<p>I am in 10th grade in all honors courses except for math. I just came to a new school this year, and here, World History is a 9th grade course, and U.S History is a 10th grade course (APUSH, U.S Hist Honors). At my old school, U.S History was a 9th grade course. So since I have already taken U.S Hist Honors last year, I have to take World History Honors this year. So it's sorta switched around... </p>
<p>But I want to have at least one AP under my belt this year. I saw another question on here and they said that it helps people save money for college or something like that. Is that true? If so, how does it work? </p>
<p>2.) Should I self-study AP World History this year as well? Because since I'm already in Honors W.H I guess I'll get a 5. History is one of my best subjects.</p>
<p>3.) Any other APs I should self study for this year? Psych? Micro/Macro? Hmm... My best subjects include History, English, and Foreign Languages. Math is my weakest point and science I'm ok at, I guess. But I like both math and science, and I'm working on improving my ability in those subjects. I'd like to be a veterinarian when I'm older.</p>
<p>I want to go to UPenn, or Dartmouth. Well...any Ivy League, really! :)</p>
<p>IMO, it’s kind of pointless to self study for AP tests (unless your school doesn’t offer any). If you end up getting into an Ivy League school, you’ll most likely not get credit for the tests! All they want to see is that you’ve taken the most rigorous courses available to you. It would be in your best interest to instead study for the SAT Subject test in world history (or other subjects you have a strength in).</p>
<p>No way! I thought that I could get credits for taking the APs. Because at Exeter, I know that they don’t have APs, and the students just take the exams at the end of the year. Are you sure? </p>
<p>And yes!!! That sounds like a fantastic idea. :D</p>
<p>You can get credit for taking AP courses. What I think Lilshowstoppa is trying to say is that if you were to take AP Psychology then you would most likely not get the college credit. </p>
<p>Because you stated you wanted to be a veterinarian you should take courses related to that career, I encourage you to find out more about the college courses needed for the major, and I think you should take science APs like AP Biology. </p>
<p>EDIT: And to reiterate, I suggest you take SAT II exams and take AP exams on subjects you enjoy learning about</p>
<p>Yeah, I mean, when I asked my GC about self-studying APs he replied with “We don’t really do that here. It is strongly not advised. But he have your mother call me.” …<.<
He restricts me from everything that I want to do! </p>
<p>“Can I have honors math?”
“No.” </p>
<p>“Can I have AP Spanish junior year?”
We’ll see. Maybe. But we should wait until senior year so Ms. _______ can see what type of student you are for that year so she can decide."</p>
<p>“AP Exams”
“^” …</p>
<p>Man. Can’t I take them elsewhere? Like at another school?</p>
<p>5 on APUSH exam, or 800 on USH subject test?
same applies for World Hist, because I’m taking that one too. </p>
<p>What about taking the Spanish SAT subject test and if I score really high, …maybe she’ll let me into AP Spanish? I don’t get why she is having second thoughts about it. I have a 95% in the class and score extremely well on tests, …I’m always on time and fly through classwork and homework without a problem. </p>
<p>What if she doesn’t let me into AP Spanish? Can I just take the exam anyway?</p>
<p>Yes you can take the exam at another school, Collegeboard does not care where you take it, but you’ll have to collaborate with the other school.</p>
<p>Also, try not to take too much APs and know that taking more than 3 SAT IIs will not be very beneficial in terms of college admissions. How much is too much? I remember reading a post here in CC where someone who got 5s on 21 APs got rejected from Harvard and other Ivy League colleges. </p>
<p>If you still want to take the AP courses you can try to take the course in a local community college. I’m not sure if the credit you earn will transfer over to a Ivy League school, but if you’re interested you can research more about that. Also, I don’t think all school districts do this, but at least for my school district if one takes courses in a local CC, if a transcript is sent to one’s high school it will count as a course in the transcript, thus boosting GPA. I doubt your GC will approve of this though.</p>
