Hey guys, let me tell you a little bit about my situation. I am currently a sophomore and I’m going to be a junior in September. I have taken 0 AP classes due to completing all the pre-requisites during my first two years. Next year, I will be taking AP Chem, AP Language and Composition, and AP Computer Science. I applied for the APUSH class but was not able to secure a spot. The APUSH class at my school is really hard to get into primarily because there are 85 kids who take AP World History who automatically get into APUSH and that leaves only 5 spots available to other students. Bottomline, I was not able to get in.
I have thought about taking an online APUSH course that is accredited by College Board. I was wondering how colleges will look at my situation and how they will perceive it. Is it a good thing that I took it upon myself to take the online course ? Will me taking APUSH online rather than in school because of how hard it is to gain access to APUSH in school benefit me in the long run or not? Thanks
This is the mindset that we need more of. Students that go beyond. If you’re interested in United States History, take the course, get the 5 on the exam. Colleges do recognize that.
This is a good plan ONLY if
1° your school accepts to put the online class on your transcript
AND
2° your GC accepts to explain in your SSR/rec that you couldn’t take the class due to the school’s organization and selection system.
APUSH is not a magic talisman, and not taking it won’t be why you don’t get into any particular college. Colleges that are looking for rigor will look at your overall course list, and look at what your GC says about how rigorous your course load is compared to what was possible for you to take. Go talk to your GC about it.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but OP did not get into APUSH because there were 85 students who were better qualified. That’s one heck of a spin that you’re asking the GC to put on it.
Anyway, back to the OP, looking for opportunities to expand is certainly a good thing, Best of luck.
@skieurope Just wanted to correct you, I transferred into my current high school at the beginning of 10th grade. Everyone applied for AP World History at the end of 9th grade. There was no possible way for me to get into AP World History due to me being a transfer student. ALL the AP World History students had guaranteed spots in APUSH. So basically there were probably like 1 or 2 kids that were more qualified than me to take APUSH, not 85
@HritikKumar In which case, that is a valid reason that your GC can mention. However, taking or not taking one AP class will not have a long-term affect on your overall course rigor. If you find a way to do the class online, fine; if not, that’s fine, too.
Well evidently the school thought there were at least 5 kids more qualified.
If you’re really interested in history then I think taking the online class could be a good idea. But I suggest you talk to students who have done the online class before, to make sure that it was a good experience. APUSH is a tough class even in a classroom setting and there are many things that can be done badly with online instruction. Good luck.