<p>Hello everyone, I'm a British grade 11 student doing the IB Diploma. Since 9th grade my results have not been bright, I even failed a few subjects recently in my school (eqv. GPA 3.2) but I recently took the American SAT's and I scored surprisingly well (2360 / 2400) So realizing I'm actually not that bad, I'm targeting the Ivy League schools now.</p>
<p>However, I think 3.2 is far too low for an Ivy League school, so I wonder, would it be advised if I go and sit for a few AP exams?</p>
<p>Would that help raise my GPA? Can I submit myself as a homeschooled student with my AP exams and not submit my high school results? Perhaps join the stanford online programme for credit? I have no idea...</p>
<p>I just need some advice on how to raise my GPA / build a better profile for the Ivy Leagues, thank you folks!</p>
<ul>
<li>jeffrey</li>
</ul>
<p>Bump (urgent help me!)</p>
<p>GPA is calculated seperately from AP exams, and records are sent from both places to colleges independently. Taking the exams won’t change your GPA. People can self study for them, but taking them without studying may not be as helpful since they are geared to a certain curriculum that was studied.
AP tests can show how much you know in a subject, but so can the SAT subject tests. None of them can raise GPA but it doesn’t hurt to show a college what you know.
That was the good news. The not so good news is that you really can’t rescue your high school record at the last minute, and hiding it by saying you are homeschooled isn’t the right thing to do. I’m not entirely familar with the exact details of homeschooling, but in the US, one doesn’t just have no record of schooling. The law requires homeschool families to keep records and adhere to a state standardized testing system. Many homeschooled students follow some kind of curriculum where there is a transcript to submit to colleges. So you can’t apply without some high school transcript- and hiding the one you have is not being honest.
Your SAT score is impressive, but a score alone is not sufficient to be admitted to the Ivy league or any college really. They want to see your entire academic record. If you want to enhance that by taking additional tests and online classes, that may help if you do well, but colleges will want to see all your records.</p>