So I’m a junior at a private school in New York. Seeing as this summer will be a very crucial time to prepare for college, my school’s college advisors have suggested that we take pre-collegiate courses at universities. Schools like Brown, Columbia, Georgetown, and NYU have all been used as examples. I’m sort of ambivalent about this decision, however. Some believe that these programs are just money grabs from gouging colleges, while others (really only my counselors) believe they are beneficial. The only potential upsides I see are 1. the experience and 2. possible accreditation. I am yet to take a single AP course as I wasn’t on track for them because of mediocre freshman grades. This is why I see the accreditation in a college course as potentially advantageous.
My intended major is English/comparative literature, and the goal is to apply to a target school through an EA/ED program in the fall. Let’s use Princeton, a school I have interest in, as an example.
Would a pre-college course help neutralize the absence of AP’s to a school like Princeton? Are there other courses I could take with this purpose?
Hi! I think taking college courses will make up for the lack of AP’s. Maybe just a couple, don’t drive yourself too crazy with coursework and be sure to enjoy your summer as the first semester of senior year will take a lot of your energy. If you are considering a regular summer program at one of the schools, in my personal experience it would be just for the experience and not really serve for any boost in your application as it just shows you have the financials to participate in such a program and not much else. Hope this helps! good luck
Thank you very much! If you don’t mind me asking, how would one enroll in a college course as a high school student? I’m just uncertain of how this all works.
Stony Brook, Bing, and probably many other SUNY 4-year/CC offer summer online courses that are available to high-schoolers. These are real courses attended mainly by enrolled students at the colleges; whether they will be accepted for credit at non-SUNY schools is another matter, but they are rigorous and you’ll learn from them and have a nice element to put on your app. This would also be more affordable than the summer programs for HS students offered at Ivies.
It sounds like you have a lack of rigor compared to your classmates rather than a school that does not have rigorous classes. It also appears that this is due to past performance. I think that you have to take an honest look at your profile to see if you are actually a competitive applicant for the level of schools that you are looking at.
First of all, you might get more attention for your post if you re-title it to something like, “Can summer pre-college classes make up for lack of AP classes?”
I think that if your record lacks AP classes that were available to you, and you think that you can do well in a college class this summer, that you should do it. Plan to work your butt off, and to participate assertively in class, in an attempt to get a letter of recommendation from the professor. I think that an A or two in English classes at a nearby good college, plus a letter from one of the profs praising your ideas and your writing, could possibly help. Even if you cannot afford the tuition at a local private college, you still have the option of local 4 yr CUNY colleges (I’m assuming you’re in NYC).
If you are going to do this, and money is no object, I’d look at all the possible schools that are commutable for you, that offer classes you’d be interested in. But here is the most important piece of advice: Choose the classes based upon the prof who is teaching them, more than anything else. Look the profs up on rate my professor website, and choose them based upon their ratings and reviews. If you’re interested in the subject material, willing to work hard and participate, and have a great prof based upon the ratings, I think you have an excellent chance at coming out with a couple of A’s, and a letter of recommendation. I’m not saying you are going to get into a tippy-top school. Lack of rigor and poor grades are hard to overcome. But this might help. Also, if you can possibly enter writing competitions, you should. Having prestigious competitive awards for writing on your resume can help to make up for lack of rigor in your transcript.
My school offers two AP courses in my current grade, both of which I applied for. Given my relatively poor freshman year performance, though, I was not on track to join either of them and was instead given two honors courses. I’m holding out for next year on AP’s, even though schools won’t receive my scores in time.
I’m aware that my profile doesn’t exactly match the profiles of other candidates. I’ve had a long, rocky academic history (and a number of learning disorders) that can help to explain this to AO’s. What I’m trying to do between now and the fall is secure some supplementary features for my app, like hard courses and extracurriculars. I still understand that the likelihood of acceptance is absolutely minuscule, but you miss all the shots you don’t take. If (or when) a tippy top doesn’t take me, I can assure you that I’ll be off to another school without any vexation. Transferring is always an option, too.
First of all, you might get more attention for your post if you re-title it to something like, “Can summer pre-college classes make up for lack of AP classes?”
This is true. I guess I was trying to captivate people with an unnecessarily vague title.
I mentioned this in a reply to another user, but AP courses were unavailable to me on account of poor grades. My class is made up of 60 students, so those seats are competitive.
My mother had mentioned SUNY and CUNY opportunities for me. I will definitely consider them.
Lack of rigor and poor grades are hard to overcome.
I probably should’ve posted my stats here as well. The only year in which I had mediocre grades (81 average, 2.7 GPA) was freshman year, as I was transitioning from a much easier special needs school which taught fifth grade math in its eighth grade classes. I worked my behind off over the summer after my freshman year to catch up on the material and ended up with a 4.0 in sophomore year, and now the same in junior with the addition of two honors courses. The only thing I’m really fretting about is course rigor, but I was hindered from getting harder classes on account of the freshman grades and competition within my school.
