So I’m planning to take 2 AP’s and 2 honors in junior year, and I’ll take 5 AP’s in senior year. Is that enough if I want to go to an Ivy school? I feel like I shouldn’t take too many AP’s in junior year if I want to study for the SAT and ACT. Help me please! And thank you for replying!
depends on how many your school offers. Is 2 the max?
Ask your guidance counselor if your past and projected schedule is sufficient for him/her to check the box saying you have taken the most rigorous schedule available at your HS.
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It depends upon what your school offers. Most successful applicants to T20 schools have taken the most rigorous classes offered by their schools, and done very well, plus have very high standardized test scores (although next year is test optional, too), plus have outstanding extracurricular achievements. The bar is set lower for under-represented minorities, recruited athletes, children of big donors, and legacy students (although lately, it seems that being a so-so legacy applicant only gets you the consolation prize of being wait-listed).
So, if you’re taking AP English and AP History, plus honors math and honors language because that is what your school’s normal sequence would be in 11th grade, and you take honors science because that is what your school’s usual sequence is, with an AP science in 12th grade, then I think you’ll be seen as having taken a sufficiently rigorous course load. But if you’re not taking the most rigorous classes available to you without some really good reason (like skating 3 hours a day because you’re a seriously highly ranked skater trying for the Olympics, or practicing violin 4 hours a day because you’re trying to make the National Youth Orchestra, or working on your award-winning Intel Science project that’s also leading to a paper in Science or Nature), then yes, I do think that it could negatively affect your chances at a T20 school. Taking less challenging courses because you want to study for the SAT/ACT is not a good reason. I’d recommend taking the best classes available to you, with the best teachers, to get the most out of your education. Better to study for the SAT/ACT intensively over this summer, take a first administration at the end of the summer, before school even starts. If need be, prep some more over Christmas break and try again in January. But don’t plan on taking less rigorous classes in order to spend more time studying for the SAT/ACT during the school year. Honestly, that’s counterproductive, forgoing the best education you can get in high school, in order to prep for a test that supposedly shows how much education you go in high school!
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Somehow I feel that this is the wrong question, but I am having trouble putting my finger on why. My apologies up front if this reply is going to ask more questions and not answer any.
On the one hand top ranked universities can be a lot of work and involve a lot of pressure. I am not sure that “I want limit the pressure my junior year of high school” and “I want to go to a high pressure university” necessary fit together quite right.
However, it is very clear that high school students in the US are under way too much pressure. Stress related illnesses are very common among high school students here in the US. Intentionally limiting the amount of stress that you are putting on yourself seems like a very mature and sensible thing to do.
I think that you should do what is right for you. Then find a university that is a good fit for what you have done. If 2APs is right for you, that is the right thing to do. There will be very good universities which are fine with this. Whether they will be ones that compete in the Ivy League I cannot predict.
This does lead to the question: What do you want in a university? Would you want to attend a high pressure famous university?
Of course you are still only half way through high school. It would be very unreasonable for me to expect you to have an answer to this question (which I did not answer for myself until after I had graduated university and worked for a year, but before I applied to graduate schools). I am not suggesting that you need an answer to this now, but only that you should think about it.
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If you have the opportunity to take more AP’s, then I think you should. The SAT is not really a test you have to prepare for all year long like an AP test, it really only takes a good study schedule of around 1 month. Plus, many of the SAT administrations aren’t at the same time as your AP tests, so I think you should take more AP classes if your school/schedule allows.
I never realized that! Thank you, and you’re right. If I want to challenge myself in an Ivy school then why go easy during high school? And I don’t have a good reason, so I’ll change my courses. Thanks for such a descriptive reply!
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^^^This!!! I’m a test prep tutor and I couldn’t agree more: Schools care about your course rigor and grades first, and your test scores (if you even send them), second or third along with ECs/passions. Of course you want to be strong in both if you can, but it doesn’t make sense to sacrifice the most important thing for the second or third most important thing.
I recommend you take a mock SAT and ACT in June once school lets out, pick which one you prefer, and study 2-4 hours per week this summer. Then when school starts, keep up about 2 hours of practice per week. If you’re feeling good, aim for a first test in December, otherwise next spring is fine. Then you can do a second test at the end of jr year, or in the summer or in fall of sr year. Time is on your side – these tests reward consistency much more than cramming!
Good luck, and remember – there are many, many more excellent schools that don’t compete in the Ivy athletic league, and your college list will need to include more of these. You want to avoid the fate of the distressed CC posters who applied to all ivy athletic league schools and got shut out…
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You can take every AP your school offers and get top scores and still have a 95% chance of being rejected by the Ivys.
Take the classes that interest you.
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People already answered your question - and a lot has to do with # of courses offered. But 2 AP and 2 Honors is likely not going to be seen as rigorous. If your school offers only 2 APs, that’s different - but if you had just 4 classes Honors +, then you had regular and unless it’s mandatory stuff like PE or Personal Finance, that can’t be good…forget the Ivys, for any top 40.
Let me leave you with this - get past the “Ivy”. So many kids with perfect GPAs, high rigor, high ACTs are getting turned down - to the Ivys, Duke, Hopkins, Chicago, Rice, etc. All these kids are applying and even for the most accomplished, all those schools are a stretch.
So get your mind past that - there are other fantastic schools out there - private and your state flagship - that probably has a wonderful honors college.
My daughter’s valedictorian applied to 18 schools - got into NYU and UT Knoxville where she’s attending as NYU does little merit aid. The other 16 - look at the US News top 20 and all 16 came from there. Rejected at all.
Come up with a smart plan. The IVYs are stretches. I don’t know your test scores but the next tier down likely are too.
So be smart about where you apply - and don’t want to go somewhere - just because of its notoriety. After all, even amongst the Ivys, there are many different types of schools (what they offer, the environment, the size).
Fit and budget (which is part of fit) is what you should be looking at.
Good luck.
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What classes are you planning to take junior and senior year?
It’s not exactly the quantity of APs but which ones, and some honors classes are more important than some APs. For instance Honors foreign language 4 is more important than AP human Geo, Honors precalculus is more important than AP stats, Honors even regular physics is more important than APES.
What’s your parents’ budget?