The Best AP Classes to Take – 5 Reasons Why You Should Change Courses in High School
Whether you’re looking for easy schools to get into or reading up on top Ivy League schools, you probably have some questions about AP courses. Choosing the right courses or the best AP classes to take often happens after choosing the wrong courses first. Every year, we find our students making some of the same common mistakes when it comes to course selection. Thankfully, most high schools are willing to work with you to make adjustments. Here are the most common course changes you should consider.
How Many AP Classes Should I Take? – Too Many Weighted Courses
As they say, too much of anything is a bad thing, and weighted coursework is no exception. How much is too much?
First, it depends on a student’s prior performance. Looking at how you did in a similar class should provide a clue about your readiness for weighted coursework. If, for example, you earned a B/B in English Honors, think twice before taking AP Lang (after all, your goal is to earn an A, not a B). The same logic applies for any subject. Taking weighted courses because you heard “it makes you look good” for college is foolish. There’s no hard data to support this common myth.
Secondly, it’s usually a bad idea to take over 4 APs in a semester. No matter who you are, maintaining A’s in that many weighted courses at once saps time away from profile-building outside of class.
Which AP classes Should I Take? – Weighted Courses in the Wrong Areas
Students majoring in Engineering derive little to no benefit from the headache of AP US History, especially if they don’t enjoy history to begin with. Likewise, students majoring in history derive little to no benefit from taking AP Calculus BC, especially if they don’t like math. We see students signing up for weighted courses that have nothing to do with their major—or interests—all the time! Taking AP courses you aren’t strong in ruins GPAs every year. So do yourself a favor and replace your weighted coursework with classes that have more to do with your major or your interests.
Read more here to find out the weighted courses that make sense – and which don’t – depending on the major you are indicating towards.
AP Physics for CS/Engineering Majors in 11th
Computer Science and Engineering majors keep making this one mistake: not taking physics until senior year. If physics is an option for 11th grade, we strongly recommend CS/Engineering majors take it because:

* It demonstrates aptitude towards CS/Engineering departments
* It prepares you for the field of study you’re trying to pursue

Even better is taking AP Physics 1 in 11th grade, opening up the opportunity to then take AP Physics C in 12th. Note that taking physics any later than the 11th grade wouldn’t allow a student to report your grade until after college application deadlines, which is too late by our books.
AP Psychology for Biology or Business Majors
Having a back-up plan is always good. Intended Biology majors sometimes find themselves stuck with a really hard AP Biology class or teacher, and a pair of B’s can really wreck your plan of majoring in Biology. Likewise, prospective Business students often have bad luck in core classes that are important for business admissions, like English and math.
We recommend taking Psychology or AP Psychology in 11th grade so that if you struggle in core classes later on, you can still turn to Psychology as a backup major. Once you’re in college, you can easily change from Psychology to a variety o...

Do Colleges Look at Volunteer Hours? Less Is More – Depth over Breadth in Volunteering.
Do colleges look at volunteer hours? One of the most common questions we get from parents and students is, “How many volunteer hours should I have?” Some say 20 hours is good; others swear you need 200. So which is it?



The short answer: it’s closer to 20.
The long answer: you’re not even asking the right question. Read on to see what we mean. 





Do Colleges Look at Volunteer Hours? It’s Service, Not Service “Hours”



Less Is More



One of the most misunderstood admissions criteria is volunteering. Some call it “service hours,” but it really just comes down to service—authentic service. Helping others for the sake of helping.



The “less is more” principle can be interpreted in two ways to improve one’s volunteer work towards college admissions. 



High Impact Work Is How Colleges Care About Volunteer Hours



How do colleges look at volunteer hours? The first one is that it’s better to do fewer hours of high-impact work than more hours of low-impact work. What makes service meaningful is the impact of your work, not the number of hours you worked. After all, when applying for college, students must write essays explaining why they served rather than how many hours they served. Similarly, it’s not about the title of a volunteer experience; one could have had more impact as a general volunteer working directly with people on the front lines, while being named the officer of a club doesn’t mean the student actually made a meaningful contribution. 




