I’m a rising sophomore in a New York public school, and I never seriously considered self studying APs until going onto this site, as people at my school don’t really do it (as far as I know) and my school offers many AP classes. I read posts by some people who have studied numerous APs, and I was surprised that I hadn’t heard much about it. I’m a competitive student and am aiming for a top school, so I have thought about self studying AP psychology, US government and/or environmental science. Is it bad if I self study APs that are offered in my school? I don’t have enough room in my schedule for them, so I this would be the only way to take them anyway. I saw a reply to another thread that said that the number of APs you take are not taken into account when colleges review your application, but I’m don’t think that’s true. Is it worth it? Will it really improve my college application?
Why are you self-studying in the first place? Self-studying adds next to nothing on a transcript. Colleges have already pointed out that admissions isn’t a matter of the number of AP’s you have. You should only self study if you need college credit, you’re passionate about the subject, and it is not offered at your school. Colleges want to see you doing better in your free time. If you only want to take a course online because of its AP status I suggest you not. It really doesn’t do you any good unless it’s a course pertaining to one of your interests or what you plan to major in in college.
The only reason to self study and take and AP is if you are attending a school that gives credit for it or applying ot a school that requires AP scores for foreign students (UK schools for the most part)
APES is rarely granted credit and AP Psych is not very highly regarded either.
US Government is required for graduation in most states, so if the AP is an option, just take the AP class.
APES isn’t worth the time honestly. AP Psych I don’t believe is well regarded internationally but I do know that many good schools like USC (california) accept it as an intro to psych credit. If the subjects interest you, go for it! Just remember that you don’t have to kill yourself self-studying so many APs out of fear of not being good enough. This website can be toxic sometimes, so try not to pay attention to all those chance threads with kids self-studying 300 APs.
It’s definitely possible to get into amazing schools without being in 30 APs. I know some kids who just graduated who got into ivies and were not even in the top 25% of the class by GPA, but I’m also in a private school with around 60 kids in a grade. It’s more important that you develop yourself and your skills as a person instead of thinking that taking another 3 APs outside of school will improve your chances. You can end up taking 20 APs throughout high school, but not one of those AP tests will write your college essays for you. College is more than just numbers; you actually have to be a person to be accepted (surprise!).
Well, think what you want, but it’s not true. Many HS’s offer few AP courses, either for pedagogical reasons or economic reasons, and their kids get into top schools. No college is impressed by a student who self-studies AP’s; they’d prefer that you take the most rigorous course load wishing the context of your school. Additionally, even if your HS offers 30 AP’s, no college would expect you to take them all. Finally, the HS students here on CC are not a representative subject of college-bound HS students.
Your question is often asked. Here’s a recent thread – good info inside:
Pay attention to post #5…
This topic comes up all the time and I agree with most of what others have said, but not all of it. I think self-studying APs can occasionally help strengthen an application, but I think the impact is specific. Case in point, my D self-studied AP psych as a junior, took the exam and got a 5. She made it very clear on her app that she is most likely going to major in Psychology, and her school doesn’t offer the course. (If the school had offered the course, there would be no reason to self-study.) My D did very well in the admissions process and I definitely think that showing the discipline to seriously study a subject and get the top grade on an exam did nothing but help her application. I am sure it was a minor consideration, but I find it hard to believe it was ignored.
I also totally disagree with @VickiSoCal that AP psych is not highly regarded. My D in fact contacted a professor at her (highly regarded) college and asked if she should take Psych 101, explaining the circumstances. The professor was majorly impressed. Not everyone wants to study physics and chem.
@skieurope , do you not think that sometimes self studying CAN be helpful? 
@Lindagaf I think it’s a fine line. Your daughter clearly chased after the course b/c of an inherent hunger to learn – and it was corroborated in other areas of her app. The tippy top colleges are wary of the test taking drone who seems to only relish blandishment of resume/transcript and GPA. The colleges don’t want to contribute to the “arms race” mentality that some kids feel is required to be a viable applicant.
To the OP, I’d say look at your options – are there interesting ECs that you’d rather devote yourself to more? If so, then do those and eschew the self-studied AP courses.
It can be different when the student has a specific academic interest and the course isn’t offered in the hs. That can look industrious, curious, motivated, etc. Depends. But many other kids go for psych and govt because they’re usually one semester and they think it’s an easy “add.” Or APES, not known for being particularly strenuous.
But OP, they are just not looking for you to stuff your record with more and more AP. The important classes will be those related to your possible major and the cores. Bad enough when a kid adds in random AP classes just to make some high number. Not so great when it looks like, just to get that high count, he’d choose to skip the classroom experience.
Instead, “develop yourself and your skills as a person,” and use the time to explore your college targets in depth, know what they really want, not just what your peers or CC kids think they do.
@lindagaf Yes, and your example is a good one. If a student has a thirst for knowledge in a subject not offered by the school, go ahead and self study. If the student plans to go to a state school that gives AP credits like candy, go ahead and self study. However, that was not the question the OP asked; s/he’s clearly looking for validation that self studying a bunch of AP’s will improve the application, and I firmly believe that it will not. Few schools are looking for pure academic drones with nothing better to do with their time.
Edited to add: This topic has also come up on the fallacies thread:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/19868209/#Comment_19868209
Agree. Huge difference between a deep dive in to one subject that interests a student and just cramming in as many AP tests as possible.
My kids’ high school does not allow you to take the AP test unless you take the class, so a moot point for us.
I wouldn’t self study anything unless it’s not offered at your school, and it is something you are really interested in–like your potential major. Otherwise I suspect admissions officers will just roll their eyes. I would. Your selection of “easy” APs does not inspire confidence…
Looking at this another way, my kid self-studied Physics C in the spring of her senior year. Why? Because she had time then, she wanted to learn it and our school doesn’t offer it. Ask yourself, would you still do this as a second semester senior, knowing that it would not appear on your application? Or are you resume padding?
You say your school offers many AP classes. What’s wrong with taking them?
Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the advice! I am unfortunately guilty of wanting to “pad” my application, but a subject that I’m truly passionate about is AP psychology. @mathyone I think that it’s a class that I would take as a senior even if it didn’t show up on my applications, as I have always been interested in it. That’s a really good way to look at it! The main reason I won’t be able to take certain APs is that my schedule may not have space, but I will speak to my guidance counselor when school starts. Thanks again for your feedback! I really had the wrong idea about self studying APs.
If your school has a program where you can take college classes during high school, I would highly recommend doing that instead. I took a lot of AP’s while in high school, and while I don’t necessarily regret it, I didn’t find it useful at all after moving on to college. I have the feeling they didn’t “pad” my application much, and it was certainly more difficult to get credit for the AP classes than it would have been to get transfer credit from a community college or local university. Besides, there is a significant difference between taking an AP class and taking a true college class - you’ll probably get more usable experience through programs like PSEO.
Good luck with whatever you choose!
self study out of:
- interest
- save money
- your AP class sucked and you still want to take the test
but I don’t know about your geographic/school circumstances, but not all schools will administer AP’s they don’t offer/are very reluctant and the process can often make it not worth it. but if there’s a particular subject offered at your school that you might not have the schedule space to take, but you have a lot of interest, it doesn’t hurt.
self-studying AP’s definitely isn’t a “hook”, but it doesn’t hurt your application and can somewhat show that you can handle challenging course and curriculums…but mainly AP’s serve to make your courseload more difficult to prove you can handle college level courses…so if they aren’t on your transcript in that form, their weight is lower.