<p>My son would like some realistic advice on how many AP courses he should take. He is a rising junior, in a few honors courses and taking APUSH this coming year and plans on AP Calc, AP Stats, and AP Econ senior year (total of 4). So......not to be "scared off" by the stats of the cc'ers, what are the realistic numbers for the following schools: Vandy, WashU, and then moving to schools like Univ. of Richmond, Furman, Rhodes.....etc. thanks.</p>
<p>IMO 2-3 in junior year is good enough.
I took one AP Junior year and 3 IB courses.</p>
<p>Good enough for Vandy and WashU? I am pretty sure that is more than good enough for Rhodes, Furman, etc. But the other two?</p>
<p>It depends on the rigor of his general high school curriculum. If he is attending a top public or a prep, his general courses are probably as rigorous as the most AP - the top LACs know the high schools and will value his regular classes appropriately, particularly if he backs them up with SAT subject test scores in mid to high 600s or into 700s. (SAT subject don’t measure hs content anymore - they are geared to honors and AP.)</p>
<p>Some top Preps don’t allow their students to take more then 4 AP classes total, ever, and act as gatekeepers to limit these classes to the best of the best. </p>
<p>On the other hand, Standford is seeing an average of 5 to 6 APs on applications and UC expects 17 contact hours of AP-equivalent work. The key is AP-equivalence and proof therein. Plenty of Prep juniors are taking the regular junior English class and then taking the AP Language and Comp test and nailing a 5 cold, with no special preparation. </p>
<p>Just take the most rigorous classes available, back them up with AP exams (you don’t need to take an AP class to take the exam) and Subject exams.</p>
<p>Adding one AP class or adding an AP exam for a total of two in Junior year would be good. College admissions are based on the rigor of your Junior year class and junior year test scores.</p>
<p>Well, I never applied to those schools, so I can’t be sure. But I did apply and get into top LACs (Grinnell and Mt. Holyoke), and most people that got into Wash U that I know (I don’t know anyone who has applied to Vanderbilt…) take a similar course load to mine So, I took:
Soph: AP Euro
Junior: AP Music Theory
AP Enviro Sci
APUSH
Senior: AP English Lit
AP Spanish Lit
AP Biology
AP Econ Micro
AP Econ Macro</p>
<p>Most people I know that get into top schools take similar schedules, except that instead of AP Music Theory that take AP Calc or Stats. They also may take harder science classes (Physics and Chem). So yeah, for top school, if his school offers more AP courses, that course load might be a bit light.</p>
<p>However, the standards are rising these days.
600-700 is a terrible SAT II score, and in no way does it show that you have successfully completed any AP level course.</p>
<p>Also a note about the AP Language and Comp test.
That requires no special class, it essentially the ACT reading test, which is a joke (I personally got a 35 in middle school).</p>
<p>I also agree with emerlus, in that if your high school offers more AP courses, you are at a disadvantage to not take advantage of them.</p>
<p>When I mean the standards are rising, I mean I am taking 6 (chem/physics c/physics b/calc ab/calc bc/world history AP courses sophomore year, and there are people I know who are taking Calc II and Calc III sophomore year. This is a non-competitive public high school btw, as in we are not a top high school.</p>
<p>HOWEVER.
Junior year is the time to acquire some major leadership positions/work on major competitions/summer program admissions.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about your schedule so much. Just don’t take BS courses and utilize all the legit AP/College courses you can.</p>
<p>I got waitlisted at Vanderbilt and U of Virginia, but then got off of UVA’s and am now going there. I took 12 AP classes and the top 20 out of 530 took 10-14 AP classes. (The top 20 are the students going to selective schools.) I got 4s and 5s on the tests.<br>
What college’s want to see is that you took advantage of the opportunities your school offered, so the more rigorous your schedule the better. However, you want to do well in the classes you are taking, so don’t overload your schedule.</p>
<p>scaredapplicant, AP English Language is NOT like the ACT reading. It is harder. The passages are more complicated and the questions test a very good understanding of comprehension. They don’t just test comprehension though, many are inference and require you to think. ACT Reading has much simpler passages and the questions are much more straightforward. Also, it tests how you understand language and how it supports the passage as a whole. Also, the essays are MUCH harder than any ACT writing.</p>