<p>How many AP classes do ivies look for?</p>
<p>There is no set number. Top colleges want to see you have take the most rigorous schedule at your school. For some high schools, that’s IB, others maybe honors. Some high schools it may be APs, but different high schools have different number of APs offered and may have restrictions on getting into APs.</p>
<p>you can never take enough AP classes</p>
<p>I have no restrictions on AP classes, but i only have room for 6 of them on my schedule. Is that going to hurt my chances?</p>
<p>They cannot penalize you for what you cannot do. If you have taken the most rigorous schedule (or close to it) offered in the context of your school, you will be fine. Then again, I’d be wary about stressing yourself out too much to the point that it becomes unmanageable. Students I have known (yes, even those who have gotten into ivies) have actually elected to take less aps than they possibly could so they could do well in all of them and dedicate time to more things such as extracurriculars. Since every school offers a different amount and some schools even have no APs/IBs, it’s all about the context not a set number.</p>
<p>I could only take gov and chem my junior year and I’m not sure I’ll do well in gov. The absolute max I can take is 10, but that would be ridiculously stressful senior year so I can’t really do that</p>
<p>
The value added to a college application after 6-8 AP’s over your HS career is negligible. You are better served using some time to strengthen other aspects of your profile. Do not underestimate the sheer volume of work that will go into completing your college applications.</p>
<p>A lot depends on the mix of APs you take and how your school runs them. At some schools, taking six is nothing, at some schools, four is the max that a sane person takes. The general rule is if you’re taking the core APs, 3-4 per year (junior/senior year) is enough and the max you want to take. Find two to take sophomore year and that’s 10 with a reasonable schedule, but 6-8 well chosen ones are usually good enough.</p>
<p>
Friend’s daughter, in this Fall’s Harvard Freshman class, took a whopping 3 APs, though her school offers many. One doesn’t get into a highly selective U by piling on numbers but by being interesting and right for the school.</p>
<p>Conventional wisdom: take as many as you can reasonably expect to do well in.</p>
<p>If you take six but get all Bs, maybe you should only take 4. It’s great to aim for selective colleges – but don’t strategize yourself into a poor GPA. Absolutely push yourself. But know your limits.</p>