<p>Hypothetically, which one is better to take your SENIOR year during high school for the ivy leagues(disregarding any credit gains for college, just strictly for admissions)? I know the situation matters a lot and it depends on which APs you're taking, etc, but just on a general level between these options, which one would you say looks most appealing if the student has been taking APs from 10th grade:</p>
<ol>
<li>6 APs</li>
<li>5 APs + 1 CC course</li>
<li>4 APs + 2 CC courses.</li>
</ol>
<p>Personally, I'd think choice (2) would be the most appealing to high tier colleges for two reasons:
-it shows diversity, as you are not only taking APs at your school, but college classes as well, which adds another "field" to your app.
-because it is senior year, colleges will not see AP test scores, so they cannot validate the difficulty of the class and grade inflation, so in the absence of the AP test, the community college course is more representative of course vigor.</p>
<p>I know this is pretty nitty-gritty as choices 1 and 2 are basically the same, but what do you guys think?</p>
<p>Well it seems no one is answering. I will go with the cc-AP compromise as of now, but if I may HYPShopeful, I advise against choice (3). I don’t think any number of APs over 6 would particularly impress HYPS that much more, as I’ve found out from the last two graduating classes at my school. Of course, this is relative to my school, yours might be quite different!</p>
<p>Well, I’ll give it a try since no one else is answering. However, it may give you mixed feelings about this whole CC vs. AP course decision because there are two main arguments I’ve seen here and there in the forum.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Take AP’s-you take a national exam [AP exam] so there is a more tangible measurement of what you’ve learned [straightforward measurement for colleges to see and understand]</p></li>
<li><p>Take CC’s-pursue courses that are not normally offered at your school to show your interests or level of advancement </p></li>
</ol>
<p>When it comes to the equivalent AP/CC course, I’ve heard pros and cons, so I think you’ll have to decide-are you avoiding a national exam or enriching your knowledge?</p>
<p>Yeah this is the argument I see on the forums too (btw thanks for answering). But in this case, it is senior year I am talking about, so the game is changed – the national exams are basically disregarded from college admissions, because the results come summer AFTER senior year, at the time you will be basically college-enrolled for sure. So there is no way for colleges to check you took the exam or got a good grade in it. This is why I think that AP exam advantage is void for senior year.</p>
<p>As for courses offered at the school, I agree, you should only take CC classes if the AP is not offered at the school or your school schedule is filled. So the CC classes would be “extra” enrichment.</p>
<p>I took 2 CC courses the summer before my sophomore year. They were Microecon (my school only offers AP Macro) and Musicianship (I needed to fulfill my art req for graduation, and my school only offers dance and video production -____-) I thought they were infinitely easier than AP classes at my high school. I’d recommend taking the all AP schedule.</p>
<p>All AP classes are on par with each other throughout the nation, so the challenge and quality of your AP courses is defined to the adcoms. On the other hand, community college education will vary by institution. Thus, the rigor of the CC course is questionable. </p>
<p>As aryus and gaginang pointed out, you should only resort to CC courses for enrichment that isn’t available at your high school. So, in the case of HYPSMhopeful, I would personally opt for the 6 APs and multivariable at a CC, unless MVC is offered at your high school.</p>
<p>@superhamster: I agree with you completely that AP exams are more reliable. However, this is for grades 9-11. Colleges know that they will not see the AP exam scores for 12th grade (because they come out at summer, when you’re long accepted), so all of a sudden, AP rigor is questionable (for example, easy AP teachers). In this case, a college course would be equivalent to an AP. Of course, the college courses should not be offered as APs at the high school. </p>
<p>@HYPSM: yeah that’s a another factor you’d have to think about… the time getting to the CC ahaha…</p>