The high school I am at does not offer AP classes. It is a private school. The classes are hard but do not prepare you for the AP tests so most students like me end up not taking very many AP classes. I want to apply to BS/MD and BA/MD programs. Will this reflect badly on me that I did not take AP tests when my school does not offer them?
Admissions counselors that I have spoken with are more concerned about whether you too advantage of the opportunities that you had available. Someone who attended a large comprehensive HS with dozens of AP offerings and took no AP classes would get a more critical look than say someone from a small rural school that didn’t have those opportunities.
That said, it is a question I would ask the admissions counselor of any school you applied to and perhaps your admissions packet could include a letter from a school administrator explaining the rigor of your curriculum and why they didn’t follow recognized advanced curriculums like AP or IB. No doubt you are not the first college-bound student your school has produced.
Many highly ranked independent schools across the U.S. do not offer AP courses. Your school will have a comprehensive profile for colleges that outlines the curriculum offered at your school and you will not be at a disadvantage for not taking what is not offered.
You may still be able to take AP exams and you can find our what percentage of students at your schools sit for the exams, which ones, and average score from your school counselor. From this info, you can decide if you would like to sit for any of the exams with independent studying on your part.
As mentioned by the previous poster, it is more important to take full advantage of what your school does offer.
Thank you all. My school is an independent school that has the same rigor as the AP classes, but I have not taken nearly as many AP Tests as the typical BS/MD candidates. I’ve taken AP World History and I’m planning to take AP Chemistry. But my school doesn’t offer the ones that a lot of other kids take applying to the BS/MD’s like Human geography or English language.