Hoping to get some advice on APs. My daughter attends a school with no AP certified classes, which means the kids need to self study and take the exam. With the school already being rigorous, I don’t want her to overload herself but realize that APs might be important for college admission. I have heard of PS kids taking double digit AP classes and colleges know that some boarding schools do not offer them, but my gut is telling me that she needs to pursue. I am trying to guide my daughter as she is mid-way through her first year and is trying to determine how to map out her next 3.5 years. I already asked her advisor and didn’t come away from the conversation with a clear understanding of what she should aspire to. I am particularly interested in knowing how many and if there are some that are better than others from an admissions perspective.
Universities review kids in the context of their own schools. If the school has no APs, they expect no tests taken. Many kids take AP courses and never take the exams, either!
If she goes to a prep school with zero APs, colleges will not expect AP exams, and taking them will not enhance the application.
That said, some students do take the AP exams for potential college credit. Which ones really depends on thr high school and which of those courses align fairly closely with the AP syllabus. Without knowing the school, more practical advice likely won’t be found here. But I bet the current students know the answer if the counselor is being vague.
And to add examples… one local private school near me has no APs (classes are harder than that, for most part) and 25%+ go to ivys+stamford/MIT. My kids public school limits APs to about 5 (some leeway) and tons of kids go to top schools (and no extra exams). .nearby town is one of top publics which only offers a couple of APs, same thing…
your currrent school should be able to give you the percentage or # of students taking AP exams and you may even find this information on the school profile. most likely these exams occur at the school (if they offer) - you could also ask parents with older students to help you figure this out - but the school should be transparent! our kids prep school did not offer AP courses at all - but still a large % of kids took at least 2 - school offered 5 (I think - it was a few years ago) all self prep. I was not a fan, as more pressure - but when others are pushing it makes it hard not to join in when your kids are looking at similar colleges.
I would agree with the posters above. The colleges will know what is offerred at the specific school. In my case, I took 3 AP classes online during 10-11 summer and 3 more 11-12 summer, but I have been told straight up by 2 admissions counselors that they did not enhance my application (my schools offers only 1 AP) because they don’t expect you to go beyond what the schools offers, even if that is only one. However, there is some benefit to doing the classes to get ready for the exams, depending on the college you are targeting. In my case, i’m going after UF which has a very good transfer policy for APs. But it would be less helpful if you are targeting HYPSM or similar since I don’t think they really take AP exams for credit. So you really have to do your research before you go after this stuff.
I would speak to counselors, find out where kids go with your students academic credentials. Given you spoke to one - you might ask to speak to another. I would focus on student outcomes (where they went to college) vs. the general talk. Then you can maybe get them to help you narrow down on the academic preparations of kids at those colleges.
There are colleges that may not grant AP credit or you can come in with a boat load but depending on course of study, not be able to use them all. Or have several count for the same classes - how my daughter got only 9 credits even though she walked in with 30.
My kid’s competitive public HS does not offer APs. The HS felt it could develop a more meaningful, in-depth curriculum than many APs offered. Some courses (ex AP Calc) were basically the same as the AP class while others diverged from the standard AP curriculum. The AP replacement courses were clearly noted in student’s transcripts and were described in the school profile.
Some students took AP exams (and had to study any sections not covered in the HS when needed), some took a few AP exams, and others took almost none. I don’t think it mattered in terms of college admissions as AP scores are typically not part of the admissions package.
I don’t think it necessary for a student to self study for AP exam if none is offered at school. However, if the school curriculum already cover the vast majority of the testing objectives, some credits may be worth the trouble getting, such as Calculus, foreign language, English lang, APUSH, WHAP, etc.
AP credits most benefit the students who attend public universities in another state. Private universities would claim to accept many AP credits but would also have in place rules to limit how many each student can actually use towards their degree.
I used to teach in a private school, now in public school. In both schools the majority of my students chose AP courses mainly for GPA booster (more so in public school). This is directly related to Texas automatic admission rule where GPA ranking is the sole measurement. In reality, many of my students who attend private universities can only use a limited number of AP credits in college, mainly to fulfill the general requirements (known at some colleges as distro or foundation).
If a student has time to spare, instead of self-study for an AP exam, I would suggest they invest the time and energy to something they truly love.
Your situation hits the nail on the head. The school does not have AP courses but does administer them each year. Kids at the school take the tests. I respect the reason for not having AP classes, as my daughter is learning so much and that is what counts. I am just trying to understand the reality of college admissions because there will be BS students who passed APs and BS students who never took any. So, I suppose the question is how heavily is that weighted in relation to the other qualities the candidate brings to the table.
We don’t really have too much access to the college counselors at this stage because the focus is on Juniors and Seniors. The snippet I did get from a panel on parents weekend, is that top schools will want to see at least 5 with a score of at least 5. I didn’t like that answer but that was one comment - who knows!
Thank you. I love this answer, especially because I am not even worried about her actually getting credit. This is purely for her to remain a competitive candidate when applying to school which makes it less appealing for sure.
FWIW (n=1) my DC graduated from Andover. No AP classes offered. DC took AP tests at the end of their senior year (independent study) once they realized the college where they were enrolling (Georgetown) allowed you to opt out of lower level classes/requirements (ie stats, language, math, etc) with a passing AP score.
Colleges know if your school doesn’t offer AP. If the high school doesn’t offer it, your child won’t be penalized in the admissions process. I don’t know if it would add any significant weight to an application if your child took the tests (and did well) prior to senior year. Some colleges require submission of all AP scores, so if your child is independently taking an AP test prior to senior year, a low score might actually hurt? (Just speculating. I have no data)
@familyrock Your post is very helpful and you are 100% correct that some schools will require you to submit all APs and a low score can hurt according to our college counseling office. We are now looking at strategic APs in her later years, so she can plan and not obsess now. Thanks!