<p>to get into a top 25 school, do you have to take the hardest course in EVERYTHING at your school? obviously the rigor of your high school transcript is important. I was just wondering if you - for example - took the hardest classes in everything but did not take AP math if this would matter. </p>
<p>I will be in the hardest courses for everything at my school, except I am not on a track to take AP AB/BC calc. The only math courses I would be able to take senior year would be AP Statistics or Math Application/Analysis Adv. </p>
<p>You have to take the “more rigorous course load available to you,” as opposed to simply “a rigorous course load,” as per the checkbox your GC would mark on her recommendation paperwork. What that means is up to your GC. We can’t really tell you, as it’s up to his/her interpretation of those statements.</p>
<p>^The box he checks off actually isn’t that important. Admissions officers know that certain GCs are more stringent upon the requirements a student must satisfy in order to have that box checked off than others. </p>
<p>To the OP, just take AP Stats and you should be fine in this aspect of your application.</p>
<p>How much do they take scheduling issues into account? My school thoroughly messed up my plans for this year by scheduling the only AP Bio class at the same time as the only AP Physics class. Next year I am planning on taking several AP classes that offer only one section and may not be compatible with one another. Does the college judge the schedule as well as the GC or is it purely based on the GC’s opinion?</p>
<p>Also, does not taking a foreign language disqualify you from this? There are no college level courses offered in the language I took for graduation so I elected to drop it to take some useful electives.</p>
<p>The college will be the ultimate judge, but your GC provides information to put your achievement in the context of your school. You absolutely don’t have to take the hardest course in everything, but you should be taking one of the most rigorous courseloads availabe to you. In my opinion, that means challenging yourself in the areas you consider your strongest and, like you’ve done with math, not overburdening yourself with an impossible schedule.</p>
<p>Grape, consider having your GC attach a note to your transcript if you’re really worried. Your school profile will have all the APs available to you listed, so you may want to clarify that taking all or most of those is impossible due to your school’s way of scheduling. I imagine that’s a fairly common issue though, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it.</p>
<p>@run: I’m pretty sure that AP Stats would be fine. It is, after all, an AP class and it is extremely useful, especially if you’re going to be a social sciences major in college.</p>