<p>I posted earlier about my son having problems with his school not letting him take advanced classes and how he was considering junior year admission. I had previously asked people about AP’s vs. just taking the courses at community college (since his small high school doesn’t and won’t offer AP’s). </p>
<p>Anyway, I wrote Stanford admissions email about the whole mess, and today I talked with them by phone. They answered my general questions, and I thought I’d pass on what I was told. This was about my specific situation, so your mileage may vary. Some of this should be obvious, but I’m restating it, 'cause that’s what we talked about.</p>
<li><p>Stanford isn’t looking for AP’s per se. They’re looking for each student to take challenging courses where available, and how that student has challenged themselves. They also want to see that you’ve done well at that challenge. </p></li>
<li><p>Stanford does not compare students from one school to students from another. Not having AP’s or whatever at your school doesn’t prevent you from being accepted. </p></li>
<li><p>As far as AP’s vs. community college, I was told that my son should pick what was best for him, what challenged him, to make his own choices, and not based on some idea that Stanford would rather see one or the other. </p></li>
<li><p>Because Stanford only looks at 10/11/12 courses, if you apply as a Junior, you’re at a disadvantage because you only have two years of courses. (They don’t look at 9th grade just because you’re applying early.) They would rather see a student spend time taking community college classes and maturing than rushing to apply with a thin transcript. </p></li>
<li><p>And finally, as long as the college courses are to fullfill high school requirements instead of for college transferrable credit (and here, you can choose), they don’t count towards having to apply as a transfer student. </p></li>
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<p>Again, this is just what I was told wrt my own questions and background, so your situation may be different.</p>