<p>Hello everyone!
I am looking for advice on whether self-studying for AP tests or taking AP classes outside of my school is worthwhile in the college admissions process (I am not too concerned yet about what happens if or when I actually do get into college). If taking AP tests outside of school does increase the chances of my college application, then which AP tests should I choose to take outside of school (and how many)? I have a feeling that bad scores on AP tests won't be too much of a concern for me, even if I do self-study, so let's just say for simplicity's sake that I end up getting 4's and 5's.</p>
<p>I go to a pretty good exam school that should be well-known by college admissions officers to have a very challenging regular course load. The problem is that my school not only doesn't allow freshmen or sophomores to take any AP classes at all, but also imposes a limit of only 3 AP classes per year for juniors and seniors. So, I was thinking of augmenting my classes in school by taking an AP course and exam outside of school not-for-credit. Recently, I went to my guidance counselor to ask her what she thought of this idea, but she pretty much just blew me off and told me not to bother since the effect of any AP tests I took outside of school would be off my school transcript and thus have a minimal effect on my college application, since college admissions officers "like to see that you actually took the course."</p>
<p>This pretty much contradicts everything I've heard before, and I have a sneaking suspicion that my counselor is BSing me or just reading off the official school policy. What do you guys think?</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your help in advanced!</p>
<p>Your first priority is getting great grades in the already challenging courses that you are taking this year. Do you really have enough time left after school, sports, and your ECs?</p>
<p>I am in the same boat as you. I put the fact that I self studied Physics C Mechanics and Calc AB in the Additional Information Section</p>
<p>The first and primary thing is to get straight A’s in the classes you do have in your school. It would look bad if you scored B’s and then said “but look I took these AP classes outside” - that, to me, looks like padding your high school resume - the only reason you’re taking the AP classes/exams is for college admissions purposes. </p>
<p>Now if you’ve exhausted your high school’s offerings and you want more challenges, then I can see taking the outside classes. I can also see if your classes are rigorous just not AP designated (but this doesn’t sound like your school), taking the AP exam for college credit.</p>
<p>FWIW, three AP classes is a decent load. Depending on the subjects, that may be enough. For example, I would hate to be the child taking Calc BC, AP Chem, AP CS unless you are strong in the sciences and time management. Even if you take out Calc BC and put in AP World (lots of reading and writing), that can also be pretty heavy.</p>
<p>If your school imposes a limit of 3 APs per year, and junior and senior only, colleges understand that and don’t hold you to a higher standard. They look at what you did at your school compared to others in your school, not what you did against the whole world. I would definitely have the 6 APs in my course load, but going beyond that wouldn’t really gain you much, other than college credit, which won’t do you any good at the schools you’re probably aiming at.</p>
<p>In short, there are probably better ways to spend your time that will impress colleges more. I’ll leave it up to you to figure out what those might be.</p>
<p>FWIW, despite what you read here and elsewhere, what colleges really like to see is about 6 solid APs. That’s it. More may be impressive, but it doesn’t really gain you much, especially if it makes you seem like a grind. 14 APs and no ECs is not going to look better than someone with 6 APs who rows, looks after their grandmother, and is a champion cake-decorator.</p>
<p>I took 11 APs last May and got 4s and 5s. Only 4 of those were actual classes in my school; the rest I self-studied. What I did was, instead of listing them in my Common App, where only a 160 character limit is imposed, I listed them in my resume/CV along with their scores. On Common App, I just put “Autodidacticism and Polyglotism” as one “activity” that I do, as listing out every single language that I know, along with the higher level math courses that I’ve self-studied would be a waste of activity space. So, for you, you could put it in your Common App as an activity, and then send in your scores.</p>
<p>CercaTrova is a very funny person.</p>
<p>OP, my son did this. He did not actually “self-study” for the tests so much as he took tests for subjects in which he was well-versed already. By the time he applied to colleges, he had 13 AP tests passed with mostly 4s and 5s. Doing what you are suggesting would allow you to earn AP Scholar awards before most of your peers. If you do well, it does catch the attention of scholarship committees and admissions. The question is whether or not you would do well on your tests. Top schools want to see 4’s and 5’s–even in 9th and 10th grades. Otherwise, it’s not as impressive. And the others are correct–if you can’t do self-studies AND do well in your classes, you shouldn’t attempt it. One other way to prove your proficiency in an area for which you have not taken the AP class is if you can score 700+ on SATIIs. DS did this, as well. He spelled out his testing and classroom history for admissions and included it in the extra information section on the Common App. Also, Common App gives you a lot of blanks that you can fill in with score results, so being able to fill them all in with 5s and 750+ SAT’s is laudable, but only if you can do so without planning to spend an extraordinary amount of time studying for the APs or putting your GPA at risk.</p>
<p>I just reread your message and realized that you were planning to take a full course off campus. You could do this, but it would be VERY time consuming. My son took the tests without taking the courses, which was much more doable with his schedule already crammed with Honors and AP classes.</p>
<p>As for the “schools will look down on off-campus classes”, that’s not true. Many students from my son’s school are accepted to Ivies every year with course work from other schools/programs on their transcripts. So, that is one myth I can debunk for certain.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the input!
