Hello, so my high school only has a limited selection of APs. I’ve taken/am taking all of the AP classes offered except one because of a scheduling conflict. In Sophomore year I took World History, in Junior year I took American History and English Lit, and in my Senior year I’m taking Calc and Bio.
I do not qualify for fee waivers but the costs of the tests still prove a financial burden. My family can only afford to pay for one a year so I’ve only taken the World History and American History exams. Do colleges care if students don’t take an AP test? I don’t want them to think I didn’t take the test because I didn’t care about the class.
For reference some of the schools I’m applying to are Barnard, Swarthmore, Villanova, Colgate, and Northeastern so they’re pretty competitive. In all of my AP classes I’ve maintained a 94 average or higher.
Many students in my dd’s hs did not take AP courses because of cost constraints. I don’t think it will negatively impact you.
If you can only take one per year, be sure to consider which is most useful for subject credit and advanced placement at the colleges you are considering.
But note that the cost of an AP test is often small compared to the cost of an extra semester of college if the AP test helps you graduate early or avoid graduating late. Or if it fulfills a requirement, the value of extra free elective in college may be worth the cost of the AP test.