Remember, impact occurs in two ways: impact on others and impact on self. Impact on others can be measured by answering the following question: “How much will my contribution last beyond the day of my contribution?” For example, serving food to the homeless is certainly an act of service; however, its impact will likely not last beyond the day of service, making it relatively low-impact. 





Impact on self can be measured by answering the following question: “How much will/has this experience changed the way I live and perceive the world?” Impactful service experiences are often incredibly transformative for both those who serve and those who are being served.



Have Fewer Engagements



In order to have the time to do high-impact work, you should lower the number of volunteer service engagements you’re involved in. Making a positive, lasting impact on another’s life requires extensive time and attention, so don’t waste your time on frenzied activities that won’t add up to much.



How do colleges look at volunteer work? Too often, students serve in a different organization each year. That’s okay if the organization didn’t provide impactful work, but if it did, you should absolutely continue that work. On the other hand, stop serving if the work is not impactful. If the work you’re engaging in is generic and low-impact, it’s time to move on to a better service experience.

Continuity within a service organization past the first year often leads to potential leadership roles. Inquire about leadership opportunities before committing to a service opportunity so that you can compare and contrast different opportunities.



Serving in the Summer



Too many parents emphasize summer educational programs without emphasizing the need to serve, when in fact, summer is one of the best times to serve.

Thinking Bigger – What Do Colleges Look for in Students and College Admissions
What do colleges look for in students? Our goal at ReadyEdgeGo is to help students destress from the pressures of high school. The leading cause of this stress is misinformation. We have encountered countless students and parents who have misconceptions about the “steps” they need to take in order to gain admission into a certain college or groups of colleges. This misinformation is the real cause of the stress and pressure. 
Whichever university admissions rate you’re looking at, there’s no one set path for getting in. In this post, we’ll tackle some of the misinformation out there to help you make wise decisions that will set you up for success.





What Do Colleges Look for in Students for 99% of Universities



What Really Sets a Student Apart?



It’s not the numbers, that’s for sure, despite SAT requirements for colleges starting to come back. Stanford rejects around 69% of perfect SAT scorers every year, and we’ve seen the same trend apply to all the top universities in the United States. So, what gives? Why is it that so many students spend so much time and money on numbers, yet don’t always see the results?
Intellectual Depth Outside of Class



The first thing that comes to many people’s mind when they think about intellectual depth is “weighted classes” and AP tests. Students should absolutely take weighted courses in your areas of interest. However, what sets you apart is how far you went into studying it outside of class.
The type of extracurricular study you invests in matters. Sure, summer programs are nice, but they are also extremely common and expensive. Instead, we suggest reading more and asking meaningful questions about what you read. While everyone is spending $5,000+ on the same summer programs, you can spend $5 on a book and get the same value, if not better. That’s how you truly set yourself apart, since no one reads anymore.




Meaningful Leadership



Leadership is defined by convincing others to do something that they otherwise wouldn’t have done. Thus, starting an AI club for your friends who are already interested in technology doesn’t really count. The same thing goes for becoming a class president who merely does what the advisor tells you to do. 
So what do colleges look for in students when it comes to leadership? The key is whether you influenced others to achieve something they otherwise would not have accomplished.
To truly stand out, you have to encounter challenges and map out your own path. Don’t aim to follow the path that you’ve seen or heard numerous other students follow. In our 15 years of mentoring students, we haven’t encountered a single leadership experience that wasn’t challenging. By nature, leadership experiences require a challenge – it’s the only way we lead ourselves, and others, to something greater.



Service and Genuine Care for Others



This isn’t about completing your service requirement. It is also not about how many hours you accumulate or earning the Gold Award, the Presidential Service Award, Eagle Scout, etc. You may ask, “What makes me stand out from other applicants?” Students who serve only for the sake of benefiting their community because they genuinely care about others shine with the kind of nobilit...

