<p>Hello,
I am currently a junior in high school. I was wondering how much I have hurt myself by not taking any AP classes this year. My GPA is 3.9 UW and 4.3 W but I am worried the the lack of AP classes this year may hurt my chances for top schools. I was homeschooled both freshman and sophomore years and am currently in a public school. I have taken all honors classes this year and have gotten straight A's. My SAT score is currently a 2050 but I am certain I can bring that up when I take the test again.</p>
<p>I also feel my ECs are strong. They working at a observatory alongside physicists and starting a shopping service for the elderly in my home town.</p>
<p>I am currently scheduled to take the following classes next year:
AP Calc AB
AP Calc BC
AP Physics 1
AP Physics 2
AP English IV
AP Environmental Science
Honors Civics and Economics
Honors US History 2
Honors Spanish 3</p>
<p>I will have 6 APs next year and am very confident in my ability to excel in them. However, I fear the the lack of any this year will decrease my chances to get into top schools such as Cornell, UPenn, and Carnegie Mellon. I plan to major in astrophysics.</p>
<p>One thing in my favor is that my school is on a block schedule where we take 4 classes per semester (ending in early January). By the time I apply, I will be mostly done with my first set of classes. Hopefully my grades will ease any apprehensions the schools may have.</p>
<p>Is there anything else I can do at this point that can make up for the lack of APs this year? Would taking college courses over the summer help? I live very close to UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State.</p>
<p>Any help would be appreciated,
Thanks </p>
<p>What are the reasons why you did not take AP classes until Senior year? Did the school not let you, is it common practice to only allow seniors to take AP, did you have the option but not take it?</p>
<p>Universities will have in mind the honors culture at your school and that will help them determine whether or not your sufficiently challenged yourself.</p>
<p>I think it is okay if you were testing the waters in your first year of traditional classroom it is understandable and you did take honors. It would have been good to test the waters with one but… They will see your first semester grades so don’t take more than you can handle, those will be important. </p>
<p>Why are you taking AB and BC? These one year classes are usually not both taken, although I have seen it here in different years. Usually you do one or the other. The first half of BC covers the entire AB so it doesn’t make sense to take both concurrently. You will already have had the material in first semester BC by the time you are covering it second semester AB. It isn’t just a list to be ticked off or a ‘how many APs?’ game, make some sense of it.</p>
<p>If that is due to your school policy, it is fine. If you are taking classes with less rigor, the admission officers may not like it. However, most schools would consider honors classes as advanced level classes too. So I think you may be okay although not perfect.</p>
<p>I did not understand the weight of AP classes as opposed to honors until it was too late to change my schedule. I am looking into taking a college class at Duke University this summer in addition to a two week research program I am attending with them. My high school shows AB and BC Calc as paired courses that must be taken together with AB first. I will have to talk to my counselor and ask how the courses are structured.</p>
<p>Your guidance counselor should be able to explain that junior year was your first year in formal high school, and that this accounts for lack of APs. I should think that would be enough.</p>
<p>FYI – Most colleges would consider your above schedule as 4 AP classes (AB/BC just count as AP Calculus and Physics 1 and 2 just counts as AP Physics – assuming that the combination of the paired classes is equivalent to a one year AP class in calculus and physics).</p>
<p>Due to your homeschooling history, it might be overlooked with an explanation from your counselor and strong letters of recommendation. </p>
<p>Likewise, it seems to me that colleges are really looking for homeschoolers to show how their untraditional education made a unique difference in their lives. So if there’s a unique passion that you’ve been able to pursue and excel at precisely because of the freedom that homeschooling gave you, be sure to play that up in your essays. </p>
<p>Also, you could try taking the SAT subject tests in many of the courses that you’ve only done honors in. I’ve seem many college websites stress the importance of homeschoolers to do additional SAT subject tests as a way for them to gauge the strength of their educational curriculum compared to others nationally. </p>
<p>You could also try taking the AP exams of courses that you only did Honors in – a score of 4 or 5 in an AP course would probably carry equal weight as taking the class. This is good advice for anyone else in your situation who is younger or taking a gap year. In your particular case, it isn’t practical because I think that the registration period for the AP exams is over.</p>
<p>Yes, taking college courses from UNC-CH and doing well in them would help, especially in STEM or coursework related to your major.</p>
<p>On a general note, since you were homeschooled your first two years of HS, test scores come much more into play, as they are the only “standard” colleges have to go by in evaluating your application. Being only partially homeschooled complicates the issue, but many test-optional schools do require ACT/SAT results from homeschooled applicants.</p>
<p>Your college counselor will indicate to colleges as to whether your course load was ‘most rigorous’ for your school. They basically check off a box. So ask your college counselor what they are going to rate your course load and if it’s not the top designation then ask them to explain your unique situation in their recommendation.</p>
<p>If you want to get in reach schools like Cornell or Carnegie Mellon I would recommend investing in SAT prep or private tutoring to aim for a 700+ in every section if possible. Plus go for 780-800 for Subject II tests. You still might not get in but at least you will have a shot. Good luck!</p>
<p>Many schools will require additional SAT2 scores from home schooler. However, the OP has Junior/Senior from a regular high school, so I am not sure if it is required. Anyway, it would not hurt to submit good SAT2 scores.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses. I will be taking the upcoming May SAT and I am confident I should be able to get a better score. I will also be taking the Math 2 and Chemistry SAT2 tests in June as I will be finishing both honors pre-calc and honors chemistry at the same time. This should be very helpful because my finals for both subjects are the week before the SAT2. I am also looking into taking a college course at Duke University over the summer. Since I only took honors US History, would it be worth also taking the US History SAT2 to demonstrate my knowledge of the material for colleges?</p>