Correct about 9 honors (recognized by UC) or AP classes to have a decent chance at a top 3 UC campus - Berkeley, UCLA and San Diego. Some honors classes like Geometry Hons is not Honors per the US. So use the list.
There is a chance (no guarantees) that the same may apply to the ivies - since UCLA is almost as selective as them
to be honest - who cares if the ivies give course credit for AP. You are just hoping to get in
Thatâs niceâŠbut courses toward graduation is what most folks wantâŠ.and no longer get at DartmouthâŠor Harvard.
Getting to place out of foreign language would be a plus for some.
From a 2018 article, âA Look Inside How Cornell Accepts its Studentsâ, in The Cornell Daily Sun; it might be dated, but should still be relevant:
" ⊠When evaluating transcripts, Cornell doesnât compare students from different schools, as high schools across the country differ in the depth and width of course offerings. The selection criteria is based on whether the applicant is taking âthe most challenging courses within their schoolâ and their performance compared to other students from the same school, and not on the number of AP courses they have takenâŠ"
So being in a very competitive school would automatically go against the candidate.
Are many students at Harvard or Dartmouth trying to graduate early (fewer than 8 semesters or 12 quarters)? If not, then not getting credit toward the number of courses or credits to graduate is not a big deal. But subject credit and advanced placement can be important â not having to repeat an introductory course that one already knows opens up a free elective space somewhere in the schedule.
No one at an ivy graduates early - and why would you? You are there to make connections as much as you are there to get a degree
I read that article and I was shocked at how they could make that statement.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the United States has more than 24,000 public secondary schools
So the Cornell admissions staff must have some working knowledge of say at least 10,000 high schools???
Find that hard to believe
This is what MIT says:
Let me state clearly: we do not admit students solely because of their AP courses/scores. There is no minimum or recommended number of AP courses. AP scores are not part of an admission formula. Weâre not simply going to look at a weighted GPA and throw everything else out. Challenge yourself in a way that is reasonable for you, while making sure that your courseload provides your with material that keeps you excited and engaged, and that you have balance in your life. What we are saying is that, despite what you may have heard, college admissions isnât a game of whoever has the most APs, wins.
This is what Stanford says:
The students who thrive at Stanford are those who are genuinely excited about learning, not necessarily those who take every single AP or IB, Honors or Accelerated class just because it has that designation.
Thatâs why there is a school profile and a counselorâs rec. And for the OPâs school, which sends multiple kids to Ivys every year, the AO likely knows more about the HS than just what the profile says.
Thank you for the references. A student that didnât take many AP/Honors classes, but showed that they are genuinely excited about learning and got accepted to MIT/Stanford would be rare - International Science competition winning/inventor? How else does one show that they are genuinely interested in learning more?
Maybe not graduate earlyâŠbut one of my kids was able to lighten his course load a couple of terms.
Then again, the other kid got nothing at all for her AP scores except that her class standing moved along more quickly because of her credit count. But it didnât do anything towards graduation, fulfilling credits, etc.
But my kids took an aggressive courseload for their high school, which didnât offer many AP courses.
From MIT, but applicable to other schools:
I wouldnât worry about how many APd you need to get into an Ivy as much as making sure you take the most rigorous courses you can take for you and that you do as well as you can do in them. If person A takes 10 APs and has all As and you take the same 10 and get all Bâs you didnât do yourself any favors. Bottom line is make sure you have the rigor and grades. Donât take a class that you canât do well in because theyâd rather see you get an A in a class youâre placed appropriately in than bomb one that youâre not.
Also, some of the Ivies donât count (or limit what they will accept) AP courses so you will have to take them over anyway so keep that in mind.
Unless you have a strong hook (URM, preferably AA male, or recruited athlete, or child of wealthy donor), you need to have a very strong academic record, while having virtually always taken the most rigorous classes available to you, plus some particular extremely high extracurricular achievement. So yes, you would be at a disadvantage if you are choosing a less rigorous course load than that which is available at your high school.
Itâs not just quantitative but also qualitative.
Piling them up like items in a cart wonât help.
Your choices need to demonstrate 1° progression 2° thoughtfulness 3° strength in core classes 4° academic interests.
It means that you should map out your HS career, plan for 4 years, with each year showing a bit more difficulty.
Then, it needs to show youâve thought about the way subjects balance and cover variety of skills and contents.
You also need to have AP classes in 4 of the 5 core subjects: English, Math, Social science/History, Science, Foreign Language.
Academic interests = once youâve covered 4 core areas, you can strengthen your profile.
So, in general, youâd have 4 (or 5) core APs and 2-4 that you choose as introduction to APs or as indications about your academic interests:
So, for instance, what would you expect this student to major in?
AP English Lang, AP English Lit, AP French, AP Stats, AP Bio, AP European History, APUSH, AP Gov (US+Comp)?
Or this one: AP English Lang, AP Calc BC, AP World, AP CSP, AP CS A, AP Physics 1, AP Chem, AP Physics C?
How do those compare to a student who took AP English Lang, AP Stats, APES, AP Psych, AP Human Geograpy, AP Gov (US only), AP CSP, AP Physics 1?
All 3 have 8 APâs but you should be able to see the profiles are very different.
Within the same school? Obviously weaker. Across schools? You canât.
AP Comp Gov is offered by relatively few schools; even fewer offer it as a combo with APUSG. APHG is a 9th grade class, usually, and many schools donât offer APs to freshmen.
Context matters.
Itâs really about comparison between the APs you take and others in your same high school take. If you take 12 and your classmates take 15, you are in a disadvantage to the AOs.
Letâs assume these 3 are all from OPâs HS.
I was trying to create clear examples for the OP, so that they could understand âhow many APâsâ is the wrong question to ask. Also, to discourage the âarms race talkâ such as #37âsâŠ
No, youâre not. If you have 6-8 and you have chosen your classes well, thereâs no difference between 8, 12, and 15, even from the same HS.