Hi, I’m a junior who is becoming a senior next year. A whole school day usually consists of 7 courses/periods, but I am thinking of only taking 5 courses next year which are all AP courses. If I take 5 next year, I will have more than 10 AP classes I have taken my whole high school life. Would this be okay if I am applying to prestigious colleges like Ivy Leagues or UC Berkeley, Columbia, etc.?
I got into Columbia with 5 senior year, you’re fine. A lot of other factors determine your admission, 5 vs. 7 APs isn’t going to make a ton of difference.
The person to ask is your guidance counselor, not any one of us. Rigor is relative to what is offered in your HS.
The top tier colleges will want to see the guidance counselor check the box on the recommendation saying you have taken the most rigorous course-load available at your HS (which doesn’t mean taking every AP class – there is often some latitude in this). If the guidance counselor says that your prior and current HS schedules are sufficient to get that most rigorous box checked then you are fine.
It depends what APs though and what core classes you have.
Can you list
- what APs you’ve already taken
- whether you’ve reached Calculus and foreign language 4 or Ap (by end of senior year), taken each from Bio Chem Physics
- classes you plan to take senior year
Ten is more than enough APs to prove you can do college level work. If you have a 3.8+ GPA, that’s even better. At that point your acceptance to the highly selective schools is going to depend on your ECs and all the other factors in your application. Yes, it is fine to have a free period (or two) senior year as long as you haven’t overlooked any core classes.