<p>If my guidance counselor is going to check the most rigorous schedule box, does it matter if I don't take ALL the AP courses I could have taken e.g. taking Honors Spanish V over AP Spanish.</p>
<p>Do challenge yourself with AP classes if you want to be competitive for high-ranking colleges. However, only take as many AP/Honors courses as you will be able to DO WELL IN. There is no point in taking on an extremely heavy workload if you will not be able to excel under it.
Take on courses which will represent the major you will be applying under. If you are applying to colleges as a science major, fill your schedule with science classes. Colleges like to see that you’ve demonstrated and applied your knowledge in the field you’re interested in entering.
Ultimately, unless the class is an AP/honors course, colleges do not know the difference between an A in ‘Sports Medicine’ & and A in ‘Physiology’. So, unless the class is somehow noted as different/ more rigorous in the title (unless it is AP, honors, ROP, or IB), the college has no idea that the class is harder or more prestigious. </p>
<p>Credentials: Attending UCB in the fall.</p>
<p>So it’s okay if I didn’t take AP Spanish since I’m a prospective engineering major?</p>
<p>If you plan to take Spanish in college, you do want to take the more advanced course in high school in order to increase the chance of higher placement in college (so that you need fewer Spanish courses to achieve the desired level of proficiency).</p>
<p>Or, if you want the highest level of useful Spanish language skill without taking any additional courses in college, choose the more advanced course.</p>
<p>I think yall are misunderstanding the tense. I already chose not to take AP Spanish as a junior and I have no intention of taking it next year. I did take Honors Spanish V though. My question was if by not taking AP Spanish, would it reflect poorly on the rigor of my schedule even though the most rigorous box will be checked?</p>
<p>If Spanish is not your thing, then there’s no reason you should take it. However, what are you taking instead of it? If you’re ditching Spanish in favor of something relevant to your future plans, like engineering, then that shouldn’t matter at all. If you’re dropping Spanish in favor of an off period, then maybe it would look bad, but I still don’t think much so.</p>
<p>The OP has taken hon Spanish 5 as a Jr (choosing this over AP Spanish). The question is how will the choice of taking honors over AP matter in admissions? It’s already happened (Jr year), not a choice for Sr year.</p>
<p>^What above poster said.</p>