major most likely, so do you think that this one science AP is going to be the deciding factor for admission? I get that schools want to see that you are taking really challenging courses, I have and will be taking pretty much the hardest courses at my school. I feel like the score is more important the class itself. If colleges see that I taught myself the material and did well, I don’t think they are going to hung up on me not taking the AP in school. As I write more and more about it, I feel like I am over-worrying. The application encompasses a lot of info, including 20+ classes over the years, GPA, SAT, and all my ECs. I feel like in the end of the day, one course not on my transcript isn’t going to be the sole reason for rejection. I realize it may help them make a decision, but I feel that there are more compelling pieces to the application. My GPA is high and I have taken pretty challenging classes. I hope they will also look at senior year too, where I am taking two science classes - AP Chem and Sports Med (anatomy, pretty much), as well as AP Gov, AP Lit, and AP Calc BC. It is much more well rounded than junior year.

What do you all think?

Thanks!

6

It sounds like your GC is a real pain. First the GC failed to enroll you in the AP Bio class and put you into an easy elective. Now the GC suggests that it is weird that you took AP Bio on your own when the GC and school failed you. The class was full by the time the mistake about your classes was discovered, correct? Or perhaps there is something you are not explaining for whatever reason? The GC should be able to write a recommendation explaining that the school messed up with your AP Bio registration and that you showed initiative taking it on your own. However, it makes sense NOT to put the class on your transcript if it lowers your GPA. Best case scenario is to have the class on your transcript (if you got an A) with the A listed but NOT included at all in your GPA calculation. The school may or may not accommodate this request. Then the GC should write you a glowing recommendation about the extra work you did and how you faced a disappointment and found a creative way around the problem to complete your academic goals. Admissions officers will love that. If the GC won’t write that recommendation, then perhaps you can work it into an essay to fit into your college applications. Another teacher might agree to make a positive reference to your experience in their recommendation as well.

Since you plan to study economics in college, AP Bio is not the be all and end all if you have had at least one high school level bio course at high school. However, AP bio is where you will probably learn the most about standard deviation and recording data in high school. That is a skill applicable to economics. AP Stats might be quite useful as well. But again, we are talking about a class you already took (be it online) so if you did well in it and the school will agree to not include it in your GPA calculation then the advice is to put it on your transcript and use the story in your essays or recommendations so that there will be no negative inference and only positive vibes.

7

@Sam-I-Am

thanks for the response. yeah, my guidance counselor pretty much screwed a lot of things up. She realizes it, and whenever she meets with me she applauds my ability to take the ap bio class even though it is not in my schedule. We have a good relationship other than that, and I think she could definitely write something about the AP Bio course - of how she didn’t enroll me but I still did it anyway. I’ll explain how this mess started:

Essentially, we were the first class to try a different order of science. The senior class this year took bio freshman year, chem sophomore year, physics junior year, then APs their senior year. We took physics, chem and bio, then APs our junior and senior year. There was huge over enrollment in AP bio since the seniors were allowed to do it, which screwed chances for me. I had asked to take AP Bio and even wrote it down on the course request form, but my GC put it in wrong. I didn’t even know she had made this mistake until a week before school, when we get our ID pictures taken and met with counselors again. I literally begged for a month straight, even went to the principal and superintendent, but they claimed that the classes could not fit any more people. Our school makes sure teachers only teach at max 180 students a year, and the AP Bio teacher could not take any more. I had even asked the AP Bio teacher if he could advocate for me, but he said the district just wouldn’t allow him to bring on more students. It was so infuriating, and I was really mad at everyone who told me I couldn’t do it. My counselor suggested I do AP Chem, but that was overenrolled too, so I decided to wait to do that senior year. I involved my parents and everything, but the district wouldn’t budge, which sucked so bad. The worst part was that people with 2.0 GPAs who shouldn’t have been in the class were in it, but I couldn’t get in even though i had all As in previous science courses. There were probably about 20+ people who ended up dropping the class after 1st semester because it was “too hard”. At that point, I couldn’t enroll because we were halfway done with the year.

Oh, and also, the school won’t let me submit the course w/o it affecting my GPA. Some policy they have where everything effects your GPA. For example, our school makes us do PE in the months we aren’t participating in sports, or we can get it out of the way in the summer. A lot of sports players just do it in summer so they don’t have to do it during the year. PE isn’t just credit at our school, it counts in your overall GPA. So even if we took it during summer, they can’t just accredit us for the course but have to include it in our GPA, which lowers everything.

So many students have tried to change things like these but the administration doesn’t really listen.

Anyways, I really liked your suggestion for the counselor letter of rec. I think that can bring it up in a positive light and say that even though I didn’t take the class, I still took initiative. I hadn’t thought of doing it that way, but that’s really smart.

Thanks so much!

8

Glad I could help! Also, do not underplay the fact that you took AP Bio online. I do not think AOs will consider it to be a “joke” as you state. Finally, don’t present yourself as a victim of circumstances to colleges. You overcame a disappointment, got your education in AP bio, did not list the AP bio on your transcript on advice of your GC because it would lower your GPA and are fully ready for college. So long as you get an A on the summer course, you STILL may want to discuss putting it on your transcript, taking the “hit” on your GPA so long as you are sure that the GC’s recommendation will patch it over. You can appear more concerned about getting a complete education rather than chasing a 0.02 difference in your GPA. But if you are trying to achieve some GPA related honor such as top 10% of class or such, then keep the class off your transcript if that is important to you. Many state schools have numbers based admissions with GPA cut offs. They may not pay as much attention to recommendations as private elites, so the decision may depend on where you are most hoping to go to school. In the end, the difference to your GPA of having a regular A vs. an AP A may not be so great if you are not vying for salutatorian or some such.

9

@ck2003 : You are very level headed and have rightfully assessed the overall components of your coursework throughout your high school career as being strong and able to paint a reliable picture of the depth and breadth of your studies. You have done very well in your courses and this will further strengthen your profile.

Perhaps you have an unwitting ally in the guidance counselor who will now work harder than might otherwise be done, someone who recognizes the ways in which administrative error derailed you, how persistent and capable you are in advocating for yourself, and who will speak to those items.

If the AP Bio Course is taken through a recognized online college or university, you may be required to submit the transcript (not just the grade) from the outside institution even if your high school folds the grade into your transcript. College admission requirements will let you know each school’s policy.

One thing which may have been possible, though time does not make it necessary or feasible at this point for you, is to have the school’s AP Bio teacher make an extra copy of the class study guides, and perhaps even the weekly class exams, available to you so that you can see material and test preparation strategies being covered by a professional you respect and trust.

As you say you are in an accredited online course, and you are working hard to master the coursework, you may truly have already placed yourself on the right path to get the AP exam credit you seek.

If you have been taking (and it sounds as if this is the case) , and will continue to take, coursework at the most difficult level your school offers, then your application will reflect that, your standing among your peers will be noted, and you will have no need to worry about this one item seriously impacting how favorably you are received during the college application process.

Good luck to you.

10

If the online AP biology course was at a real high school that will make a record and transcript for you, then you need to report it and send the transcript as needed when you apply or matriculate to a college, whether or not your high school includes it as transfer credit on your record there.

11

^ I agree! If you have a transcript from the online school, just send that along with your HS transcript. In any case if the class doesn’t appear in your schedule and you have an AP score, the colleges will very astutely infer that you did take the class some other way.
You can list it on your SRAR if needed and have a line in “additional information” : “Due to overenrollment/scheduling issues, I was unable to take AP Biology in person at school and had to take it online through an accredited High School. I took the AP test and scored a …”
Fingers crossed you get a 4!

12

thank you all for the responses!!