<p>From what I've read around the web so far, AP courses are good for two things:</p>
<p>1) Bringing your weighted GPA up
2) Getting a credit after you're admitted</p>
<p>But the overall impression I've gotten is that they don't really factor much into the admission - e.g. a kid with 7 AP courses (exaggeration, I know - but I've seen kids with long strings of 5's in basically every course) doesn't really have any advantage over a kid with 2.</p>
<p>I'm at a public high school in Canada which only offers a few AP courses - is it worth it study for the other exams on my own time? Will the exams themselves bring my GPA up, or is an "AP Course" required for that? I don't even know how Canadian percentage grades get converted into GPA, from what I've read it seems to be a rather arbitrary conversion.</p>
<p>I'm posting this question in the Yale forum because this is the specific university I'm wondering about, but general answers for Ivys or any university would still be appreciated. Thanks.</p>
<p>Taking an AP course shows that the applicant was willing to take the most rigorous class. THAT is very important in Ivy-speak (all colleges).</p>
<p>As for taking the EXAM, but not taking the class - what it would get you is credit at some schools (or “advanced placement” in some subjects/schools). </p>
<p>If your school doesn’t OFFER the classes, but you self study and take the tests, THAT shows you went BEYOND your schools rigor, which is good.</p>
<p>So…the benefit of taking the class - as far as the APPLICATION/admissions is showing rigor in classwork. But in taking the TEST…the benefit is showing you CAN “ace” these tests/subjects. Some schools will even allow you to submit AP test scores instead of SAT/ACT (not many schools, but even some decent but “outside the box” schools like NYU). Oxford (UK) also says you should have 3 SAT IIs over 700 OR 3 APs with a score of 5. So - IF you can get great scores, without the class…it DOES speak to your abilities. Shows you’re testing well at college level.</p>
<p>Depends on what grade you’re in. I self-studied sophomore year and got 5s, and so you can report them. If you do it your senior year though, you can’t report your scores on your application so it doesn’t matter to the colleges except for that fact that you can show you’ve taken initiative. But colleges have no way of knowing how successful you are with your selfstudy if you do it your senior year. Junior year would be fine too.</p>
<p>My school has no such thing as AP courses but each student takes from 6 to 8 AP tests by the time he/she graduates. From what we’ve noticed, it definitely seems to have a positive effect on admissions decisions.</p>
<p>I believe so. AP self-study demonstrates academic initiative to reach beyond any opportunities that are not available or fulfilled within a student’s own curriculum.</p>
<p>Everyone here is so helpful, it’s very encouraging. Thanks so much for the info.</p>
<p>R124687, to clarify - I’m taking all the AP classes available junior year at my school - an impressive grand total of 2 - so the exams are all I can do. But I think we’ve reached a consensus that self-studying can only help - the extra stress from work notwithstanding, I’m pretty sure that’s a tradeoff we all accepted a long time ago X)</p>
<p>Depends on the course too. My son took the AP CS AB exam to demonstrate his knowledge. He had a Java course and an intensive summer course that covered the material, but neither shows up on his high school transcript. That nice little 5 looks good and got him into an upper level CS course in a college, dual enrollment.
Fuzzielogic - colleges will see that your school only offers 2 APs. AP scores will not affect your GPA but schools will be happy to see some extras.</p>
<p>If you’re not pretty darn sure that you’re going to score well, wait until after college admissions. Then take the test, and if you do well you can use it for credit or advanced placement.</p>
<p>My daughter self-studied and took many APs, as the tiny charter school she attended did not offer APs. At some point it was probably overkill. On the other hand, studying for APs might help you prepare for college level work. Echoing Hunt’s advice: my daughter knew that she was likely to score well. Her scores probably helped back up her excellent grades and compensate for her having attended a small charter school where she is the first grad to attend an Ivy.</p>
<p>If a student has a particular interest in an academic course not offered through one’s high school, self-studying for the AP exam in that subject is definitely the best option (if time permits, of course). Self-studying AP exams is personally one of my favorite activities late at night and I am presently studying four this year simply for the sake of fulfilling my own curiosity before college. It’s quite liberating given that one is free from obligatory assignments and capable of determining a suitable pace of study.</p>