<p>Hey,</p>
<p>Do top colleges pay attention to APs you self-study in your college apps or are they merely for college credit? How much weight does AP scores have in the college application process? Would 14 APs and 16 APs (difference being self-studying APES and AP Psych Junior Year - 2 softest APs) be much of a difference?</p>
<p>I am a rising Junior more oriented towards math and science. I know I want to learn APES and AP Psych. </p>
<p>I was wondering if I should self-study APES & AP Psych next year or take the courses in senior year. My problem is that I have ran out of courses I like to take in the Math and Science department and would have already taken the courses I am interested in for Humanities.</p>
<p>On one side, APES and AP Psych are the softest APs and if I self-study them, I would probably have time for two more credits. But, there aren't courses I want to take as much and it would probably be Human Geo (another soft AP) and another one, both of which I would not be particularly interested in taking.</p>
<p>On the other side, taking APES as a class would show an even stronger commitment to math and science.</p>
<p>Would you be able to give me advice? </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>14 APs is already a lot 
self studying shows independence and commitment but keep in mind you wont be able to benefit from the GPA inflation
but if you want the colleges to really see your APs then self study them this year
cuz by senior year no one really cares as much</p>
<p>^
wait, so they don’t care about ap’s in senior year?</p>
<p>do colleges even care about senior yr in general</p>
<p>14 is only from govt, econ, phys *2 though
I should’ve taken econ senior year and self-studied psych/apes.</p>
<p>Senior year, colleges will see APs on your transcript, and you can also report if you are self-studying senior year. Maintaining good grades and a rigorous course load is very important- you’ll likely have to send in your transcript from the first semester of senior year before they even make a decision, and you have to send a final transcript that can get your admission revoked if you have slacked significantly.</p>
<p>Self-studying does show that you are self-motivated and pursue knowledge out of school. That being said, you won’t have a score on your application to back up that you actually self studied. Also, you have chosen two of the easiest courses to self study. Also, you have plenty of APs available at school- self-studying is most impressive when the school lacks APs to offer the student.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, you should only self study if you are actually interested in the topics and are looking for college credit, or if your school offers very few APs. At this point, it will be a slight benefit to your profile, but nothing impressive- taking 14 APs in school is enough to prove you are self-motivated. Just take Psych and APES your senior year.</p>
<p>hey warlands719
they do still care about ap classes senior year but not as much
like they wont see your score on the ap test until after you’re accepted
so really only 1st semester grades matter</p>