Are self studied APs (APs not offered at your school) considered more rigorous, the less rigorous or the same as AP Classes taken at school?
Also do colleges see a difference between Micro and Macro and say Stats? Would they since Micr and Macro are half year courses, combined they are equal to Stats?
The point isn’t to collect AP test scores. It is to learn. I don’t think Micro, Macro or stats makes much difference.
Stats is also considered a half-year course regardless of how an individual HS structures the course. So stats/micro/macro would all be viewed the same.
Colleges expect its applicants to pursue the most rigorous courseload that they can handle within the offerings of their school. No college has an expectation that an applicant needs to self study an AP.
Last year, I went to an Exploring College Options event, which had reps from Harvard, Stanford, Penn, Duke, and Georgetown, among others. During the Q&A, someone asked, “What do you think of applicants who self-study for additional AP’s over and above the AP classes they take?” One rep responded, “Please don’t do that. We’re not impressed by that.” The other reps all nodded.
Now if you want to self study a course not offered because you are interested in the subject and/or you want to potentially earn additional college credit, that’s fine, not with the goal of impressing colleges. Let’s be honest - there are a few AP courses that a student with a couple of weeks of planning can cram and ace the test, and colleges are well aware of that.
They may not be impressed with it, but if they accept the credits, you can still get out of a class by doing it.
@skieurope would my case be a any different because one, the courses are not offered at my school and two I could not take additional APs because of my independent research class and orchestra?
Reread that.
@Daddio3 that’s the point of the story related by @skieurope. Don’t self study AP’s to impress adcoms. If you have another good reason to do it, then fine. If you want credit toward college graduation, or for placement purposes, then by all means self study. The message being conveyed in the Exploring College Options sessions (which my D also heard) was don’t waste your spare time self studying AP’s. Do something else more interesting and worthwhile with your time.
Well that certainly makes sense. I wouldn’t recommend anyone do that unless they had an interest in there are and the school didn’t already offer the class. I guess that is essentially what they were saying as well.
Take the exams for entry level classes that you don’t want to have to take in college or to get credits. For example, my freshman daughter wishes she had taken the AP Biology exam so that she could skip biology 1 in college which is required for her major but (according to her) boring and useless 
She took the AP Chem exam but ended up not using her credits for it because the lab component of Chem 1 was required for her major (ChemE). So she would have been better off not taking the AP Chem exam and taking AP Biology instead. So plan out your AP exams carefully depending on the requirements of your major at the college of your choice.