I would like to talk as many related AP exams as I can. Which exams are known to be the easiest to self study for, or at least the most self-explanatory without a teacher?
What are your academic strengths and weaknesses, and how much time do you have outside of school?
Your time would be better spent doing as well as you can in your classes and participating in ECs.
None. You should take the class.
If you are already completely fluent in a language (or in Java, in the case of CompSci) and know you can get a 5 on the corresponding test without being taught in person, you might want to take the AP to show your fluency. I’ve heard AP Psych is nearly entirely memorization-based, if you’re interested in it.
But aside from that, if your sole motivation for taking 20 AP exams is to look good to colleges (which it sounds like it is), please don’t. Colleges are looking for engagement and passion, and by that metric - as long as you have the GPA/SAT/ACT/course rigor to back up your academic prowess - there are many extracurricular things you could be spending your time doing that would look better to colleges than time spent studying for tests on random subjects you don’t otherwise show an interest for. If you’re already passionate about a subject you wouldn’t otherwise have time to take at school and want to take the AP test for it to show your interest, then that’s a different story.
Ask yourself why you are self-studying for AP tests
- Love to learn - great! Take the classes in your HS if possible but otherwise go ahead.
- Want college credit? Fine…but make sure it is not at the expense of your regular HS courses or ECs
- AP Scholars award with distinction…this is cool and all…but is not useful for college admissions
- College Admissions…doesn’t help. Many people take AP tests senior year after they are already admitted. Colleges don’t generally take AP scores into account. They take your GPA/SAT into account