<p>Marite,
While the young man you mentioned is certainly amazing, I think it is also important to remind students (and parents) that you don’t HAVE to take 20+ AP classes, or even 8 or 10, to get into a very good college. </p>
<p>I certainly don’t have a problem at all with kids who want and need more challenge loading up on AP courses. Bright and talented kids should be encouraged to challenge themselves. Unfortunately, I also often talk to kids who feel they have no choice about taking on large numbers of AP courses regardless of their desire, ability to handle them, or interest – and then they suffer the the stress and self-doubt that occurs when they discover they are in over their heads. </p>
<p>AP courses are NOT a pre-requisite for college admissions, but we often seem to imply that they are: No AP, no college for you. Only one or two APs? Too bad, you’re doomed to community college because you’re obviously a slacker. That’s really not true at all - there are plenty of good solid colleges that take kids without a single AP course. Again, not suggesting that kids who want and need more challenge shouldn’t take as many as they can handle, but somehow we have turned this into a sort of AP arms-race for everybody, regardless of their readiness for AP, and I think that negates the real purpose of AP, which is to give kids who are READY for college-level work a chance to do so.</p>
<p>In any case, the message needs to be repeated more often that the number of AP courses any particular student should take is a matter of individual ability and choice, not a mandate set by any college gatekeeper in the land. But then, if I ruled the world, it would be a much better place. :)</p>