<p>Like is it "essential" or "necessary" for a shot at the ivy league? Is it really an advantage in the admissions process? Or would taking normal courses and getting A's be just as helpful?</p>
<p>Just wondering. ;)</p>
<p>Let me put it this way... I dont know of anybody from my school going to Ivy Schools next year...</p>
<p>Our school offers 4 AP tests. The AP tests are completely optional- they are taken at a totally different time. Meanwhile, this Class of 2006 was awarded a total of over 1.5 MILLION dollars in scholarships. I believe the class size is approximately 220 or thereabouts.</p>
<p>"Or would taking normal courses and getting A's be just as helpful?"</p>
<p>No.</p>
<p>If your school offers AP (your profile will show whether or not it does), you are essentially expected to take at least some of the most challenging courses offered by your school. The Ivy League represents the pinnacle of academia, and it would be just as unwise for them to accept an underprepared student as it would be for someone to apply there (or worse, attend) if they weren't prepared.</p>
<p>If you're considering your course choices, keep in mind that not taking any APs (if they are offered at your school) will be a serious detriment to your chances at ANY competitive college (even the flagship public in your state, most likely).</p>
<p>I agree.</p>
<p>Difficulty of courses is incredibly important. A B in a tough class is more impressive than an A in a easy one. You should take the hardest classes you can while still managing to get B's in them. Do not take easier courses when you know you can get a decent grade (read: B) in a tougher one. Only take easier courses when you are going to get a C in the harder one.</p>
<p>Taking easier classes to increase class rank/GPA is incredibly dumb if you can handle the more difficult courses.</p>
<p>I also like not having to take Calc next year. Remember, AP courses do count for college credit. :)</p>
<p>The only time I've heard otherwise was my godsister, who apparently took no AP classes (I'm pretty sure her school offered them though) and she got into MIT (with sub 1500 old SAT). But I'm sure she otherwise had top notch grades in honor classes and an overabundance of ECs :) </p>
<p>but otherwise, I highly reccomend you take AP courses... as lastchance said, not only do they look "good" on the transcript, you earn college credit :]</p>
<p>which looks better or are they equal?; IB or AP?</p>
<p>I am pretty sure IB looks better, but don't take my word for that. If your school offers AP, they are necessary. If your school does not offer AP, take the most difficult classes possible.</p>
<p>Ex:</p>
<p>A student who attends a school where 20 APs are available who has only taken 6 does not look as good as a student who attends a school where 5 are available who has taken 4.</p>
<p>what if your school offers both and your in IB and cant take AP?</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
A student who attends a school where 20 APs are available who has only taken 6 does not look as good as a student who attends a school where 5 are available who has taken 4.
[/QUOTE]
er... what if it's literally impossible to take 10+ APs in the first case? i'm sure our school offers 20ish or so AP classes but most people only take 2-3, maxing out at 4. this is because we're not allowed to take ap courses until junior year, and it is only advisable to take 1-2 APs per year :/</p>
<p>"Our school offers 4 AP tests. The AP tests are completely optional- they are taken at a totally different time. Meanwhile, this Class of 2006 was awarded a total of over 1.5 MILLION dollars in scholarships. I believe the class size is approximately 220 or thereabouts."</p>
<p>Our school offers 16. The graduating class in our program was 35 kids. They garnered 3.6 million in scholarship money. AP's matter.</p>
<p>
I'm joining on a question here.</p>
<p>bump bump bump</p>
<p>precocious, that's understandable, have your counselor write something about that in the application.</p>
<p>PaxonIB/mr_chipset, as long as you have a strong schedule they won't care that you've taken IB and no AP classes</p>
<p>It's not about AP or IB, it's just about having a strong schedule and taking difficult courses.</p>
<p>^^ i think you're right i mean they didn't get scholarships because they took Ap they got scholarships because they took a rigorous course schedule and hard classes</p>
<p>i guess theres a fine line here. there are people who take ap classes and people who, in conjunction, do self study aps. im assuming that ideally, a person who takes all the ap classes their school has to offer and does self study aps would be ideal. for example, as a junior, ill have 11 aps on my ap transcript, but a high acheiving junior from my school would probably have only 5, as there are only 5 available to them by that point in time.</p>
<p>whats bump??</p>