Is learning AP material through an internship worth it?

Applying to College
1

Hello all:
I am reaching the end of my junior year and beginning the long process of determining my college future. One of my main concerns at this moment is my AP course load. My school offers a lot of APs, but I have had some scheduling conflicts that have prevented me from taking as many as some of my classmates. When all is said and done, I will have 10 APs to my resume (including one in which I will self-study). A few of my classmates have a few more (though their grades are not as spectacular).

However, I have been offered to assist part-time in a biology lab over the summer. I contacted Collegeboard and they said that I could use that experience to show that I have been exposed to the AP Bio and AP Chem curriculums. Now, I will not be getting college credit unless I take the exam, but it can be something I can attach to my resume.

My question is this: would that be a good addition to my resume? Would it look better than taking an AP class in a school environment? I am not yet sure if I will take the exams, but could it be a bit of a boost for my admissions chances?

Schools I’m interested in: Dartmouth, Colby, Bates, Hamilton, and a few safeties
GPA: 4.86/5
Class rank: Top 5/450

2

I have no idea what your internship has to do with AP Bio or AP Chem and neither will colleges.

3

How that will supposedly work is that the company I work for will provide a statement that will explain what I did during the internship and how it relates to the AP Bio and AP Chem curriculum.

4

This is an EC. Don’t confuse the issue by trying to make it something it’s not.

Colleges won’t care. Talk about the internship, but don’t try to weave the AP curriculum into the conversation.

5

Sounds to me like CollegeBoard trying to collect more testing fee $$$. But hey, I am just another cynical millennial.

6

Anything they can do to make a buck, it seems they will do.

7

I am aware that it’s all a business.

I think I may have phrased my question oddly; I wrote it in a bit of an anxiety episode. What I am trying to ask is if taking that internship could serve as a cushion for not taking AP bio or AP chem? I don’t want to outright say I was exposed to those curriculums on my transcript. I was just wondering that if colleges could see that I participated in the internship that they could possibly say “Well he didn’t take AP Bio or Chem, but he did this internship, so we could cut him a bit of slack.” I am taking AP Environmental next year, but solely on the basis that it is my intended major in college. I don’t have room to put the other two in my schedule.

8

I think the internship is a good EC. It will show your interest in the sciences.

9

I still confused as to why you contacted Collegeboard and what their response means.

10

That will be never be said by an AO. There are no offsets. Your schedule will be evaluated based upon what is offered by your school. If your counselor rates your schedule as “most rigorous” few AO’s are going to delve any deeper. So the question really needs to be posed to your counselor.

That said, 9 AP’s (I’m not counting the self study and neither will AO’s) is more than sufficient, particularyly if students attemping more are not doing as well. No college will expect or want a student to try to jam in 3 AP science courses into one year. Now, whether taking AP Bio or AP Chem is better than whatever else is clogging your schedule is a different question. If you truly have a scheduling conflict that is not of your own making (e.g. trying to jam in AP Calc and AP Stats and AP CS concurrently) then the GC can explain it on the Secondary School Report. If the conflict is of your own making, well then you need to justify your decision and let the chips fall where they may. Good luck.