AP classes are important for those in public schools that are not “loaded”; bright public school kids get college credit in most state colleges and can start college with the next level courses, saving thousands in the process; I know quite a few that were able to graduate in 3 years because of the excellent results in AP tests. But hey, elites don’t care about these details, as ivies barely give any credit for a limited number of AP scores of 5, $ to pay for 4 years of college is not generally an issue for those coming from elite prep schools and applying to elite colleges.