<p>I am currently a Sophomore and am taking 2 AP's during the school year (World and Euro). I am fairly confident in my ability that I am going to get a 5 if not a 4 on both. I want to make my resume stand out and have selected 6 AP's that seem to be easy enough that they won't ruin my school year:
-AP United States Government and Politics
-AP Comparative Government and Politics
-AP Macroeconomics
-AP Microeconomics
-AP Psychology
-AP Environmental Science</p>
<p>I was wondering which, if any, I should take and if it would be a good idea. Thanks for any suggestions ahead of time.</p>
<p>I concur with the above post … why self study just to make your resume “stand out” what would make it stand out much much more is if you put the time you would be spending self study into something like your EC’s … instead of wasting time self studying get more hours or a volunteer position at some place … but that’s my opinion</p>
<p>I have nothing against self-studying, but the posts above me do make a valid point. Though it can be useful if you want some extra college credit, schools rarely look at your AP scores for anything but that - they care more about the rigor of the courses you actually took. Try boosting up your extracurriculars or getting some community service hours.</p>
<p>That said, perhaps you have a better work ethic than I do, but six exams seems a little excessive. If you do decide to self-study, I recommend trimming that list some.</p>
<p>If one really exceeds what the school can offer, self-studying AP would be good for two reasons. First is to achieve a higher level of AP Scholar. For most students, it is not likely to take 8 AP classes at school by the end of Junior year. So if one want to get a National AP scholar title before college application, he/she may need to self study some. Second, the main purpose of AP exam is for placement and college credit. That may translate into cost saving for college. If there are subjects not available or has time conflict at your high school, self-studying would be one way to go.
Again, one need to be a student with high performance at school to consider that. If by self-studying AP and your school grades or your standardized test scores suffered, it is really not worth do that as it would hurt your chance in college application.</p>
<p>I can’t help but feel like many here are reasoning against self-studying in order to “undermine their competition”. No one really knows for sure how much AP scores weigh in college application. In theory, having many self-studied AP scores should help because they show that you’re determined and capable of succeeding independently. Then again, many argue against that logic, saying colleges want to see that you’re able to complete a full-year worth of work and do well in school. It’s really hard to know how much self-studied AP’s or the AP Scholar with Distinction help you stand out.</p>
<p>lol i gave the advice that i think most makes sense. i think you should spend your time after school demonstrating qualities that you can’t in academic school classes. you have the whole school day to show your competency for studying. that’s what school is for. it seems like dedication to an EC that’s original and shows what your school record can’t is more flattering than an ap scholar award.</p>
<p>Look. There are only 10 spots in CommonApp for self reporting AP scores and you don’t submit AP scores for college application purpose. AP scores are not that important for college application. It would be treated like additional subject tests at most. One very important reason is that, many schools do not even offer more than a handful of AP classes particularly in small towns. It cannot be used as a universal criteria for judgement.
Taking AP classes in school, however, shows your course rigorous which is more important for admission.
There is no disadvantage of self studying AP as long as the more important things (GPA, SAT/ACT scores, and quality EC) for applications are not affected.</p>
<p>Idk if it ever was officially said by any college but I know a lot colleges (by a lot I mean all the 8 im applying to, and some others that my friends are applying to) and all of the schools do not even require me to send AP scores to them for the initial admission decision … so if colleges do not require AP exam scores for the initial admission decision I would be willing to bet a hefty amount that AP scores play a very minimal role in admissions.
and plus lets say he really does want to show colleges that he can learn and succeed independently self studying one (maybe 2 if you feel like) would accomplish that goal </p>
<p>Or even if you just want to show a bigger course load, take an AP class online.</p>
If you want to know how scores weigh in in admissions, ask the college! They have no reason to lie to you. All we’re doing here is guessing.</p>
<p>A student taking a challenging academic load at their HS has no need to self-study to pile on the APs. If you like supporting CB, they’ll take your money, but it is not to your advantage. If you want to know if HYP look favorably on AP scholar, ask them – they’ll tell you. If you think that trying to become an AP scholar primarily benefits College Board, you win a kewpie doll!</p>
<p>First: Take the ones that will get you off of the most general education. Then the ones with the most units if you can up your class standing.</p>
<p>The benefits of loading self-study:
I’m a “freshman” with second semester junior standing and will be a “senior” next semester. I’ll have top of the line priority except for the graduating seniors next semester at a school impacted in the lower division / lesser selective, heck they are the nicest when it comes to AP credit (71 semester units) w/ 6 additional transfer units, plus a ton of GEs were killed :D</p>
I was not really considering taking all 6 in 1 year, I was asking which (if any) I should take and how I would go about doing it.
I put in 10 hours of community service a week due to key club, Student Council, and numerous other things, so this is not a problem.
I have a lot of EC’s that I also work on like Latin Club Treasurer, StuCo Vice-President, NHS Chief of Staff member, Varsity Baseball, Summer Job, and some other things.
I also personally just like learning in general the more I know, the more I can understand.
I also like the idea if taking AP’s can help finances for college cause I do not want to be in greater debt due to lack of studying during high school.</p>
<p>This is all I have to add at this point in time.</p>
if you just want to show a bigger course load, take an AP class online.</p>