<p>So I have been hearing everybody at school talking about how many AP classes they will take throughout high school. How many is considered "acceptable" at Ivy League schools/ other top schools like Stanford, JHU, etc.? My school offers 18, I plan to take at least 10.</p>
<p>there is no “correct” or even “recommended” number- take a many as you can handle AND get top grades in. Grade point average and the rigor of your classes are both important.</p>
<p>That sounds great. Could be too many or too few depending on the high school. The thing to keep your eye on is your weighted rank.</p>
<p>re: weighted rank.
A LOT of schools dont rank their students, especially private schools, so that really is not as important as there are many other factors that students do have more control over. If you are in the top decile of your HS class you probably should be in good shape, That said, there are some colleges who do see to be more obsessed with “rank” - U of Penn is one.</p>
<p>I not know many good private schools with 18 APs. Most of the top have few or zero. The type with so many APs which anyone can take tend to rank.</p>
<p>Take as many APs as you can. I think one can do well in courses as long as they motivate themselves to do the work, even in the hardest of courses.
Look at your peers for guidance. What I did was basically take whatever was offered and if someone was taking that extra class, then I would as well. Do as well as the rest of your class or better.
It’s not a for sure answer for the Ivies, but you want to be the best you can be when you apply.</p>
<p>I don’t go to a private school, I go to a highly competitive public school in California (If you tell people you have a B, they gasp). Also, we don’t have class rank… 
I would actually want to know my class rank</p>
<p>In order to get into an ivy you have to take all the ap courses…</p>
<p>But in all seriousness, take as many as you are offered/comfortable with. </p>
<p>Sent from my ADR6400L using CC</p>
<p>I think it’s really relative to how many AP classes your school offers. For example, if a school only offers 5 AP classes and you take all 5, that will show colleges you strive to take the hardest possible schedule and commend you for it, even though 5 is small by CC standards.</p>
<p>But at a school that offers 18, taking all 18 is likely not even possible to schedule, so just take a lot of them. How many do the kids who usually get admitted to top schools take? That’s your benchmark.</p>
<p>Ok, now we have a lot more info. A competitive CA public school. The OP needs to know these schools are typically hugely grad inflated. Often a GPA of 4.2 will not put you in the top 10%. </p>
<p>Ask your counselor for the school’s profile with grade distribution info.</p>
<p>You should take as many as you can while still doing well. I only took 3 and got in…but I think my school only offers like 10.</p>
<p>@ Lagging- where do you go to college?</p>
<p>Stanford next year.</p>
<p>Oh my gosh. How do people do it?</p>
<p>I go to a competitive California public but we don’t have grade inflation like that. 4.2 is definitely top 10%…</p>
<p>My school offers around the same. Most Ivy bound take 2-3 sophomore, then 4-5 junior and senior year. Just take as many as you can while still mantaining ECs and most importantly, sanity.</p>
<p>Lol it’s different for everyone. Personal experience (and general rule for my school)- academics only get you so far. Everyone I know who was accepted to Stanford had some sort of outstanding EC and solid academics. </p>
<p>Top academic people get rejected every year from my school, even those who get perfect scores on SAT/ACT. I know a champion rock climber, three entrepreneurs, and a few musicians going to Stanford next year. I guess it depends on the school, but if it’s holistic admissions don’t stress too much about number of APs.</p>
<p>I see…
so I plan to take 2 sophomore year, 5 junior year, and 6 senior year. 13 in all. 13/18 okay??</p>
<p>ONLY if you can handle it- easily. Dont count your chickens before they hatch!
DS took 1 soph, 2 Jr and 4 Sr. Sr year was hell …</p>
<p>5 junior and 6 senior sounds way excessive to me. I think Lagging’s point was a good one. As long as you have solid academics, what colleges really look for is outstanding ECs. Take what you can handle.</p>