HOw important are 12th grade classes? I am in the 11th grade with 3 ap classes so far and all A’s throughout high school. If i take 5 ap classes next year, will that make a big difference in my applications? Thank you. Please feel free to share your experiences. Also, I might take a few colleges classes this summer.
<p>Racking up APs is not so important if means not taking a chance a subject of value that perhaps you can get otherwise. My school had seminars and I chose to take 2 specialty seminars rather than continue calculus for yet another term....I took a specialty stats applied to voting patterns and I also took a course on History and baseball.....both were amazing and I did not suffer at all by taking less calculus....i pondered over this with an academic dean before changing my schedule and he encouraged me to take a different path.....adcoms see much of AP Calc and such...all look alike after awhile. Sometimes taking a class outside your norm i the senior year helps ward off Senioritis......my senior spring was great. I applied ED and got in but had made my plan and was concerned about the college's reaction to changing the math.</p>
<p>AP classes are important in your senior year if you are applying to the intellectually elite colleges, or any other college that wants midyear grade reports. Methinks they won't want to see you just taking flower design and PE in your final year, but don't hurt yourself. Senior year should be fun. I agree with hazmat that you should really take a class you like to fend off evil senioritis. For me, that happens to be an AP class, though (Euro hooray!) Be careful if you do take 5 AP, because if/when you get burned out, you don't want your colleges seeing a big nosedive, gradewise, in AP classes, which would be less likely to happen in a lower level course where yoou aren't totally screwed if you skip a few readings. But, good luck!</p>
<p>Yes, very impt if applyimg to top colleges.</p>
<p>Would 2 or 3 APs be enough during senior year for top colleges?</p>
<p>I am in a high school program called the International Baccalaureate Program. Basically it's the most prestigious program in high school recognized internationally. Currently I am a senior taking all college level courses. My recommendation is that you should take as many AP level classes as you can so that you can recieve college credit; thus, cutting the cost. </p>
<p>P.S. It's not as hard as people make it seem to be.</p>
<p>I mean more in terms of admissions though, I definitely see the benefit with cots of materials etc. in college</p>
<p>Well, at Ivies you really don't save any money taking most AP's, though certain ones can help</p>
<p>At state colleges they are a real help though</p>
<p>A courseload with only three AP classes is not very heavy at all. The best thing to do is to maintain the same amount or more. Selective colleges don't want to see seniors taking it easy. And it's not very impressing if you switch to a lower level course within the same subject area (e.g., AP English to English, AP U.S. History to Govt/Econ, AP Chemisty to regular lab science, etc.), especially if you had an A in that subject.</p>
<p>at the same time, though, colleges want to see that people can have other priorities than school and grades. if you were in ap english every year and had an A but you did not enjoy it at all, i'd say switch down to regular english. my friend did that this year, and she was still accepted to top colleges. so many ap's don't necessarily make you stand out; sometimes it can be a unique art class or an extracurricular, so i would not stress on the academics unless you really love the class.</p>
<p>Heh. Best way is to do everything... I don't think it would be too hard to do something extra on top of the 3 APs... and besides, why not take the challenge if one is capable of doing it? You're only cheating yourself out of learning by taking a class below your level.</p>
<p>I don't understand your point about "if you were in ap english every year and had an A but you did not enjoy it at all, i'd say switch down to regular english." I mean, it's still a required class (be it English or anything else). Now, I would agree with not taking AP Music Theory, AP Psychology, AP Environmental Science, etc. if there is no interest. These classes aren't mandatory for graduation. People often times take these courses to increase their GPA.</p>
<p>Do whatever you think is interesting...don't take an AP class, just because you think it will increase or decrease your chances. Chances are, there is someone out there that is better than you...and will always be! If you take 5 APs, you're gonna kill yourself (at my school at least, and at my school 3 is death as it is). Plus, there is someone that is probably going to take 8...you have to stop thinking about everyone else, and think about yourself. What do you want?!</p>
<p>12th grade classes are extremely important because even if you are applying rolling admissions at the beginning of the school year, most applications will ask aabout your current schedule. Schools want to see that you are continuing on an upward trend. </p>
<p>Most elite schools expect you to take the most rigerous coures offered at your school and do well in them. They would like to see that you are challenging your self. </p>
<p>You will be evaluated against what is available to you. If your school offers a full complement of AP courses, and you have only taken 2 , you will be viewed differently from someone whose school only offers 4 and has taken 3 or those 4 courses.</p>
<p>I took a really tough schedule for my senior year (even mentioned it briefly on one of my essays) and it really helped me a lot in admissions. I was a definite borderline candidate in terms of stats (probably median 50% for my top schools) and I got admitted to all of them. So i'd say that it helps.</p>
<p>Does it look good to take a lot of community college classes along with your school courses?</p>
<p>If you are going to apply to a college that grants interviews, why not schedule an interview and bring this up as one of your questions? "I have these options, how might they be considered by the admissions process?"</p>
<p>Some schools might tell you it depends on the major. If you are majoring in a non science - risking a "C" in AP calculus might not be a great idea, on the other hand not taking math might send up a flag at some schools. That is why I suggest speaking to an adcom. Julliard for example wouldn't care if you took any AP's if you can sing/dance/ play/ or act up to their standard.</p>
<p>IDK your location but at UC's and other colleges in CA, most of them require that you just have passing grades and for many UC's, you must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA.</p>
<p>The grades you get senior year shouldnt be that important unless you screw up really really bad. if you had senioritis in the first semester and passed all ur classes, for second semester, just show improvement.</p>
<p>yeah... just don't get too lazy. don't get too many C's or any C's your senior year, you should be fine for college.</p>
<p>A 'C' in AP calc and AP physic isnt that bad actually.</p>
<p>Are you kidding?</p>