How many AP courses do you think is advisable to take in 4 months
Hi 👋🏿, I'm a junior in high school at Nigeria and I just recently found out that AP courses increase my chances of getting into an ivy League school and so I decided to take a few.
My school doesn't teach any AP course and so I'll be self-studying for the exams. The next AP exam is next year May which leaves me with just a little over four months to study for the exams.
The problem is, I want to take like 10 AP courses and write exams on all of them next year May. But I still have to go to school (10 hours at school) and focus on my GPA (which is very low btw) while still bolstering my extracurriculars (I'm only involved in 5 right now). Not just that, I still have to study for my WAEC (West African Examination) which starts on the 5th of June next year. I also have to write SAT and ACT next year.
I'm so confused. I really want to get into one of the Ivy League schools. Someone please help me 😞.
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2 answers
If you are really, really invested in studying+heavily academically inclined, then you can either self-study 2 easy APs (AP Psych, AP Statistics, AP Macro/AP Micro, AP Comparative Gov, AP Human Geo) or 1 medium/hard AP (AP Bio, AP Chem, any of the AP Physics, AP Calc AB/BC [recommend AB for self-study], etc).
I would suggest taking one to two AP exams either centered around your interests or a subject you might not be doing so well in. As an international applicant, AP exams are very important as they help equate your academic standing with domestic applicants. However, you shouldn't study for these exams and have them take away from your general schooling. Your regular courses should always come first, AP exams can only bolster your application. That being said, if you do plan on taking an exam: take one centered around your intended major or interests. I would actually only recommend taking one, two at most especially if you aren't taking them within a course. Keep in mind most American students do not take more than a few. It is almost unheard of to take 10 without being enrolled in the course. Also, the Ivy League institutions are only 8 of the thousands of amazing universities across the globe. Don't center your interest around prestige. If you are interested in studying in the United States, there are hundreds of colleges to choose from with excellent academic records :)
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