4 AP Classes for Senior Year: IVY okay?

<p>I've been having arguments with my friends lately, and they told me taking 4 AP classes my senior year will hurt my admission. I should 1-2 more so I can get an extra boost.
I'm already taking
Calculus BC
Spanish Language
US Government
Micro Economics</p>

<p>I'm taking another course on Medical Principles, part of medical school curriculum designed for high school students.</p>

<p>4 is already enough for me. And colleges will not let you take more than four classes during a semester, so how will 5 ap classes impress Ivy Leagues more than 4 ap classes.
And I feel like I'm wasting time taking an extra ap class that I have no interest in. </p>

<p>What's your opinion</p>

<p>Colleges do let you take more than 4 classes a semester, it isn’t uncommon to have 5 or more classes.
5 APs are more impressive because you have one more hard class.
You don’t have to take an extra AP though. It’s more important for you to take classes you are interested in. Also a lot of the Ivies have a cap on how many AP credits they will accept (Columbia’s is at 16).</p>

<p>makman:</p>

<p>As with all things, it depends. What classes are you taking instead of the AP classes. Let me give you an example – My D had the option of taking AP Stats or Honors Multivariable Calc (the course after Calc BC). We were totally unconcerned that taking the Honors Course would hurt her chances anywhere.</p>

<p>Similarly, let’s say your school offers a course in … ummmm Journalism (just an example) and you plan on applying to Journalism schools. I’m pretty sure that taking the Journalism course will look better on your application than say … AP Physics. Of course, if you were going to apply to be a Physics major, the opposite would be true.</p>

<p>I discussed this with a number of admissions officers during college visits. What I was told, is that Rigor of Schedule is NOT a mechanical, check the box exercise, basically, they look at your entire HS Record, and see whether it looks like you were generally taking challenging courses.</p>

<p>Generally is the operative word here – Let’s say that you took courses in Photography (because it interested you) – even if this means that you couldn’t take some AP course down the road, it won’t hurt you in many places (I suppose it could somewhere, but no one I spoke with thought it would be a detriment), and it might even be helpful in some as it makes you a well rounded person.</p>

<p>Overall, my advice is take challenging courses, but don’t let it get in the way of your overall education. And if there’s a course or two that you want to take just because it interests you–GO FOR IT!!</p>

<p>Yes, 4 is already quite rigorous. I honestly don’t see how taking 5 APs senior year versus 4 would “lower” your chances of admission. You’ll be fine.</p>