<p>Finally, remember that colleges aren’t only looking for academic rigor. I think you should also consider study for the SAT or work on extracurricular activities.</p>
<p>Wow that’s amazing lol. I will definitely do that in my senior year. I’ll self-study AP Calculus AB. And this year I’ll score well on my PSAT and I’ll show my GC how smart I am :P</p>
<p>If you want to go to Penn, I would just take what your school offers. I didn’t self study any APs in high school and I don’t regret it at all because out of my 9 AP tests I did take (5s on Physics C Mechanics and Electromagnetism, Chemistry, English Lit, English Lang, U.S. History, European History, and Calc BC and a 4 on Spanish), the only helpful ones were Calc BC and Spanish (Physics could have been helpful but I am a physics major so I took honors and lost the credits), the rest were just elective credits. Also, it’s really not strongly recommended to place out of the sciences here (I’m sure at any other top school as well) because they really provide you with a strong background for future courses and are definitely more rigorous than most AP courses in high schools (they differ a lot by school). For example, it seemed like at least half of the kids taking Chem 101 got 5s on the exam, but they still thought the class was hard.</p>
<p>For you, the only thing I would consider looking at would be Econ because that could get you a waiver (at Penn at least) for the intro courses. World History won’t do much at all, psych could get you a waiver. I do recommend you take the Spanish SAT because scoring above a 650 gets you out of 4 semesters of language at Penn and some other schools.</p>
<p>My school provides 7 APs. I’m taking 5 of them, so is that ok? I can’t take U.S Hist because I took that last year, so I’m taking the USH Subject test to make up for it. I’m not taking AP Calculus AB because they won’t let me (instead I’ll graduate with pre-calculus honors…possibly self-study AP Calc AB? Or no?) I’ll try Econ.</p>
<p>Why would you self-study AP Calculus? You said you’re not good at math. Self-studying Calculus wouldn’t be a good idea either. Calculus is Algebra on steroids…I wouldn’t recommend self-studying any AP Math or Math based science for that matter. Just graudate with PreCalc.</p>
<p>The reason that I want to have Calculus is because people keep telling me that if I don’t, my chances are shot when it comes to getting into Dartmouth/UPenn. I mean, I like math, but let’s face the facts here, I’m not a mathematician by any stretch of the imagination. But I try. And I want to show them that by self-studying AP Calculus. But if I fail the exam then that will just be horrible lol.</p>
<p>Take PreCalc (junior year) in the summer, if you REALLY need to. Then when you’re a senior, take Calculus. That’s the only logical advice I can give you. </p>
<p>Hmm you’re only in 10th grade. You have a few years to decide what you really want to do relating to your math. Are you in Geometry? If so, self study that instead of Calculus.</p>
<p>Yes, I am so bad at math that I am in Geometry. But it’s ok, because I show my strengths. I don’t think that everyone has to be math geniuses to get into Penn or Dartmouth, though. </p>
<p>I can’t take pre-calc over the summer and then go into Calc. They won’t let me (what a surprise.) So I have to take it in my senior year (pre-calc.) </p>
<p>But you think I’m ok regarding admissions to Penn?
My extracurriculars include:
Varsity Soccer, Key Club, United Way (reading tutor), Aquarium junior educator, Junior Varsity Volleyball, Varsity Softball, ASPCA (volunteer), Science Olympiads, Astronomy Club, National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society, National Science Honor Society, and shadowing veterinarians. </p>
<p>Don’t have any leadership positions because they’re all taken, lol. I am brand new to the school.</p>
<p>That doesn’t necessarily mean you’re bad at math…</p>
<p>You can’t do that?! That kinda reminds me of my counselors; no sophomores in AP classes!</p>
<p>Can you opt to take an online course?
Maybe you should self-study Algebra II? Algebra II doesn’t have alot of new concepts. It’s more advanced than Algebra I though.</p>
<p>I think your ECs are good. You have varsity sports as well, so that’s a nice addition. I don’t know much about ECs, but that looks like enough for those top colleges you’re looking into.</p>
<p>What you should be “worried” about is ACT and SAT scores. My school curriculum sucks, so getting a 2300+ or 34+ on those tests is not a menial task…</p>
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