<p>It's towards the end of my junior year, and I have this really nasty, guilty feeling about taking only 2 APs and 1 AS this year. While going thru CC, and envying all the people who took 123048498 APs in their fresh/soph yrs, I stopped and thought- there MUST be a way I can make my college app look as good as theirs' by next fall. Self-studying a handfull of ASs and sitting for them at the british council for the nov session ought to look pretty good right? then doing the A-2s the following summer?
oh and the Novemeber testing scores usally come out sometime in jan, but most US uni deadlines fall in dec-jan...would it look bad if I send my AS scores after the application process has already started?
Tell me what you guys think...</p>
<p>I take it that you are an international student. Take this question to the counselors at the closest office of EducationUSA. [Educational</a> Advising Centers ? EducationUSA](<a href=“http://eca.state.gov/educationusa/centers/]Educational”>http://eca.state.gov/educationusa/centers/) They are the experts on helping students in your country get into good colleges and universities in the US.</p>
<p>My gut feeling would be that self-study for AS and A-2 exams would be a waste of your time for US colleges and universities if you are currently in an international school that follows the US model. One thing that you need to know is that the students who post here at CC report taking a number of AP courses that is very unusual for most students in the US. This is a very special set of people. All of my nieces and nephews have gotten into colleges where they have been very happy, and only one took any AP courses (just one AP in fact, and that in her senior year).</p>
<p>Happymomof1,
I understand where you are coming from, but aren’t the students on CC, although unusual, also more likely to get into more competitve universities than the average student due to their competitive study habits?
My school follows both the US model and the british model, offering both a-level and ap subjects to students. However; most of the a-level subjects offered in our school were pretty dull (chem, calc, stat) and im a humanities student anyway so I dont take those subjects in the first place. lol…which is why I considered self-studying humanities AS/A-l subjects. Although you’re right that self-studying may be a waste of time and would probably distract me from my school work, there aren’t really that many college-prep subjects offered in our school’s arts section…so I’m worried that when it comes to applying to colleges next year it would look bad that I have taken so little aps…or would they take the school curriculum into account?
HAHA i just reread my post and I sound really nervous lol.
I’m going to check wuth educationUSA once it’s morning again here…thank you for leading me to them…and thanks again for your response! 
anyone else? any suggestions?</p>
<p>The admissions committees do absolutely take your school curriculum into account. If you are clearly a humanities student, and have taken advantage of the toughest courses available in the humanities, that is good enough.</p>
<p>There is no way for us to know for certain if the more neurotic sounding posters here are actually getting into “more competitive” colleges and universities. Let alone whether they actually graduate and go on to lead fulfilling, productive lives! This is an anonymous board. Anyone can say whatever they want. Even you and me.</p>