<p>I was just wondering how much do colleges weigh in AP courses. I'm a freshman and I really want to go to University of Chicago. I have an interest in Economics and I was wondering how many AP's are enough. I want to have time for clubs and other activities. So what do you think I should take? I'm sure about taking AP Euro and AP Chem next year because my teachers really recommend me to. So which ones should I take out of the ones offered Junior and Senior year?</p>
<p>Junior Year:
AP Biology
AP US History
AP Calculus AB
AP English Language
AP Spanish</p>
<p>Senior Year:
AP Physics
AP US Government
AP Calculus BC
AP English Lit.</p>
<p>So which classes should I drop for someone heading into a major in either Economics or Statistics? What I was thinking of is dropping: AP English Lang, AP English Lit., AP Physics.
Any suggestions by you guys? I can't drop AP Bio for Honors because I need Bio to graduate and I don't want to be in class with Freshman while I'm in junior year.</p>
<p>The more AP classes that your high school offers the more important that taking them becomes – at least that’s the case if you are intent on applying to very selective colleges (such as University of Chicago).</p>
<p>The rigor of your coursework will be examined by colleges in the context of what courses your school offers.</p>
<p>Take them all and get all A’s, or adjust your goals. There are many fine schools you can apply to, but U Chicago and schools of similar competitiveness will want to see that you maxed out your school’s offerings.</p>
<p>^^^^ that. Take as many as you can manage and get good grades.</p>
<p>Chicago doesn’t care which ones you take necessarily–remember they believe in a broad curriculum, hence their core. So take as many as you can.</p>
<p>My son took every single AP offered except for the ones in foreign languages (so he had 14 total) and got all As and got 5s on all the AP exams. He got deferred EA but got in RD and seriously, compared to many of the kids who got in, he is a slacker.</p>
<p>The goal is to take the most rigorous course load YOUR school offers. It doesn’t matter if your school doesn’t offer 14 APs. What matters is that you took full advantage of your school’s curriculum.</p>
<p>And please remember, there are so many fantastic schools out there. Don’t get so attached to one school that you put all your eggs in one basket.</p>
<p>Finally: I think interest really does matter in Chicago. Six kids applied to Chicago from my son’s school and he was the only one who got in. I am totally convinced that this is because he showed a lot of interest in the school and made it very clear to his admission rep that Chicago was his first choice.</p>
<p>Don’t drop taking any AP classes. My kids took HS grad requirements in summer, so they could take more AP during the reg year. If you do the same, that will open up your schedule for the other APs. Although my STEM kid couldn’t take AP Eng Lit because AP Physics time conflicted - the counselor addressed this in a letter.</p>
<p>I feel like 5 is too much for 1 year though, I want to do extra curriculars such as debate and Academic Decathlon and Water Polo. I feel like if I do those I will barely have any time for homework when I take these classes. It seems to hard.</p>