necessity of APs

<p>is it necessary to give APs to be considered for harvard? m an international student and my school doesn't offer any AP classes. I have got a 2400 in sat, 800 each in SATII maths level 2,, biologyE and world history and i intend major in economics. what r my chances at yale and MIT????????? plzzzzzzz help.</p>

<p>no you have to take the most rigorous classes at your school. APs just happen to be the most rigorous classes at many US schools.</p>

<p>my school follows the following curriculum-
we have to choose between pure sciences or pure social sciences and accordingly we have classes. we have no such rigorous classes, I have taken hist, polsci, geo and econ.
what else should i do to get into harvard???</p>

<p>In response to “what else should i do to get into harvard???”, maybe consider involvement in local competitions and organizations (if your local area has some). Awards and positions in community organizations show passion outside of the classroom and are what help admissions officers choose students when many applicants are academically qualified. Additionally, write unique essays about topics that are important to you. If English isn’t your first language, don’t worry too much about grammar, as admissions officers take that into account. However, if possible, have someone proficient in English review your essay and give feedback as oftentimes improper grammar can make it difficult for the reader to interpret the meaning of a sentence. </p>

<p>I just posted this on another thread, but I guess it bears repeating.</p>

<p>College’s do not penalize student’s if their school doesn’t offer AP or honors courses, nor do they expect students to self study for AP courses if their high school doesn’t offer them.</p>

<p>On the other hand, if your high school offers many AP courses, colleges expect students to take many AP’s, as it demonstrates that you are challenging yourself – and everything is relative. At Boston Latin High School, for example, students are limited to taking 3 AP courses a year in only their junior and senior years. So, selective colleges looking at Boston Latin students expect them to have taken the maximum load of 6 AP courses. On the other hand, if a student attended Stuyvesant High School, 6 AP’s would be considered a light load because the top 10% of students take 8 to 9 AP’s and the top 1% of students take 10 or more AP’s.</p>

<p>For most colleges, AP’s count towards “course rigor” but are not a factor in admissions. However, Harvard is on record as saying

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<p>gibby, have u got the last para on harvard from some official website or discussion???
if so then, what AP tests would u reccomend for me if I say I wanna major in economics?</p>

<p>YPM: harvard doesn’t care what you state your intended major is to be – so whatever APs you may consider aren’t relevant. Based on your test scores, your searching for MORE tests to show ability in some area would be a waste of time. MORE great scores will NOT get you into Harvard, MIT or Yale – but the other features. Stop chasing more tests. It will no longer help you (b/c you’ve already attained excellent standing in that area)</p>