It’s summer: time to invest in university prep! When students and parents think of learning over the summer, reading for college is often at the bottom of their list of educational activities to pursue. Instead, students gravitate to what their friends all do: summer programs, community college coursework, and test prep “boot camps.”
Yet reading, as overlooked as it tends to be, is singularly one of the most important activities a student can do—and it is one of the best extracurricular activities for Ivy League admissions, even if it isn’t an official club or organization. Let’s understand why.
Colleges Ask for It
From USC in Los Angeles to Columbia University in New York City, many top colleges ask on college applications about what you’ve read lately. If all you can discuss is required readings like To Kill a Mockingbird or Lord of the Flies, you’re clearly not a good fit for the nation’s top colleges, which all require their students to read dense material and demonstrate ongoing curiosity.
This makes reading a great way to stand out for college applications. In a world of Instagram, Snapchat, Tiktoks, and YouTube, very few students actually read for fun anymore. So just by reading, you’re already in the minority, a pretty slim one at that.
The Missing Link to Test Prep: Reading for College
For years, members of our team trained students on the SAT — after they had taken boot camps at Elite and Excel. The common missing link in all of the students we saw significantly struggling to improve their score, despite going through multiple test prep programs? Reading. Many students, especially those here in the Silicon Valley, have spent years emphasizing math, engineering, STEM – at the expense of gaining critical reading and writing skills. As a result, we’ve found that students who don’t read plateau at a lower score than they should, either at 1350 or 1450. Sound familiar?
If so, start reading anything you find interesting. Don’t just think books, either; consider magazines, articles, and news. Explore your natural interests, both academic and non-academic.
Reading as Inspiration for Learning
Let’s face it. High school is not inspiring. In its current format, high school is really the last place to expect students to be inspired to learn.
This is where reading comes in. By choosing the authors you read, you’re effectively choosing your teachers. And those teachers aren’t limited to six subjects, like history or English. In fact, they’re not even limited by present day time. You can find inspiration in more obscure subjects not available in high school, from sociology to political science and biopsychology. Reading from people of diverse eras and generations will also help you develop a more nuanced perspective from which you can understand your own culture.
So what do you say? Maybe it’s time to hit up the library and spend 20 minutes browsing the shelves for an unexpected find. You might be surprised: two or three books in, reading could very well transform from a strategic move as you prep for your application to a passion you can take with you anywhere.
And to me, that sounds like a happy ending.
Looking for more personalized help and tips than your high school counselor can provide? Schedule a free initial consultation to get to know our team. Find out how we can help you achieve your educational goals today!

College Myth busters – 3 Deadly Myths that will Ruin Your Chances at College



Today we’ll talk about three huge college myths that continue to exist no matter how many times they have been disproven. Whether you’re aiming for Ivy League universities or looking for colleges with high acceptance rates, you need to be strategic in building your college profile, which means knowing what’s true—and what’s definitely not.





College Myth #1: Taking weighted courses, like honors and APs, makes you look good for college



The Truth. Earning A’s in courses makes you look good for college. Earning A’s in weighted coursework makes you look even better. But taking weighted courses—by itself—does not make you look good for college.



The Reality. Many students take weighted coursework because they heard it makes them look good. This is a college myth. Students who take too many APs and honors courses often end up struggling in these weighted courses, especially if they sign up for courses they don’t care about or they lack the study habits required to get A’s in these courses.



College Myth #2: It’s important to self-study for and take AP exams outside of what’s offered



The Truth. Self-studying for AP exams often makes you look bad, not good. First off, colleges measure your coursework and performance based on the curriculum offered at your school and the grades you earned. Not AP exam scores. Hence, self-studying for additional subjects is irrelevant because it isn’t the same as taking a class and earning semester grades in it. 

Secondly, self-studying for AP exams beyond what was offered is often viewed as manipulative, try-hard, and contrived. It looks like an ingenuine attempt to look good for college rather than a genuine attempt to learn. After all, studying for an exam score isn’t the same as showing you genuinely wanted to learn about it. 



