For my junior year, Im taking Calc AB and Physics C. These are probably the two hardest classes at my school(no calc BC or e&m). Many people I know are skipping AP Physics and taking easier(well atleast at my school) AP classes such as Psychology or Economics. I will probably lower grades than my previous years, but a good AP score. Do colleges view all AP classes equally or do some look better than others?
Colleges don’t really give preference to certain AP’s. The difficulty of the courses vary from school to school (APES is one of the hardest classes at my school but it considered generally as an easy AP). They consider that some AP’s are easier but it’s not a huge factor.
Debatable because all AP’s are hard but theres a distinct difference between AP Physics C one of the hardest and AP Psych/human. So I would yes some look better than others especially core AP’s like ap lang/lit, calc, chem/bio/physics/history
@agc1998
@Gatortristan
Thank you! Also, do you think I could get general Ed credits for AP sciences such as physics if I don’t major in a science field?
yes you can if you score high enough depending on the college. Even better if it isn’t in your major
Depends on the college (and sometimes the division or major applied to).
I’ll disagree. Calc BC and Physics C are certainly two of the more difficult APs in most schools and university admissions units recognize this clearly. For example, what is more achievable, BC or AB; or C vs. 1? AP Stats and Econ - both macro and micro are easier for many than “normal” level classes.
Sometimes, the school of a university you are applying to matters a lot in this. For example, engineering wants to see the AP Calcs and Physics taken.
Ignore this statement, as it is false. There is definitely a hierarchy of APs, with the hard sciences and Calc BC most favored, and Human Geography, Psychology, and Environmental Science at the other end of the spectrum.
Yes
In the end, they are all counted for College credit so they all look excellent to have on your record. You should try to structure them around what you want to major in college though. Thats what looks the best.
I think that colleges understand which APs are generally more rigorous than others.
No they’re not; this totally depends on the college. For that matter the question of how AP’s are viewed is probably also dependent upon the college.
For the OP: who cares? As long as your schedule is rated “most rigorous” by your GC, it is unlikely that a college AO will cross reference course offerings vs your schedule to second guess your choices; they don’t have that luxury of time. Take courses that interest you and potentially dovetail with a prospective major and perform well in them.
^Lol you still have earned the college credit though. Its then up to their policy which changes for every school.