A ONE Institute
Jul 13, 2024
Today, I will post about the Q & A that we couldn’t finish during the last online Seminar.
Question 1) AP Exam & Number of APs
If I get good grades in an AP subject and can get a good GPA, is it okay not to take the AP exam for that subject? How many AP exams should I take at a minimum to get into an Ivy League university?
Answer) As I mentioned several times while talking about AP, there is a phenomenon of GPA inflation. High schools give too high GPAs, so it’s important to show a clear standard to the university. In response to the question of whether it’s okay not to take the May AP exam if the AP subject GPA is good, I would say you should take the May exam. It’s good to prove that you are a competitive student in academic terms by finishing with a good score, so you must take the AP exam! As for the question of how many minimum AP exams you should take to get into an Ivy League university, it’s hard to give a clear number. Each high school has different numbers of AP classes open and limits on the number of classes you can take per grade. So, the number of APs for students who want to get into the Ivy League is not fixed, but it would be good to note that many of the admitted students have taken about 9-14 APs based on experience.
Question 2) Disadvantage for College if Unable to Take AP Until 10th Grade
My school does not allow us to take AP subjects until the 10th grade, so I couldn’t take any AP subjects. Will this be a disadvantage when applying to high-ranking universities?
Answer) In fact, most high schools allow students to take APs from the 11th grade, so it’s actually rarer to take APs from the 10th grade. So, it’s okay that you couldn’t take AP until the 10th grade. Many of our students have been admitted to competitive universities with just the subjects from 11-12th grades without any APs until the 10th grade, so you don’t have to worry. However, if you can take AP, I recommend you to take many and take rigorous subjects.
Question 3) SAT / ACT Preparation and Exam Timing
When should I prepare for the SAT and ACT, and when should I aim to take the exam?
Answer) Every year, every school year, there is a recurring question of when is a good time to take the SAT/ACT. The answer to this part depends on your English score. If you aim for over 1500 on the SAT and over 34 on the ACT, it is effective to start studying and taking the exam when your SAT English score is in the 600s and your ACT English score is in the 20s. If you start earlier, it will take a long time to reach the target score, so it is inefficient.
Question 4) Is a B Grade in Core Subjects Okay? I got a B in a core subject class. Can it be considered academic?
Answer) A student who is academic, that is, a student who is trying to win with studying, does not have difficulty getting into college just because there is one B in the GPA. Even among the students admitted to Harvard or MIT, there are students who have a B in their GPA. You can rest assured as long as you show passion for other things and prepare academically, but if a certain subject consistently gets a B, it would be right to take action.
Question 5) AP English Class vs Regular English Class
I immigrated to the United States last year and my English is awkward. The English class offered by the school does not have Honors, so I have to take a regular class or AP level English. Which class should I take?
Answer) The answer to this question can vary depending on the student’s situation and level of learning, but one thing for sure is that colleges prefer students who take AP. If you take AP and get a grade of B or C, you may need to reconsider, but if you can finish with a grade of B, I recommend you to take AP. This is because colleges prefer students who take AP classes over Regular classes.
Question 6) Which AP Class to Drop?
Due to the school timetable, if I take AP English, I have to also take APUSH. There will be a total of 4 AP classes, APUSH, AP English, AP Physics, AP Stat. Which one should I drop?
Answer) In response to the question of which one to drop among APUSH/ AP English/ AP Physics/ AP Stat, I would like to say that you should cover all 4 and not drop any. However, if you must drop one, it would be better to drop Statistics, which is not a Core subject but an elective.
Question 7) Non-STEM Student EC
I am thinking of majoring in NON-STEM, and my ECs at school are Student Government, Mock Trial, Tennis Team, Girl of Tech. I also have one internship/volunteer work outside of school. I am considering TASS and Writing Competition, is this enough?
Answer) You are asking if a non-STEM student’s ECs of Student Government/ Mock Trial/ Tennis Team/ Girl of Tech / volunteer work plus TASS/Writing Competition are enough. You have done a lot of activities so far and have meaningful activities waiting for you, so it’s okay, but from the perspective of an all-round player that I mentioned at the information session, the logic of Science/ Technology/ Engineering seems to be lacking when looking at the 8 categories. I don’t know what the GPA composition of the student who asked the question is, but if the math and science are strongly composed in high school, it’s okay if you did STEM activities, but if the math and science are weak in high school, even if you are a non-STEM student, I advise you to do related activities in Math/Science.
Question 8) Safe Subject Selection for Good GPA
Can I choose subjects safely, such as not taking Honors classes, to get a good GPA?
Answer) Choosing safe subjects for a good GPA can get you a good Unweighted GPA, but not a good Weighted GPA. You may lose out on GPA when applying to competitive universities, so I would like to advise you to choose Honor or AP classes.
Question 9) Rising 11th Grade EC I am a rising 11th grade student. My GPA is about 3.94, and I don’t have any special ECs. Should I work on ECs for the remaining 2 years?
Answer) In response to a rising 11th grade student who doesn’t have any special ECs, rather than filling up the number of ECs, it’s important to select about 2 items that the student can pour their passion into from the 8 items I mentioned at the information session:
• Science, Technology, Engineering
• Language, Expository Writing
• Humanities & Social Science
• Arts & Athletics
• Communication & Leadership
• Culture
• Quantitative Reasoning with Data
• Volunteer and invest time and show results.
Even if the results do not follow, it is important to show that you are investing a lot of time. I recommend that you select about 2 items from the 8 items and prepare, focusing on the student pouring a lot of time and passion.
Question 10) AP Physics C 3 Points
I studied for AP Physics 1 myself and got a 3 on the AP Physics C exam. I am not going to write it on the application and plan to retake the exam, should I erase the score?
Answer) In response to a student who self-studied AP Physics C and got a 3 asking if they should erase the score, first of all, you can choose not to submit the AP score, but you cannot erase it. So, you might think about not submitting it, but actually, AP Physics C is a very difficult subject, so it’s not a bad choice to submit it even if you get a 3. Among our students, there were students who submitted a score of 3 on AP Physics C and were admitted to UCLA/ UC Berkeley/ Northwestern/ Brown. However, if you have another year left, you can retake the exam and get a good score to submit, but a 3 on AP Physics C is not a terribly bad score.
Today, we had time to answer 10 questions that you were curious about. Even if they are not the correct answers, I hope you have gained some tips on things you were curious about.