<p>Is it really detrimental to opt for an honors course rather than the AP Course? I have heard that this could be the thing that gets people rejected from schools outright, but the only thing is that I am not that interested in the subject, so I chose to not take it just so it would "look good." Did I just mess up my chances for an "elite" school?</p>
<p>No, I don’t think it will. If you opt to take the honors course, then that still shows that you’re willing to challenge yourself, just not as much by taking the AP class. One class won’t mess up your chances for an elite school.</p>
<p>Alright…I guess you could be right. Another thing was that our school offers other “English” classes as well like “Film appreciation” or like other more specialized classes that take a different approach rather than just essay writing and reading books. I think they offer philosophy too, and those classes were ineresting to me, and I could not take them if I had opted for AP. I hope you are right about this though, illusiondestiny</p>
<p>I have also heard that it matters a lot for University of California schools. They are kind of far away geographically, but they are still a destination where I would really like to go to for college. Does AP English really count for more there?</p>
<p>How well did you do the year before in English? If you weren’t really struggling I would still take it. I definitely would not take the specialized courses. I know at our school, those are the more “slacker” English classes.</p>
<p>oh I had As, since as of now I have 4.0. Currently I am only in the honors class. Mainly the big deterrant for AP was cuz I am a slow reader…I guess this is pretty bad for me then.</p>
<p>Does everyone else seem to agree that not taking it is really bad?</p>
<p>Take it. It may seem like you aren’t challenging yourself to the fullest extent.</p>
<p>Oh I am already at honors english though. I don’t can’t really change it…just wondering how bad it really is.</p>
<p>It’s pretty important to colleges. Essays are key to being successful in college and AP English Lang/Lit is the best way to learn/practice, and colleges know that. It won’t look good, but it’s not too bad either, particularly if your application essays are well developed and well written. It certainly won’t be the deciding factor in your application, so don’t worry about it.</p>
<p>Ah ok…I know it won’t help me, but I guess it will kind of destroy hopes for schools that are already a reach… I guess my problem is that I focused more on taking classes that I enjoy (and do well in them) rather than take any class just to please colleges. But does honors look that much worse than AP? It would really suck if I am denied because I don’t like English that much and am a slow reader, but I guess thats the way it is sometimes.</p>
<p>On a separate note, if one does not get into an Ivy League or another “elite” school, is there still hope for grad school at one of them or not?</p>
<p>Nope, missing AP English won’t hurt you. Why would it? You’re in honors English, have a 4.0 and, presumably, have the right other points on your application and will write great essays.
Far, far worse is if you stopped taking challenging math classes. Or, if you float your GPA with what Nuc’ called slacker classes.</p>
<p>Ha ok, I guess I might have been caught up in all this college fever kind of stuff. I guess you’re also familiar with it. It’s just all these rumors about how you HAVE to take this or you HAVE to do this. I even read stories about counselors hinting that AP English was absolutely necessary for acceptance. Do people agree mostly with lookingforward?</p>
<p>I just hope you don’t get those responses that tell you a 2200 won’t get you in anywhere decent. My experience is that sticking with math is far more important. Watch what you read. Magazine and newspaper articles (and for-pay college counselors) love to breed fear. It sells.</p>
<p>Yes you make a good point. Sometimes I get that from these forum posts too. But then again, I’m talking about how serious not taking AP English would hurt my chances at schools like HYPSM, where already they are a big reach. My stats make it possible, but I am not sure if my activities are world-class (i.e. I am not famous, or champion at anything, or the author of books). I just do what I like, not to please colleges. But not everything works out like that. </p>
<p>So when you said that not taking AP English would not hurt me, were you talking about ALL schools? </p>
<p>Also, before anyone berates me for being a jerk who only cares about “name-recognition” schools, I’m not one. I’m simply curious if this would be more of a problem at the really elite schools like HYPSM.</p>
<p>No and no and no. AP Eglish is not magic. Replacing Honors English with a “for dummies” class would look bad. Filling your transcript with misc non-competitive classes is bad. Missing AP English is not what can keep you out of a top school. A lackluster app and poor essays are deadly. Lousy recomendations are bad. </p>
<p>Big reach schools are tough for all. You commit to what you think is the best path and accept that results aren’t predictable. As a parent, I can tell you that all this fretting does you far more disservice. See if you can do your best and enjoy the ride. :)</p>
<p>ha ok that is sound advice. I also wanted to make sure I would have time to write my college essays, so I decided to go for honors instead. I probably the best thing to do is just to stop fretting, but I still wonder how stupid of a decision that was. I’ll see in April…</p>