I am in 11th grade currently (international applicant) and I aspire to get into a college like MIT or Harvard or Yale or UCLA. As far as I know, my extra-curricular activities are good, but I’m worried about my grades.
Prior to 9th, I used to get straight As, but in 9th, I got 8.4/10 and 9/10 in 10th. Since I wanna pursue Physics, I believe that my academic performance would be an important factor in deciding whether I get accepted or not. So, I just wanted to ask whether APs have any (even if it’s a little, it counts) significance in the admission process for colleges. I’m not looking for the actual credit offered by AP in college, but to demonstrate my interest in Physics as I recently got interested in it. I have lots of achievements in computer programming as I initially wanted to be a programmer at Google. So, should I take the APs? Will it affect my chances of getting admitted?
Thanks.
One of the first things colleges consider when reviewing your application is the rigor and difficulty of the classes you took and the level of classes that your school offers. They love to see that you’ve taken the hardest classes you can, so APs definitely stand out and show academic effort and discipline; however, don’t take on a challenge you can’t tackle. If you’re going to earn a C in an AP, you might be better off earning an A in honors. If you desire to pursue physics, I think it would be smart to take at least a couple AP sciences or maths.
Are you asking if you should self-study and take the AP test, or if you should take the course? If you are asking, should you take the AP course, then yes, take the hardest course you can get a decent grade in: rigor in classes taken is important. If you are asking if you should self-study, you’re better off, I think, taking the SAT Subject test in Physics, if you can. For one thing, AP scores are self-reported, whereas SAT scores come from the College Board; for another, schools like MIT and Harvard usually recommend a couple of SAT subject tests. Check out the admission pages of the schools you like, to see what they advise.
If you are applying to a selective college, your high school transcript is very important both your grades and what courses you took. If your school offers AP courses and you did not take any of them it will certainly raise questions. U.S. high schools provide a profile showing how many AP courses are offered and how many students take them. The average student taking AP courses takes between 2 and 3 over the course of high school. Students applying to Yale or MIT would probably take twice as many AP courses if not more. I would not advise trying to go from no AP classes to all AP classes senior year if you aren’t used to the workload. My D is taking all AP classes this year and it means studying every night until 11:00 if not later.
Thanks all for your responses; after all the readings, I’ve decided to take 2-3 APs, and no, my school doesn’t offer any AP classes. Also, are my grades okay for these colleges?