Getting in to Columbia without AP classes--possible?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>im currently a junior in high school, and my biggest regret is not taking AP classes these past 3 years. my GPA is 4.0 according to CollegeBoard, and i have taken all honors classes. i have taken challenging courses such as 3 different types of law, Psychology, and Forensics. however, i haven't taken AP classes yet. two questions:</p>

<ol>
<li>if i take 3 AP classes next year, will they make it to my college app?</li>
<li>can i get into Columbia without any AP classes (assuming that the rest of my application is good)?</li>
</ol>

2

<p>It’s possible! :slight_smile: I’d never taken any AP classes before my senior year (in which I took three) and I was admitted. Don’t give up hope!</p>

3

<p>My son only took one AP course his senior yearCalculus AB because it is the only AP course our high school offered! So don’t rule it out!</p>

<p>He was/is a science/techie/math kid and said he spent the first year trying to catch up to everyone else so hit it hard your senior year.</p>

<p>momoffive</p>

4

<p>wow, thanks guys. i was getting depressed because i just realized that all my peers have taken at least 4 APs by now, while i haven’t even taken any yet. </p>

<p>but what about my first question: will the 3 APs i take next year make it to my college app?</p>

5

<p>It’s not really a matter of you taking AP’s, but rather if you’ve taken advantage of the AP courses that your school offers… If your school only offers 1 AP and you haven’t, then you would be okay. On the other hand, if you go to a large school offering all the AP courses and you haven’t taken any yet… that might be a problem. They just want to see that you’ve exhausted all of your academic resources.</p>

6

<p>You will report you are taking the classes and your school report from your counselor will confirm this. I believe your counselor will send in first semester grades to Columbia. (correct me if I’m wrong). I seem to remember Columbia only lets you transfer in 2 AP classes worth of credits (again, correct me if wrong) because they want most of your coursework done at Columbia. They do want to see if you’ve taken the most challenging curriculum your school offers.</p>

7

<p>i’m not sure it really matters. By the time I graduate I will have taken 16 AP classes, and 19 exams. and I’m on the waitlist.</p>

8

<p>It might be a problem because I remember my guidance counselor ticking my box for most rigorous courses amongst the school.</p>

9

<p>Taking the most rigorous classes alone won’t get you in, but not taking advantage of them will keep you out.</p>

10

<p>my school offers about 8 AP classes. im going to take 3 of them next year. i have taken 3 types of law (95+ in all three), Pshychology (99), Mythology (96) and Forensics (97). would those classes count as “rigorous”?</p>

11

<p>All relevant to the school you go to.</p>

12

<p>but i was wondering, do the admissions people know about every single high school (e.g. how many APs each school offers)? or do they look up info on the school to get an idea about what is offered at the school?</p>

13

<p>Your counselor will send a school profile that will provide such information.</p>

14

<p>evertheoptimist - I never knew that. Will the report include graduation requirements and the most AP classes it’s actually possible to take? I’m concerned because my school offers 23, but it’d be almost impossible to graduate if a person took more than about 15. I’d hate for this to work against me.</p>

15

<p>I took…wow. I took seven APs over three years and I got in. What matters most, they say, is taking advantage of what your school has to offer. Mine has a lot, so I took a lot.</p>