My school offers no AP classes and I was wondering if it would be possible for me to self study for eleven AP tests. AP Macro, AP Micro, AP Psych, AP Physics 1, AP Comp Sci, AP Comp Sci Principles, AP Stat, AP BC Calc, AP U.S. Gov’t, AP Human, and AP Enviro. Would it even look good to colleges if I got 7 5s, 3 4s, and a 3?
Most colleges do not like students self-studying APs. However, since your school doesn’t offer them, it would probably show initiative to study a few. I don’t think you need to self-study 11 of them, however- choose ones that are know for being good to self-study (such as AP Human Geo, AP Macro/Micro, AP Psych)
Why?
Your school offers no AP classes. The colleges you apply to will know that and will not expect you to show any AP scores. There is no need whatsoever for you to self-study for any AP exams.
Find something else to do in your spare time.
The only reason to self study APs is if the school you are planning to attend gives credit for them. It could be an inexpensive way to get some general distribution requirements out of the way. Otherwise, you will be judged by admissions office based on what your school offers. If your school doesn’t offer any, they won’t expect any.
Your colleges will know that your schools do not offer APs and will not hold that against you. Colleges use AP scores to grant credit and don’t use them for admissions.
If you really want you can take 2-3 that relate to your field (and you are good at) so you can get credit and not have to take intro courses in colleges.
11 is a waste of time and will, in fact, look negative on your admissions because you will come off as a nerd and not a well-rounded student.
Find an extra-curricular or hobby to occupy your time.
Spend your time getting great grades at your school, studying and doing really well on your standardized tests, and excelling at some interesting ECs. Don’t bother with an AP unless it is something you are super interested in anyway. Colleges don’t want a zillion APs. They want you to take the most rigorous coursework offered at your high school, and beyond that show that you are interested and interesting.
Unless you’re ready to sacrifice all of your time, I wouldn’t do it.
Even then, there’s not much point.
If you want to show proficiency in a few subjects that you have an interest in, study for those
@Proudpatriot Anecdotally for selective colleges-- the advice is don’t do it… At a joint info session of 3 Ivies plus UVA, during the Q&A, an audience member asked about self-studied APs. The UVA rep said they didn’t look highly on it – and the other three reps heartily nodded in agreement. There was no further comment made but clearly, this has been asked before and clearly, the admissions officers didn’t quibble.
On the other hand, I suppose if one is not applying to a very selective school, the AP credits might actually be a positive for advanced standing.
I thought PP was asking why self study 11.
So, why do you want to do this? And why doesn’t your school offer any? Because if, say, it’s because all their courses are already at a high level, you just don’t need to and it can show some misunderstanding of both rigor and what top colleges want to see.
Even asking about self studying 11 suggests you don’t realize what it misses in class time. Also, don’t assume selfing, say, human geo, means you don’t have to take social studies classes at your hs.
Put the effort into learning what colleges want and working on that.
Exactly @lookingforward! Why would anyone want to self study for ELEVEN exams? What a colossal waste of time.
@Zintheon why are you asking about seven 5’s, three 4’s, and a 3 specifically (as opposed to some other distribution of scores)?
Agree with other posters, it would be excessive to study for all those AP courses unless you already knew the material.
Unless your “self study” was some sort of highly rigorous but not labeled as “AP” course in the same subject that you are taking anyway, it does not seem like a good use of time, particularly for the courses that are rarely accepted for subject credit anyway (physics 1, CS A, CS P, ES, HG).
Some of them might be good to self study more for the purpose of seeing how interested you are in the subject than for the AP test (e.g. psychology, CS P, economics) if you might major in those subjects in college but do not have suitable courses available to you in high school. You can tell if the subject may be of interest to you by seeing if reading and studying it is something you eagerly want to do, or if it seems like a chore. But that is not mandatory, since you can just take the introductory course in college (although if the majors are oversubscribed in the colleges you apply to, it may be better to know if you are interested before applying for direct admission to those majors).