would it make sense to try and self-study for a couple of AP tests to make up for...

Test Preparation AP Test Preparation
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<p>okay, so i'm a rising junior and my school has very few AP classes, and they're only for seniors. but here's my dilemma: </p>

<p>—i took 1/1 honors in 9th grade, 0/2 in 10th, and most likely 2/6 in junior year (<em>i was eligible for five of the six after making straight As, mostly +s the entire year—i dropped honors math after 9th grade bc i floundered—but my advisor told me it would NOT be a good idea to go from no honors to five</em>. i signed up for three, possibly 4, but i only got two and i'm afraid it looks BAD.)</p>

<p>—i feel like at this point, i'm screwed for my lack of honors. i'm a really hard-working, good student who's not a slacker by any means, though. i had a rough transition from grade school to a tough prep school, so that's why i messed up (not too badly but enough to drop honors math) in honors alg freshman year. i was close to getting into honors chem in soph year but ended up with a B in physics freshman year. but during sophomore year i did really well. </p>

<p>—colleges won't know that i did well enough to take all honors but one but couldn't fit them in my schedule. it looks like i chose to just take two (and one of them is ONLY A SEMESTER!), like i chose to not challenge myself. and it sucks because there's really nothing i can do about it, is there? i emailed the school about changing my regular bio (which i nixed in favor of honors lit/honors history, but i didn't get either of them!) to honors but i haven't got a reply yet and it is HIGHLY unlikely. </p>

<p>my main question is: do you think it would make sense for me to study for a couple AP tests to boost my app? i'm really not aiming for ivy-like schools, at all. i like schools like case western, northeastern, umiami (big reach with my rigor, ik :/) and want to be competitive for those. </p>

<p>do you think trying to self study would benefit me in any way/would it be a waste of time? or do i just have no chance at schools like that anymore?</p>

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<p>self-studying AP’s might be alright, but see if your adviser has a connection with your state’s “virtual school” or ask about FLVS, look for the thread on it here on CC</p>

<p>You would be able to take an extra AP course online during the year, in something you’re truly interested it. </p>

<p>You haven’t taken the more rigorous course load and this could be a minus one of two ways:</p>

<p>You’re top 5% of your class (shows school is very rough on honors as shown in school profile)
You’re higher than top 40% of your class ← very uncompetitive range. </p>

<p>Work on the ACT/SAT for when you apply to schools that are test/stats heavy an admin can go “great” he got a 2200/33!</p>

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<p>I would self-study just to show that you are motivated to work hard.</p>

<p>I would also work on taking more honors classes or trying to fit them in as well as boosting your standardized test scores.</p>