<p>Hello, I plan to start self-studying AP Calculus/Physics in a few weeks and I would like to know if this would be an acceptable EC to put on my application. Would it just look like another “app filler”/would admissions rather see me more involved in my community or do people regularly put this on their application? I’m the kind of person who would just does not enjoy the thought of community service/volunteering so I’m pretty much going to have all academic-related EC’s on my app. As always, thanks!</p>
<p>I think self-studying is an awesome thing to do. but studying just AP’s I think is a bit one dimensional. I’m assuming math and physics is something you love doing. if so, just put that and doing the AP’s on your own would be just one thing in your resume of activities.</p>
<p>and in the end, just be yourself. this is more than cliched, but life really is more enjoyable if you do so. if you don’t like service, then fine. but my own 2 cents is that trying new things is always a good thing to do. XD. I never thought I’d like service until I tried it, and I fell in love with it.</p>
<p>self study? why dont you take it a step further and create a program to help other students study ap physics and calculus. not only does this contribute signficantly to your image, it might help you earn some big bucks. good luck!</p>
<p>Instead of saying self studying AP tests, put that youve spent time self studying advanced maths and sciences (you could always take it a step further with this self studying and try doing some multivariable calculus or some other topics in physics if you are actually interested in the learning portion). That way it doesn’t look like you are just studying for the test.</p>
<p>The whole extracurricular situation in the United States is way to emphasized. High achieving top-tier college hopefuls (for the most part) are forced to do activities that they do not completely enjoy just to satisfy colleges’ admissions processes. Extracurriculars should be done for fun and enjoyment of what they are, not because they would make you look a certain way on an application. Sadly, if you want to win the game, you have to play the game, so this idea is an unrealistic one…in the US…</p>
<p>I like the UK system, not that it is not without its flaws. There, they do not ask you about extracurriculars, but focus on: 1) test scores (more rigorous tests from what I’ve heard) 2) specializing in high school 3) personal statements about why you want to pursue a major 4) the interview. The interviews over here are not given as much weight as over there. In the UK, you do the regular interview process, but then they test your ability to problem solve (ie they will give you problems and have you solve it, looking for your methodology to get to an answer).</p>
<p>Nevermind that rant…</p>
<p>If you are straining to keep up with AP classes and required prep school sport, loading on mindless EC feels like a torture equivalent to braces.</p>
<p>I don’t think I want to go to a college to requires that level of stupidity.</p>
<p>cicero_oratore, </p>
<p>I actually think the US system far better than that in the UK. There, if you mess up once on the final exams, your future is determined. And you’re screwed for life. But here in the US, we have community colleges which give people “second chances.”</p>
<p>But I agree with you on the whole emphasis on EC’s. A lot of students pursue them just to build up a list to impress admission officers, and it’s really kinda sad. There’s no passion, just desperation.</p>
<p>Yeah I guess I don’t really like the prospects of putting my life on the line with one test…but I do think that the US system needs improvement in that we cannot keep having this unpredictable game of admissions. ECs shouldn’t be pursued for the purpose of putting them on a transcript. I think that valid ECs should be incorporated into personal statements which would do a much better job of determining a student’s actual interest in a subject rather than a blind statement of a laundry list of activities done over the past 4 years. Also, I do think that interviews should have more weight in determining fit and the legitimacy of an applicant’s interest in the college.</p>
<p>cicero_oratore: </p>
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<p>I quite disagree. True, the SATs, ACTs, and APs are much easier than the British Patterned A-level tests, but there are supplemental tests that US students can take if they want to, like the AMC math tests, US Chemistry Olympiad, US Bio Olympiad, and US Physics Olympiad … this shows colleges that we challenge ourselves and push ourselves beyond what is required of us (which frankly sometimes is not enough). </p>
<p>Also, it’s no surprise that the SATs are easier, because most people take them in 11th grade, while I believe that high/secondary school in the UK takes you up to an equivalent of 13th grade, which means that you guys are in secondary school 1 year longer than US students. (At least this is what I remember from a UK student I met at Summer@Brown).</p>
