if self-studying an AP helpful for college

Test Preparation AP Test Preparation
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Allow me to clarify a few things I said.

  1. Getting good AP scores on certain AP exams seems to matter a good deal at certain schools.

  2. Perhaps self-studying does not help one’s chances, but that doesn’t mean that doing well on the corresponding AP exam doesn’t help.

  3. I don’t know why a self-studied AP score would matter less than a non-self-studied AP score. Sure, students who self-study can cram for the AP, but so can students who don’t self-study.

  4. Not all APs are weighted equally. As I mentioned, AP Psych is not considered that impressive. Doing well on a physics, chemistry, biology, calculus, history, English, or language AP is considered more meaningful than doing well on certain other APs.

  5. The article I cited is from 2009, but it is still the article Harvard’s admissions cites on a website that is updated at least annually, implying it is still relevant. While the article mentions nothing about self-studying, it says AP SCORES (not classes) are the best predictor of whether students succeed at Harvard. FWIW, I believe Fitzsimmons, who wrote the article, is still the head of admissions at Harvard (he is involved in choosing who does and doesn’t get in). Also, he said it is the best predictor. If that is true, I doubt that has changed much over the best ten years, i.e. I doubt it was a strong predictor then and a weak predictor now (whether admissions officers attitudes towards it have changed is a different matter).

  6. There is not a lot of good info out there about how colleges, especially top colleges, view AP scores. I looked at a few schools’ websites and only Harvard really said anything about them. I would not take this to mean that other colleges don’t care about them, though. AP exams tend to strongly favor the affluent (who have AP classes at their schools, and who can afford to take a number of AP exams). For this reason, colleges stay away from talking about them too much,

  7. One source of how colleges in general (not just top colleges) treat AP exam scores is the 2018 NACAC State of College Admissions Report. According to this report, 4.2% of colleges surveyed consider AP scores to be of considerable importance while 28.9% say it is of moderate importance. For perspective, these are most similar to the percentages for extracurricular activities (3.6% considerable importance, 34.9% moderate importance). I am not sure how helpful these numbers are for inferring anything about top colleges, though.

  8. I am not sure exactly how to account for the comments of admissions officers people on this forum have referenced. There could be a number of things going on here. Regardless, what they said does not mean that good AP scores for certain exams are not looked upon positively. Perhaps they don’t find self-studying worthwhile, but that doesn’t mean the end result of a good AP score isn’t valuable.

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The H comment doesn’t say AP scores from self study.

Good AP scores after taking the class, engaging in class. H is also clear that it’s not an AP arms race. And easy AP won’t add to an app.

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In the context of a particular HS’s course offerings, taking AP courses in class and doing well is an indication whether the student challenged himself/herself in more rigorous courses. Self-study outside the classrooms may not be seen that way. Additionally, scores on AP exams generally serve to reinforce the perception of academic rigors, not as substitutes for other academic measures.