But this might help. Also, if you can possibly enter writing competitions, you should. Having prestigious competitive awards for writing on your resume can help to make up for lack of rigor in your transcript.
Absolutely. I really think it will demonstrate my concern about the absence of these courses, and should I do well, my academic potential. I’m also strongly considering entering some writing competitions, as you mentioned. I have no out-of-school awards at the moment, so those would be great to obtain, especially if they align with my intended major.
@CrisPapr04 I think summer College programs are a good option. Anything that shows that you are capable of academic rigor will help. Aren’t AP exams available without taking the class offered at your high school , meaning you could take the class privately? Don’t know if you want to take that on during school year but something to consider. Some online high schools (Laurel Springs) offer AP classes and perhaps you could enroll in a single class. I noticed that students used to use SAT subject tests in lieu of AP‘s but heard those are no longer available. Also, with your better grades, take whatever AP‘s you can as a senior. That will look positive to admissions.
If you are in NYC, and can take two summer college courses this summer, whether at expensive summer Ivy programs, or cheaply at CUNY, and can get A’s in them (which if you work hard, I am sure you can), and can get recommendations from the profs, it would be a very smart move in your situation. If your family has the resources to have you do this at an Ivy, and you are SURE you can plan it so that you do well (by carefully picking only courses with great professors), it could really help you.
I would NOT emphasize the learning disability, when applying. In fact, I’d conceal it. You write decently, so it looks as if you could do well in college. If you have something like dyscalculia, it will not affect your ability to do well in an English degree. I hope you applied for extra time on tests in school and for standardized tests - it is NOT too late, if you haven’t. Go to the guidance counselor today and request that they get you extra time on the SAT or ACT pronto, if this hasn’t been done already. A high score on a standardized test can go a long way towards compensating for a poor freshman year, combined with excellent grades in sophomore and junior years.
Thanks for bringing this excellent idea to mind, that really isn’t on people’s radar. Certainly, high grades in summer term college classes, the summer before senior year, can only enhance one’s applications, and if it nets you a great recommendation from a college prof, all the better!
My sense is that from a college admissions standpoint, taking part in a summer program is better than spending the summer sitting around. And it will keep your mind engaged and challenged. But I wouldn’t think of it as “neutralizing the absence of APs,” and I’m not sure that you’d be any better off (again, from an admissions perspective) than you would if you had a summer job instead.
Also, I think that colleges are more impressed by participation in summer programs that are selective and competitive (e.g., the “Governor’s School” programs that a lot of states have) than by programs that merely require participants to write a check .
Are you in NYC? I’m very surprised any nyc college counselor would advise you to do that. They tend to discourage such pointless money grabs. Unless there is some academic class that you are super passionate about with a professor whom you admire, skip it. You need to spend summers doing something that you truly love and/or volunteering/working.
As far as APs go it really depends on how competitive your private school is - will you get into Harvard with none, probably not. But even with tons you might not have a chance. But you may have a chance at many good schools. Also, I’m a bit surprised to that your school even offers APs, most NYC privates have dropped APs in exchange for much better courses of their own design.
Don’t take an AP class just to take an AP class. Take it because you are truly interested in the course. If there is an elective in the same subject that interests you more take that and do well. That will ultimately serve you better than taking an AP just to do so.
It is really hard for me to tell what level of school the OP is currently enrolled. It would seem odd that they would go from a special needs to a very rigorous program. How many people normally go to a top 20 college from your HS?
My current school accommodates students with learning disorders, but is by and large a mainstream, rigorous curriculum. It is definitely a top 10-20 private school in NYC.
As for college acceptances, a student gets into at least one Ivy every year, with Cornell being the most common admission. Other T20’s like Duke, Vanderbilt, Bowdoin, and UCLA are also common. Juilliard, which is close by, also accepted some students from our school.
At least in the last two decades, Princeton has not accepted a single student from my school. I don’t think many have applied there. Stanford has, but it was way back in 2009.
My D is looking at taking Calc 3, DiffEq, or Linear Algebra over the summer, as her school offers no post-BC courses and she has only AP Stats Senior year
But rather than $7k at a fancy college campus (if they are even doing in-person), she’ll take it remote at the local Community College for $1k. Look for options.
@CrisPapr04 In this case, I do think it would help. Since you want to be an English major, have you considered one of the writing programs? Iowa, Kenyon, Sewanee, and Rhodes all have summer precollege programs specifically for writing. The first three are for creative writing and Rhodes has both creative and analytical writing. My son went to the Rhodes one (Summer Writing Institute) last summer and it was $1500 for a 2-credit course. Online bc of COVID. He will be able to transfer those credits to wherever he ends up.