<p>It's not mandatory in the sense that if you don't have it, they throw you into the trash can.</p>
<p>what I'm assuming your counselor meant (perhaps giving her the benefit of the doubt too much), is that AP Lit it a pretty standard AP, that a large percentage of Ivy-bound students take because pretty much everyone takes English for 4 years, and thus if your school offers AP Lit, most top-reaching students, who are aiming for a "most rigorous" courseload, will select it. </p>
<p>The exception, of course, would be if your school only offers one or two periods of it, and thus it would mess up your schedule to take it. If that were the case, and you took honors (or AP lang, if you haven't, etc.), I'm sure colleges would understand.</p>