<p>And the extracurricular thing: Yes, most people do them to impress colleges. BUT you’re not ACTUALLY forced to do them. Colleges can sense based on your essays (though I’m still not sure how they do this), and if they see that your essays lack passion for what they do, they will know that you didn’t your ECs just because you liked them. </p>
<p>Really, there are merits and flaws for both the US and UK system. The US system encourages more freedom in your education - you can do the basic minimum or you can make the most out of your 4 years because there are resources for that. Also, with the ECs, ideally, they aim for you to go beyond the books, enjoy life, and discover what’s around you, but with each successive graduating high school class, it seems that the philosophy is becoming increasingly flawed. Of course, the UK system is much more academically hard-core and rigorous, but it seems to lack the same freedom that US students enjoy, and there also seems to be a lack of promise for “second chances.” </p>
<p>Personally, I had the US education (obviously, because I live in Michigan), and I’ll say that I liked it thoroughly. It’s far from perfect, but it’s good enough for me.</p>
<p>Btw is your username in Latin? That’s so cool! (I took Latin in HS)</p>
<p>@ prime235</p>
<p>I totally agree with you. I, for one, ‘messed up’ on my final exams. =P But not bad enough to make me lose my university offer. I did a lot outside school. I did A LOT of music and A LOT of volunteering, solely because they were what I enjoyed doing, and I didn’t want to spend my entire youth only studying for a set of exams. I hope my passions for my ECs came across well on my application essays. Afterall, A Levels just gets you to university; they don’t get you anywhere in life.</p>
<p>I knew someone who did nothing in her sixth form days but go to school to study, then go home to study, study more at the weekends, and study right through any holidays. Sure, she got into Oxford, but so what? She missed out on living. </p>
<p>@ cicero_oratore</p>
<p>I agree with you about the ‘laundry list’ ECs. </p>
<p>But as for the interview, to my knowledge, that would apply to OxBridge, and possibly Durham. But there are flaws in the OxBridge interview. I know many people who were more than qualified to attend OxBridge, and who would have probably received degrees with a first from the institutions. But they were turned down after the interview. </p>
<p>@ ab2013</p>
<p>Yes the British education takes you up to year 13, but we don’t stay in secondary schools a year longer than the US students, we just start earlier. I didn’t skip any grades and I graduated from secondary school when I was 17, just like everyone else. (I’m on a gap year right now)</p>
<p>I didn’t do amazingly in my A Level exams, but I did pretty well, well enough to make everyone ‘WOW’ when they saw my score report. (That was for description purpose only, and I hope I didn’t come across as a jerk who’s full of ego and conceit) I managed to squeeze my time doing other things too. In fact, I tried to squeeze my time to a point where, for a year or two, I only slept 4 hours a day, even at weekends. </p>
<p>For me, I didn’t like the academic focus in the UK system. I didn’t want to focus. I wanted to do lots of different things. I had a hard time doing my personal statement for the British universities because I wanted to go to different universities for different subjects, and the application system (UCAS) only allows one essay, and that one essay had to be about your subject, or subjects, in my situation. </p>
<p>If I were allowed to choose which education system to follow would I have chosen the UK one? The answer’s definitely no.</p>
<p>If you go back 10-15 years most UK universities conducted academic interviews of candidates unless your predicted A-level marks were so far above their normal entry requirements that they just made you an offer (or so far below that you were rejected straight out). Most universities have now greatly increased in size due to Government pressure and simply don’t have the time or resources to interview. Oxford and Cambridge have resisted the pressure to grow so still can interview their applicants.</p>
<p>Of course the fact that someone you thought should have got into Oxbridge failed at interview doesn’t at all mean the system is flawed, unless you also know the people who were accepted for that subject. Which was why the Laura Spence “affair” was a load of nonsense. Any applicant who gets called to interview will be predicted at least AAA at A-level - the interview and the extra tests which the universities apply are necessary to differentiate amongst those who will all look perfect on their applications.</p>