The Reality. Most students who self-study don’t end up getting a 5. This is largely because they don’t have the time to adequately prepare amidst an already heavy course load and other commitments. This is a college myth. As a result, students often opt out of the test or get a 4 or less. Therefore, they don’t report it on their apps, since getting a 4 is equivalent to getting a B. For college admissions, that could hurt you rather than help you, especially if the AP score is in a subject related to your major



The College Myth #3: Your GPA is everything
The Truth. Your GPA does matter, so you should take it seriously. Don’t skip study sessions or blow off assignments, and consider investing in a tutor for the subjects you find yourself struggling with most. However, grades alone can only take you so far. Even an unweighted 4.0 is no guarantee that you’ll get into Ivy League universities or the best colleges in California.
The Reality. Admissions counselors look at the whole picture and want to see well-rounded applicants. This means that high achievers need to branch out and get involved in activities beyond their coursework. It’s also good news for those with grades that could use improving, as meaningful contributions in extracurricular activities and service opportunities can help make up for grades you aren’t proud of.








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Career Choices – Following Interests vs Following Others
For many students, career choices can be just as overwhelming as major and college choices. In the midst of pressure and confusion, the external influences of others can creep into our brain and make us second guess ourselves or change what we are thinking altogether. It’s human nature that what people say impacts how we think. However, there are downsides.



When it comes to career choices, this phenomenon happens all the time. Your parents are doctors, so they want you to be a doctor. Your cousin is a successful programmer, so now your dad says you should be one, too. Let’s face it: living up to someone else’s dream is not only hard; it’s also insincere. And believe it or not, following the path someone else has laid out for you usually hurts your chances of getting accepted to the best colleges.



If you don’t believe the last sentence, take a look at some of the reasons why following others can hurt your chances of getting accepted into colleges. 





Poor Application Essays



“Why are you interested in your major?” or “Why are you interested in this topic?” are common prompts for application essays, whether you’re applying to college or a competitive summer program like COSMOS. So whenever students answer with “My parents taught me to…”, that’s a red flag that reader interpret as “My parents told me to.”

Ivy League schools, top universities, and selective summer programs are looking for independent thinkers and genuine learners. There’s a HUGE stigma out in admissions against the helicopter mom who forced their kids to do something, be it medicine or engineering. Even if you did gain inspiration from your parents, relatives, or friends, you MUST have be able to express a genuine personal passion that transcends that influence. Your story needs to speak more to your own curiosities and aspirations rather than those of others.



Make Your Career Choices So Colleges Don’t View You Negatively



Colleges, especially the top colleges, like Harvard and the Ivies, or even UC Berkeley and UCLA, look for students who are genuine in their intellectual pursuits. When we follow others, we start doing general things like starting a club because “it makes you look good” or participating in a sport or instrument because “it shows well-roundedness.” Following myths like these make you just like everyone else and read terribly to colleges.

Why? It’s clear that the interest that led to those activities wasn’t genuine. Whether you’re describing purposeless extracurricular involvement in college application essays, the activities section, or alumni interviews, top colleges in the US can tell whether you branched out and explored a real interest or simply did as you were told.



Choosing Your Career Path to Avoid Stress and Unhappiness 



When we follow someone else’s dreams and aspirations, we don’t get a chance to live our own. As a result of this, we see students (and their parents) make bad decisions with their time, all the time. Consider the following examples:




* Taking way too many AP courses.
* Taking weighted coursework not relevant to your interests, and not relevant to your major.
* Applying to 15 summer programs,

In today’s environment, there are many reasons why you should self study for the SAT. While COVID-19 fundamentally changed standardized testing, we are beginning to see a resurgence of SAT requirements for the more competitive schools (Yale, Harvard, Stanford anyone?). Since standardized testing was pretty much universally optional, the reintroduction of SAT-required college applications, along with the introduction of the digital SAT, is making people question how exactly to best study for these big tests in the first place. Traditional in-person boot camps have fallen out of favor because of poor results relative to the price tag. A conducted government study on standardized testing boot camps found that only 40 points are gained on average. They’re definitely not worth the several thousand dollars it costs. So why not self-study for the SAT Exam? It’s efficient, safe, and can yield a whole lot more than 40 points for [almost] free.




