<p>I am a freshman and I’m thinking if having the National AP Scholar Award (8 AP exams with at least average 4) in 10th grade would be impressive to schools like Rice, Duke, Johns Hopkins, WashU, and BS/MD programs
In 10th Grade I will be taking the AP classes for:
Chemistry, US History, and Physics 1
I am contemplating whether or not to self-study these exams:
Comparative Gov. and Politics, Biology, Psychology, Environmental Science, Human Geography
Any tips or advice on this?</p>
<p>There is absolutely no need to try and fit these in by the 10th grade. Being a National AP Scholar by then end of 11th grade will put you in a rare company.
BUT, your GPA and the rigor of your HS classes count FAR MORE to colleges than how many AP exams you took. </p>
<p>APUSH is one of the most time intensive AP classes, and if you have NOT already taken an into Chem or Phyics class dont even think of taking an AP science class. </p>
<p>AP Chemistry, AP US History, and Physics (B and C) (along with Calculus) are regarded as the hardest AP classes. Environmental Science is probably the easiest class - if you have a teacher. I’d say Psychology and Env Science wouldn’t be a bad idea as long as you understand that taking Chem and USH are going to be an actual challenge (same with Physics). But I highly suggest you only take 2 in class next year.</p>
<p>@emshadez I’m was originally thinking of only doing AP Chemistry and US History next year but now AP Physics 1 is a first-time ever physics course so it won’t be too bad. Have you taken any of the exams I plan on self-studying (bio, psych, env sci, human geo,)</p>
<p>@menloparkmom I am in Honors chemistry right now and also my chem teacher said she believes I will be able to succed in her AP class. Also, wouldn’t having the National AP Scholar by 10th grade and having high grades (top 1%) be desirable to Rice and Duke?</p>
<p>It may or it may not be “more desirable” . College admissions is a holistic process. It is not meritocratic process i.e. “He who has the most AP’s” earlier in his HS career does not necessarily win or be viewed as a more desirable student. The most selective colleges want students who are more than just AP grinds. </p>
<p>My daughter was a National AP scholar but we both thought it was a kind of silly award and she didn’t bother to list it on her application. It’s just a rubber stamp for having done that many APs, which they can see perfectly well as you list the APs on your application. You aren’t the first person I’ve seen on here with the idea to cram some test prep books and take a bunch of the easy AP tests just to get that rubber stamp. Is that what you think will impress colleges?</p>
<p>@mathyone I see your point! Thank you very much! I now see how pointless this award is! I’ll probably only self-study Biology as that is what interests me the most. So what type of things do impress schools like Rice and Duke? </p>
<p>I just think your time outside of school would be better spent pursuing EC’s rather than trying to self-study as many APs as possible. Picking one that interests you most makes a lot more sense to me (is AP bio not offered at your school? I do think it’s best to take the class if available). There is no magic formula. Figure out what interests you and pursue that. If you can win some award, show some leadership, volunteer or do something unusual in your area(s) of interest, do a research project, colleges like that sort of thing. They just like to see you actively pursuing your particular interests. Maybe something to keep in mind is “show, don’t tell”. You want to be a doctor? Don’t just say that. Volunteer in a hospital or nursing home. Raise money for one of the disease organizations. Learn CPR. Volunteer for your local rescue squad/become an EMT (not sure of age restrictions on these). Do a research project in a medical research lab. That’s not an exclusive list of course, but these are examples of the sort of things you should be thinking about.</p>
<p>thanks for some ideas 
@mathyone </p>
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<p>Here is the secret formula:</p>
<p><a href=“Applying Sideways | MIT Admissions”>http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways</a></p>
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<p>Of course it would look impressive. How nice (or how horrible) would it be if American colleges admitted students purely based on standardized test scores, as in China or Korea? But IMO the top is always a reach no matter how good you are.</p>
<p>It is great to be a National AP scholar at any grade. I don’t see a big difference between 10th grade or 11th grader achieving that though. As age wise, it can be just a few days apart. I know some family intentionally let their kid repeat one year in early grade schools to let them perform better at school. With that in mind, I don’t see much difference.</p>