I think time is going to be a major limiting factor in what I can get done outside of school.
I have way too many extracurricular commitments, and I am trying to decide which ones to drop since it is the beginning of the school year. </p>
<p>Currently, I have leadership obligations in 4 clubs/academic teams and participate in 3 other “award-driven” competitive activities (i.e. science fair, debate team, etc. but not math team). On top of that, I am taking an outside not-for-credit AP psychology class on Sundays to prepare for the exam and am self-studying for AP CompSci (@happykidsmom I have a lot of background knowledge in both fields already). Even with these huge extracurricular burdens, I am still doing perfectly fine in-school, but I think this workload will become unsustainable in the near future and I am worried about my health (I have been regularly getting 3 hours of sleep per night for the past year or two).</p>
<p>How do you guys think I should choose which clubs and/or AP tests to drop? Should the priority of self-studied AP tests be less than my other clubs? I am pretty passionate and well-invested into almost every activity that I currently do (except for maybe debate team, but I am sort of hesitant to drop that as I will explain below). </p>
<p>I want to come across as a multifaceted person (I am IRL) in my selection of EC activities, even though I will probably be applying only to STEM-focused schools. Does that mean I should try to participate in a combination of science/math-oriented activities as well as non science-y stuff like debate team or school newspaper?</p>
<p>Sorry for all the questions. I’ve always been wondering this stuff but have no idea where to ask.</p>
<p>Are you in 9th or 10th? I get what you’re going through. My DS was similar: STEM-focused, science teams, Captain of a top Mock Trial team, ran a charity, did crew, etc. That’s why I said I thought taking the outside classes was probably not going to work. WAY too stressful. DS took the AP CompSci test “self study” in 10th after only one year of basic comp sci and made a 4. I think that is probably a doable test for you. I don’t know about Psych. I wouldn’t do the outside class, though. If you REALLY have to prep for the self-study AP’s, I wouldn’t do them. </p>
<p>Also, (and this is going to annoy some people–sorry) I would think long and hard about clubs like Key Club and NHS that everyone does. If you have a leadership position now, I’d keep it. If you don’t, and you don’t plan to run for national office or something, I’d drop it. Same with any of those little school clubs that “everyone” does. If you have a leadership position NOW and it’s something you are committed to, keep it. But if you are in clubs just to round out your resume’, drop them. Put your time into things that matter, not just to colleges, but to you. The trick is not to have more clubs than other people, but to be involved in things you’re actually interested in and can lead. </p>
<p>Debate is a HUGE commitment. HUGE. My sons figured out in middle school that they could put 1//4 to 1/3 of the time into Mock Trial, exhibit the same sorts of skills as debate, win state and national awards almost every year, and have leadership positions every year. So, you are smart to look at your activities and figure out where you are best served putting your time. DS2 is a “stop and smell the roses” guy. DS1 was a driven, never-sleep, always doing more kind of kid in high school. I had to force him daily to simply breathe. He managed to have some fun along the way because he did things he loved with his friends, and his idea of fun and my idea of fun are very different things. Still, it’s important to remember that this is your only chance to be a teenager. This is IT! Don’t get so focused on doing things for other people that you forget that this is YOUR LIFE! And you only have ONE! Stick with things you love. Drop the ones you don’t. And keep some balance. :)</p>