<p>What are they?</p>
<p>I can't do APs in my junior year because my school doesn't have a good selection of APs and they are always filled with seniors. Not to mention the prerequisites needed to take these courses... I have to complete those beforehand.</p>
<p>I will take 6 in my senior year though.</p>
<p>Then you can’t take them. That’s all there is to it. Your counselor can mention it in the “letter”.</p>
<p>But the fact that I can’t take them… doesn’t that kind of screw me over when universities are looking through applicants’ courses? </p>
<p>They might consider that I simply wasn’t in a school where I had that option but doesn’t the lack of completed AP courses in junior year make my application a lot less attractive than a student somewhere in the U.S. who had AP courses in junior year and maybe even in sophomore year?</p>
<p>The rigor of your course schedule is based on what is offered at your HS, not students at other schools. AOs recognize that opportunities vary widely between HSs. That said, if you want to show that you are interested in expanding your academic interests despite shortcomings at your HS, you could self-study APs, take college courses, etc. to supplement your HS record.</p>
<p>I think you could definitely explain that you weren’t allowed to take AP classes junior year, and that you took the most challenging courseload that you could. Also, this seems obvious, but try to get the best possible grades you can in all your junior classes. If you’re applying to very competitive schools, show them that you don’t get many B’s and you’ll still look great. It really depends on what schools you are applying to though. Either way, it doesn’t have to be something that destroys your chances for admission.</p>
<p>Thank you, I’ll look into self-studying APs and taking college courses.</p>
<p>Very true. If you’re committed to studying an AP book, you can easily self-study/ace some of the AP exams. I’ve found that some of my AP classes didn’t have much of an impact on the test, and that I could have just studied a book (I’m talking about the English and History exams).</p>
<p>Thanks for the insight, Taxi1113.</p>
<p>I can’t wait to see my counsellor on Monday to ask about all of this…</p>
<p>Schools have several ways of knowing how tough your course load was in the context of what was available at your school. First, your school profile will generally list all AP classes available. They will often say what percentage of students took them. Your counselor will also have to rate you on how tough your course load was compared to that of your classmates.</p>
<p>So if there are few AP’s and juniors can’t take them, that’s one thing. If you could have taken the prereqs to take them junior years but you didn’t, that will count against you.</p>
<p>the key is that you are taking the toughest course load you can take as a junior. Make sure your counselor says that in the rec letter.</p>
<p>I don’t understand how students in the U.S. can take so many APs in junior year anyway. Just to get into APs in my senior year I’ll have to take some of the prerequisites in summer classes.</p>
<p>hmom5, I could have taken some (maybe 2) AP courses in junior year had I taken a crammed course load in freshman and sophomore year. I wish I had done so, but I don’t think I would have done as well if I had forced myself to go faster than I could handle.</p>
<p>I guess to make up for my previous course selection mishaps I will take some of the lighter AP exams in my junior year without being in a class for them. Maybe even this will be impossible though. Has anyone heard of AP U.S. History being taken by Canadian students?</p>
<p>I’m seriously considering visiting the U.S. or visiting another Canadian province for a while to take some standardized tests. I can’t even take the PLAN (ACT Prep) here.</p>
<p>John you’re the one from gleneagle right?</p>
<p>Well im in gr 12 in Burnaby, and I had the same problem.</p>
<p>Don’t worry, the admissions should understand.</p>
<p>They know it is a lot harder to take APs in junior year in Canada. Unlike many US schools we have 3-4 years of prerequisites first…</p>
<p>^^ no don’t worry, in the US, I’ve seen kids take APs in gr 9 and 10 too… they dont have many pre reqs, and they are allowed to take the exam without having taken the course.</p>
<p>basketballbabe13 is right. My school doesn’t have any prerequisites for most of the AP classes. I didn’t know you were from Canada though. This will actually help your cause when you apply to schools. I’m sure there are plenty of international students who have the same problem. I wouldn’t worry about it too much.</p>
<p>Yes, I am the one from Glen.</p>
<p>I see now. Thanks for the insight. I just assumed that students in the U.S. had to complete the same prerequisites to get into AP courses.</p>
<p>Are you saying that we (Canadians) can’t take the exam without taking the course?</p>
<p>It all depends on what colleges you’re applying to. Other than the top 20 or so schools, no one is expected to have taken a mind blowing load. It’s only the very top colleges that expect you to do whatever it takes to cram in your school’s hardest courses and achieve high grades in all of them.</p>
<p>US students aiming at ivies will often take college classes if they can’t fit in AP’s or do summer programs from the summer after eighth grade.</p>
<p>The expectation is that you do whatever is available to you. If you’re low income that could explain lack of summer enrichment. It’s all about what you realistically could have done.</p>
<p>There’s been a lot of excellent posts here so far. Thanks a lot everyone.</p>
<p>hmom5, what do you mean by summer enrichment? Do you just mean summer high school programs at universities or are there other types of summer enrichment that I’m not aware of?</p>
<p>The most prized are the competitive, free programs such as TASP and RSI at MIT. There are other programs at public high schools, prep schools, community college classes and many colleges have academic summer programs.</p>
<p>Kids do these programs to fit in more than 4 years of math or get ahead in whatever they are interested in studying or have conflicts that haven’t let them take what they need during the school year.</p>
<p>There are also online enrichment programs like EPGY that kids aiming for top colleges often take part in. And self study as has been mentioned.</p>
<p>Again, everyone does not have to do this to get into a good college. It tends to be kids trying to break away from the crowd for the colleges taking under 20%.</p>