<p>Our school has a ton of AP classes: You can only take one AP class as a freshman AP Human Geography. Only GT kids or those who have been in Pre-AP (Honors) in MS take it, there are only two sections taught and half of the class is Juniors.
Sophmores can take AP World History, some will take AP Psych, Art History or Comp Sci.
Junior year it all opens up.
My D has completed 7, five last year, and is taking 7 this year (Govt & Econ are 1/2 year so it is really 6 full year. She will have 14 by graduation. She was a GT student and so their English and Hist classes are for AP credit.</p>
<p>ASTRPMOM - I agree that the Newsweek report is misleading. :D</p>
<p>Greetings.</p>
<p>My daughter opted to only take one AP course (US History). She decided it was more important to put time into theater, literary magazine, and other interests. She got into several top LACs (Smith, Bard, Wheaton, Drew). But it probably was a drawback when it came to some of her reach schools (Wesleyan, Bates, Bowdoin).</p>
<p>Personally, like so many aspects of the Admission business, I think things have gotten out of control with AP frenzy.</p>
<p>My school offers something like 20 APs, and doesn't have a limit on the number of APs a student can take throughout his/her high school career. However, we switched from a 6 period schedule to an 8 period schedule my junior year, so there is more of an opportunity for kids to graduate with 12 and 14 APs under their belts.</p>
<p>I will have taken 12 upon graduation: </p>
<p>Soph: AP World
Junior: APUSH, AP Art History, AP Bio, AP Eng. Lang/Comp.
Senior: AP Euro, AP Govt, AP Macroecon, AP Psych, AP Eng Lang/Lit, AP Enviro, AP Cal AB</p>
<p>My kids' school only offered 7. The earliest they could take was junior year. Since school was on block (4 classes first semester and 4 classes second semester) and AP exams only offered in spring--the school limited APs to only second semester. With only 1 class of each offered, students had to pick and choose as they conflicted with each other. Most "AP kids" only could get in 4, at most 5.</p>
<p>catbird, in answer to your question, no. He took AP Lang and AP Lit in high school. He took math and foreign language courses at the university.</p>
<p>cadbury, I agree that the admissions business has gotten out of hand, and AP is part of that. At the same time, at my son's high school, the AP courses were the best courses available for a kid that likes academics. That is a comment on our run of the mill high school and less than stellar district curriculum "experts". In a different place, my son would have had other options. (This is a large public, very diverse high school, spanning families of all income and education levels.)</p>
<p>Don't worry about how many, instead go CB and make sure they are AP's there was an article on another thread about schools making courses AP that are not viewd by colleges as AP, thus no credit given. I believe the CB said there are only 12 or 15 AP accredited courses. I.E AP Euro History ---yes. AP Euro Art Hist --no. My favorite one was AP Human Geography, I actually know a kid who is taking it and argued with me that it was an AP, I told her GPA will reflect AP, but colleges will not. She didn't believe me until the school didn't give her credit for that and about 5 others. She thought she would walk in as a soph, instead she is walking in with the same amount as my s -4 AP credits. She did get a higher GPA because how our sytem works. I find ironic, he did jump start (com. col 1/2 day, hs 1/2) and his 300 courses were counted as honors, her AP Human geography was weighted as AP even though it is not a sanctioned course.</p>
<p>My oldest took five, the next kid took eight and the current kid (12th grade) has taken/is taking ten. A counselor at another school told me yesterday, "Then he must be doing seven hours of homework a night." He is not. He has many activities and he has done very well in those classes. At his school, the way to access the best teachers and to be with the strongest group of students is to take AP courses. The only class I wish he had not done AP was Spanish - but he did it because our school doesn't offer spanish IV. He was one of two non-native speakers in the group so it was tough. The rest of the classes were all fine. I agree with a previous poster who said it's not for everyone. It was great for my kid and I'm glad his school allowed it but certainly everyone in the school doesn't take that many. A number of kids do though.</p>
<p>My d took
1- Sophomore -World History
3- Junior- English Language, US History and Music Theory
6- Senior- English Lit, US Govt, Economics, Physics, Calculus, Spanish
Total- 10
The only other possible AP course that could have been taken was AP Biology, which she couldn't take because of a scheduling conflict.</p>
<p>Sons only took one AP, Calculus. They were way to busy outside of school being a teenager and with non school interests to sustain a heavy AP course load. They stayed in the Honors programs and it worked out quite well.</p>
<p>S (now a college freshman) took a total of 10 APs. His school offers about 19, and he started with I think just one in 10th grade and took 6 his senior year. </p>
<p>In his school, they don't offer honors courses at the higher grade levels. If you don't take the AP course, then you're either in the regular class of that subject or the "basic" level, which is the lowest level the HS offers. </p>
<p>I think sometimes comparing the number of AP classes taken is like looking at apples and oranges. It depends on the HS's class offerings and structures. It seems like some HSs offer AP, then honors, then regular class, etc. Hopefully (and I think usually), the adcoms are looking at the whole picture, not just the number of AP classes a student has taken.</p>
<p>Son took 2 his junior year and 4 his senior year. Our school stretches World History out over two years, which makes it impossible to take an AP History until Junior year. And you can't take AP Lit or Language until Junior year. Most kids take 2 or 3 their junior year, and 3 to 5 their senior year. I don't know how my son could have taken any more than he did, timewise. He played varsity sports, was in band (added practice time), and several other ECs. Something would have had to give, and he didn't want to give. I agree with Drizzit about 'being a teenager'.</p>