 



Who Should (& Who Shouldn’t) Use SAT Self Study



First, let us start with who shouldn’t. Self studying for anything requires self determination, self discipline, and self motivation. If you consider yourself to be a slacker who is not self-motivated, then SAT self studying is not for you.



However, if you are self motivated, open to learning, and willing to make adjustments, then self studying is for you. In fact, we believe it is the ideal starting point for preparing for the SAT or ACT. 



Why Self Study For SAT Testing



Self studying is, well, self explanatory for the following reasons:




* Practically free
* Highly personalized
* Flexible to your other commitments




In general, self studying costs between $0 to a few hundred bucks. The most expensive option accounts for buying a considerable amount of practice tests and potentially hiring a tutor to relearn old material.



Secondly, self studying is highly personalized in that, who knows your strengths and weaknesses better than you do? And even if you don’t, free tools like Khan Academy can even help you determine them just like a tutor would. They also provide you corrective lessons and exercises to improve upon both your strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, you can always relearn concepts you’ve forgotten by reviewing online material or even textbooks, in tandem with instructional content on YouTube.



Third, self studying is the only option that works around your schedule. In the grand scheme of college admissions, standardized testing is overrated when it comes to so many other things, from summer learning experiences and programs to volunteering and helping your community. Too often parents, and by extension their students, prioritize SAT training over the summer only to find a minuscule point gain and lost time for other opportunities, including sleep. After all, who likes going to a one-size-fits-all test center for 5-7 hours a day anyways? Not only does it not work most of the time, it’s boring and expensive.



How to Self Study for SAT Exams




* Determine your baseline score.
* Diagnose your content weaknesses, or knowledge holes.
* Reinforce & Relearn: strengthen your strengths and lessen your weaknesses.
* Adopt test-taking skills.
* Practice without pressure. Learn how to combine new knowledge with test-taking skills.
* Practice with pressure. Simulate the experience.

Maximizing Your Activities Section Common App
Want to learn about maximizing your activities section Common App? It seems simple enough: just list out all of your extracurricular activities, sports, honors, and accomplishments and trust that the information will speak for itself… right? Well, like any aspect of college applications, using a little strategy can maximize this section of your application and boost your chances of getting into the best colleges in California and across the nation.
Tips for the Activities Section Common App
List It
Your first step should be to create a list of everything you have done outside of class. In this step, do not leave really good experiences off your list because you didn’t spend a long time doing it. Generally, if you did something that lasted longer than two weeks, as long as it wasn’t video games or a YouTube binge, it’s probably worth noting.
Describe It
Next, write a two-sentence description of each activity. The first sentence should describe what you did. The second one should be about the effect this activity had on you. In other words, describe what you learned or gained from it.
Organize It
After that, it is time for you to organize and order your activities into the following categories:

* Leadership
* Learning
* Other

Listing your activities in this order will make your involvement easy to follow while communicating to admission readers that you are both well rounded and organized. So how do you decide how to categorize each activity?
Leadership is defined as any formally recognized experience that required you to help or empower others. Typically, titles associated with this category have to do with club involvement, leadership class, school events, sports, or band. If you had a leadership title, it counts!
Learning includes both formal and informal academic learning experiences that were part of your high school experience. If you were a general club member, for instance, of a Robotics team, then this would be a good place to put that. However, if you were part of the leadership of that Robotics team, you’ll want to put that in the Leadership bucket. Note that personal projects and internships also fall into this category.
Other, of course, includes any experience that doesn’t meet the prior definitions. Popular entries here include sports and recreational activities, such as music or crafts not pertaining to your major.
Now, here are some more tips tailored to the UC Application.
UC Best Practices for the Activities Section
For the most part, you’ll fill out your UC Activities Section similar to the Common App Activities List. For example, you should still include meaningful activities even if they were short-term, and you should list your activities in the same order (leadership, learning, other).
One core difference is that the UC application gives you more opportunities to elaborate elsewhere. Elaborate elsewhere. If you find yourself needing way more words than the character count allows, that probably means you should consider writing a PIQ on it. At the very least, describe the activity in further detail in Additional Comments at the end of your application.
Here are a few tips specific to the Common App Activities Section.
Activities Section Common App Best Practices
First, use the Awards Section.  Don’t take up valuable space in Activities when you can highlight your awards elsewhere.
You should also choose the right category. Select the option from the dropdown that best reflects the nature of the activity. If the activity was largely career-oriented, then designate it as such. However, if it was more of a fun learning experience, then be honest. Lastly, don’t stress if you’re not sure which category is best. Chances are you’re thinking way harder about it than your reader will.

