<p>I would agree with others that AP Lit/English is not absolutely REQUIRED to get into a top school, but....</p>
<p>I must disagree with those who say that AP English is not a staple course. It is arguably the most common staple AP course that the top colleges will like to see, along with courses like APUS and AP Calc. In my personal experience and research and from the knowledge that I have gleaned from admissions deans on these forums and from college advice books, if your school offers AP English and you do not take it, you will be a in a small and not particularly desirable minority among applicants to the top colleges. If there is one thing that students at the top colleges do a lot of, it is reading and writing. Also, not to be cruel, but colleges are going to know that AP English is a more rigorous course than AP Enviro, for example, and will not rate that AP course equally as AP English. </p>
<p>Now, if you are taking an otherwise rigorous courseload and the next level down of English isn't really basic, I think that it is okay to not take AP English. But it is a class that you should really have a good reason not to take, in my opinion, if you are serious about highly selective colleges.</p>