<p>For Me
Frosh--1, AP World History
Soph--1, APUSH
Junior--5, Lang and Comp, Microecon, Macroecon, Statistics, Physics B
Tentative Senior--4-5, Lit and Comp, Euro History, Art History, US Gov't and Pol, [Calc AB]</p>
<p>so total of 11-12, but I probably won't be taking the Physics exam.</p>
<p>D went through the public h.s., which offers only one AP sophomore year, and I think a total of 17. APs are open to almost anyone there. She took four junior year and three senior year - not the most one could possibly take, but the most that made sense with the rest of her academic program. Presented no problem at all w college admissions - she's a sophomore at her first choice school now. </p>
<p>S1 is at a private school where sophomores are not allowed to take APs, and juniors and seniors are strongly discouraged from taking more than 3/year. (Because of scheduling issues and so forth, exceptions are sometimes made.) There's a high bar for who can take APs and who can't. (Ditto for honors classes, which are very, very challenging at this school.) S1 is a junior, and is taking four this year - because of one of those scheduling conflicts, and because one is AP music theory, he was granted the exception. Next year he'll probably take two or three. </p>
<p>Funny how at two very different schools with such different policies, their totals will end up roughly the same (though the subjects are not lining up).</p>
<p>BTW, I think the most important comment on this thread so far is this one: <<kids should="" have="" a="" life="" outside="" of="" the="" classroom="" too.="">> I absolutely agree. I'm in favor of the limits. And of kids who balance their courseloads with art classes and other offerings that meet their interests instead of just their resume "needs."</kids></p>
<p>11 to 12 APs is usual among the most ambitious of our students, the majority of whom take at least one, usually two, during sophomore year. When I say most ambitious, I mean those in the top 5%. For perspective, a student tour guide at MIT said she took 8 at her public hs in DC. At Johns, I heard 6. The point is how many did a student take relative the number offered at the student's school. Our public high school offers 23 so 12 is not unreasonable for the most gifted students.</p>
<p>School does not limit AP's. Students are allowed to take them when they are ready, including in 9th grade. </p>
<p>The school offers most of those for which there are CB exams, perhaps all, I'm not sure. </p>
<p>Nearly all students take some AP's. </p>
<p>Many students take post AP courses junior and senior year (example multivariable calculus, then real analysis after BC calc, rather than taking AP stats), so their AP totals may be lower than if they limited their advanced classes to AP only.</p>
<p>My child is taking one in 10th grade, will take 4 in 11th, which is a fairly normal courseload. Unsure what to take in 12th.</p>
<p>S took World in 10, US in 11, self study Eng Comp in 11 and Chinese and Calc in 12.
D is taking Eng Comp as a Jr. Will take 2-3 next year.</p>
<p>I'm not sure I like the whole AP thing. I believe the courses may serve as accelerated courses for bright students while in HS but S has found that using his AP Calc credits in his current university has not served him well. I think he got a 5 on CalcA so he can do the work but is now struggling with Calc2 at his college. Quite frankly, APCalc just isn't college calc.</p>
<p>On the other hand he walked with over 20 credits, so who knows!</p>
<p>Our school doesn't limit APs, but they are changing the way the curriculum is structured which affects how many kids can take and when. Basically, kids can start taking them sophomore year.</p>
<p>My S took 1 sophomore year (AP MEH). This has now been switched to a junior year class. The school now requires that all kids take a year of US History (Honors or CP) sophomore year to meet the state requirement. Only after that can they take AP USH. So if you want to take AP USH, you have to take two years of US history.</p>
<p>They also offer 3 studio art APs, and AP Macroeconomics, none of which he took.</p>
<p>Junior year he took AP French Lang, AP Bio, and the first year of AP French Lit as an independent study.</p>
<p>Senior year he's taking 5 APs: Physics (B, I think), Chem, Calc BC, Spanish Lang, and the second half of French Lit, for a total of 8.</p>
<p>Instead of AP English classes, they offer an "AP thread" of electives. He's taken several of those, but doesn't plan to take either of the tests.</p>
<p>They've also restructured the science program so that kids in the top science group can go directly to the AP level of Bio, Chem, and Physics after taking the honors level of foundation course freshman year. His class was a transitional one, so they went directly to AP in Bio and Physics, but not Chem.</p>
<p>There also seems to be a push to get kids to actually take the AP exams, although they do not pay for them. And next they are hoping to bring in IB. I don't know what effect that will have on all of this AP activity...It's not a huge school.</p>
<p>D has taken/taking 6 thru cyberschool (+ college level French/Russian correspondence). Depending upon ED results, though, she won't bother taking exams in some- credit given for 5s, but generally doesn't get you out of either intro courses or distribution requirements.</p>
<p>Just two more thoughts on this:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>How many APs a student takes, as against how many are offered at his/her school, is by no means the only determinant of how much the student has challenged himself or herself. Selective schools certainly look at that ratio - but they look at plenty more. </p></li>
<li><p>On the subject of how much value APs can offer <em>after</em> you're in, remember that it depends on the school. Among selective schools there's a fairly broad spectrum of what 4s and 5s are worth. (Even within one school, different departments may offer very different sorts of bonus/reward/credit/etc.) 4s and 5s can earn you placement out of intros but no credit; contingent credit (contingent based on taking a class in that department); full credit; credit-and-a-half; and even two full credits. It's smart to have a look at the websites of schools you're interested in, if you're on the fence about taking a given AP.</p></li>
</ol>