Should I take AP tests?

Test Preparation AP Test Preparation
1

<p>I am in a bit of a sticky situation. </p>

<p>My school does not offer AP classes nor AP tests. However, I have been taking Calculus at school and supplementing it to fill the AB curriculum, and I have been doing the same for Physics (B), and US History. I have also been taking AP Biology at Johns Hopkins Online. </p>

<p>However, my advisor is explaining to me that taking the AP tests at a different school would be a hassle, and that a bad score would hurt my application more than a good score could help it. We have had kids get into schools like Harvard and MIT from my school, and I am 99% sure they did not take AP tests.</p>

<p>So my question is: Will taking the AP tests make a difference? What if I don't do well since my classes don't teach the AP curriculum? But I have heard that taking the APs shows initiative if my school doesn't offer them...</p>

<p>Help!</p>

2

<p>If your school does not offer AP tests/classes, you will not be penalized in the least. Colleges want you to take advantage of your environment, and you can’t help it if you are not offered AP courses. Really, it’s not the AP scores that count, but the AP courses/tests (the challenging curriculumn over the entire year). You want to be taking the most rigorous courses at your HS, whatever that means.</p>