<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I am sort of at a cross roads because I am about to be a senior in high school and am 95% sure that I will be going to UMass Amherst (my local state school) for computer science. As of now I do not have any plans to apply to any other school except for a couple of safeties, because UMass Amherst is the best investment considering my major is CS and the low cost. However, if magically some financial aid lines up and I and I decide to cash in my parents ability to afford more expensive schools, then I would probably apply to UW Madison or UMD CP. But I just do not see that happening. My question is would it not be the smartest move to ease up my senior course load (in order to make more time to self study AP's that will provide college credit) and maybe not pile on AP's to impress colleges, rather only taking the AP's that exempt me from certain courses at UMass. Also, I already have a 30 on the ACT and I believe that is enough to qualify me for the 2,000 Dean's Scholarship at UMass, therefore I am considering not spending more time raising my ACT. Additionally, I should add that I am not interested in the honors college at UMass so that is not a reason for me to pile on AP's and improve my ACT. The reason I am considering optimizing my senior schedule and time spent on the ACT is because I want to take full advantage of the fact that I already know where I want to go for college and I want to spend more time helping my UMass career.</p>