<p>Looking at the more selective schools in the country (Top 35), if two applicants had the same exact stats except GPA:</p>
<p>Student 1: All on level classes. No AP's. 4.0 GPA</p>
<p>vs.</p>
<p>Student 2: Very accelerated classes. Multiple AP's (6 by graduation). around 3.3 UW GPA</p>
<p>If they had to accept one or the other, who would they choose? Again, ALL other stats are exactly same. (Test scores, EC's, Recs, Essay)</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>But they don’t have to accept one or the other. Whenever I have been in an information session where this has been asked, which is pretty much all of them, the answer is, we would like to see you take the most difficult curriculum and get As.</p>
<p>I understand, but let’s say they really wanted both applicants, but could only accept one, for whatever reason. Realistically, I know they would just accept both, but my point is are they more impressed with b’s with a harder curriculum or straight a’s with an easy one.</p>
<p>bumpppppppp</p>
<p>^^realistically, both would probably we rejected. Student B with aps has a better chance of getting in and even if student A got in, he/she would much less prepared for college than the 2nd student.</p>
<p>I think there’s a better way for the OP to phrase his/her question:</p>
<p>Which is the better applicant, regardless of there fate in admissions?</p>
<p>Since my freshman year, my counselors have constantly answered this question.
Colleges, in general, love to see that you’re challenging yourself. At my school, if you make an A in a regular core class, the counselors normally make sure you’re in an honors course of the same subject the next year. They say Bs in APs stand out much more on applications than straight As in regular classes. </p>
<p>I know one of the most important factors of whether or not you’re accepted at UNC is your schedule, and this came from an admissions rep, so I think it’s actually pretty true.</p>
<p>“we would like to see you take the most difficult curriculum and get As.”</p>
<p>That answer is so god damn annoying that it almost provokes me enough to want to punch any counselor in the face who says this statement. How the hell does that even answer the question?</p>
<p>The realistic answer is that B’s in your AP’s/Honors will continue to be seen in a much better light than that A in some regular course/joke subject like Environmental Science or something. Just take the hardest classes possible and see if you can manage to maintain at least a solid B. In the end your ranking will most likely be higher due to the weighted effect from taking an advanced class.</p>
<p>I’ve received a straight answer from an admissions officer from a top 10 school that they will take a student with less than perfect grades in the hardest courses than a student with perfect grades in average courses.</p>
<p>thank you askjeeves and tjkid2011. those were the answers i was looking for.</p>