Is Self-Studying for AP Exams worth it?

Hey , so i got to a small school which only offers 2 ap courses senior year. I self-studied AP Bio sophomore Year and got a 4. This year I was going to study for AP Chem and AP Psychology but I’m not doing well at all. The chanced of me doing well on the exams are very very low. I want to apply to BS/MD programs. Will this hurt me? How much would it help if I did well on the exams?

It will not hurt you because you don’t have to report the scores if you don’t do well. Colleges will not expect that you have taken AP exams not offered by your school and do not penalize students who do not have APs available. But for such selective programs they will want to see that you have pushed your self academically and reached out for opportunities. However you can you must show that.

You’re not required to send AP scores. However if you took the corresponding class, the general consensus is that you’re highly recommended to do so.

In my opinion, it really depends on how much time you are spending to self-study and what you could you the time to do instead. While it self-studying generally looks pretty good because it shows initiative, you have to consider the lost opportunity cost of what else you could have used the time to do.

It will not ‘hurt’ your chances if you choose not to self-study (what your school offers will be taken into account). If you don’t have time, don’t bother or just focus on one of them. It might show a little initiative to self-study, but it’s not really a huge deal - certainly nothing worth sacrificing your grades for.