UC vs CSU. Should You Pick a CSU Instead of a UC?
UC vs CSU. Which one is best for you? The University of California system contains some of the best public universities in the US and typically the #1 public university in the world (UC Berkeley or UCLA, depending on the day). This leads many people to unfairly discredit the California State University (CSU) system, which has a lot to offer. In this article, I will walk through everything you need to know about the CSU system and how it compares to the UC system.
Why You Should Consider Best Acceptance Rate Colleges Like CSUs
While the UC institutions are more popular, that doesn’t make them the right fit for everyone. The UCs are known for their research prowess, making them the right path for anyone wanting to pursue further education.
The CSU system, on the other hand, has a more practical curriculum that prepares students to directly enter the job force. At CSUs, there’s less theory at the undergraduate level and more hands-on learning, which is why it may be a better fit for many students. CSU’s commitment to job preparation is evident from their list of practical majors, with dozens of degrees that the UCs do not offer, from digital arts to teaching credentials to an actual business administration degree (not some economics program made to look like a business degree, as seen at UCSB and UCLA).
It Isn’t All About Prestige
Of course, many students set their sights on attending a UC simply because of the prestige—but it’s critical to first understand your goals and what you hope to get out of your college experience before settling on a school. Most people would rather get a job than an advanced degree. If that’s you, consider where you want to end up, not where you want to get your start. Most CSUs have great connections with many companies that make it easy for you to get a great job right out of college.
For example, San Jose State University is in Silicon Valley, providing you with access to amazing guest lecturers, internships, and connections. Arguably, this gives SJSU more value than UC Berkeley when it comes to jobs in Silicon Valley. Moreover, the practical majors that CSUs offer may make many companies more likely to hire you.
CSU Rankings by Major
Now, let’s check out some data to see how CSUs rank for popular majors:

*
Computer Science & Engineering

* SJSU (Ranked #22 in Regional Universities West by US News)
* SFSU (Ranked #29 in Regional Universities West by US News)
* Cal Poly SLO (Ranked #3 in Regional Universities West by US News)
* CSU Long Beach (Ranked #14 in Regional Universities West by US News)
* SDSU (Ranked #65 in Top Public Schools West by US News)


*
Biology & related majors

* SJSU (Ranked #22 in Regional Universities West by US News)
* SFSU (Ranked #29 in Regional Universities West by US News)
* Cal Poly SLO (Ranked #3 in Regional Universities West by US News)
* CSU Long Beach (Ranked #14 in Regional Universities West by US News)
* SDSU (Ranked #65 in Top Public Schools West by US News)
* CSU Monterey Bay (Ranked #25 in Regional Universities West by US News)


*
Business

* SJSU (Ranked #22 in Regional Universities West by US News)
* SFSU (Ranked #29 in Regional Universities West by US News)
* CSU Northridge (Ranked #40 in Regional Universities West by US News)
* CSU Long Beach (Ranked #14 in Regional Universities West by US News)
* SDSU (Ranked #65 in Top Public Schools West by US News)



Programs offered at CSUs but not UCs (reference SJSU as an example):

* Advertising (BS)
* Art: Digital Art (Animation, Graphic Design, etc) (BFA)

Writing Admissions Essays: Tips for the UC PIQs
The University of California applications have opened up, and it is CRUNCH TIME. There are a whopping 8 different topics for the UC Personal Insight Questions (UC PIQs). While we can’t cover everything about writing admissions essays in this article, we will list the reasons for choosing or avoiding each prompt, plus the components that go into a strong response to each prompt. and if you are still unsure you plan on taking, start with finding your passion