Major dilemma: senioritis strikes the AP self study

Test Preparation AP Test Preparation
1

<p>Simply put, on my college applications I listed that I was planning to self study AP Italian, AP Art History, AP US History, and AP Music Theory. In addition, I will be taking AP Euro, AP Spanish Language, and AP English Lit because I am enrolled in the courses.</p>

<p>I have been accepted to a handful of these schools. My question is: how ticked off would these colleges be if I decided to cut out AP Italian and AP music theory from this list? I am a fluent speaker of Italian (primary language spoken in my house) but its mainly slang and my parents say my grammar is terrible (I never knew there was even a formal "you" or a subjunctive mood). I can hold a conversation easily but as a senior don't really want to take the time to learn proper grammatical structures to succeed. </p>

<p>Secondly, I played saxophone for 3 years and though AP music theory would be a doable test. Boy was I wrong. It looks like murder. I honestly don't feel like spending the last 2 months of my senior year working my ass off to get a 2 or 3. I know basic theory as is, but no where near the level required for the AP test. </p>

<p>Art history and US history I think I can manage. I took the AP US class last year but kept getting sick and never actually got around to taking it. AP Art seems doable.</p>

<p>Do you think I should bite the bullet and self study music theory and italian b/c I listed them as senior year self studies, or do you think these colleges (harvard, MIT, princeton, caltech) won't care?</p>

2

<p>I would call the admissions department and notify them about your dilemma and see what they have to say about it.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the response. In general, does anybody have any insight into what they may say? I would rather save myself the embarrassment of calling if its no big deal or if they say “of course you need to follow through.” For most colleges, are the senior self study courses much of a factor in the decisions process?</p>

<p>Any response is immensely appreciated.</p>

4

<p>I doubt they would knock you down for those two classes. Neither is a core, and I’m guessing the language AP credit would maybe fulfill an elective college credit (you should already be able to fulfill the language requirement with an entrance exam if you’re fluent). But that said, you may as well notify the admissions office (it wouldn’t hurt, anyway).</p>

5

<p>Thanks. I guess I’m only afraid that if I do so, they may come back and say we are revoking your admissions decision. I know this is an extreme case, but I’d be more than willing to buckle down and study these two courses if it was contingent on my acceptance. Otherwise, I don’t have much motivation and would prefer to enjoy my last months as a senior. Does this make sense? I don’t want to work my ass off for nothing (since some of these schools offer barely to no credit for 5s).</p>