I go to a good school with a lot of available AP classes and can take 5 for Junior and Senior year. Considering my school offers them, would Harvard expect me to take 5 Junior and Senior year?
Not necessarily… it’s not about the number of APs, and you don’t have to sign up for every AP class your school offers. It’s more subtle than that. Take AP classes in the subjects most related to what you want to study in college. If you think you can do well in those, add classes that challenge you, but won’t overwhelm you. Work with your GC to build a schedule that will show rigor, but that you can handle. That may mean ten APs between junior and senior year, but it could mean fewer. Do well on your test scores and participate in meaningful ECs.
I think the general consensus on these boards is 7-8 APs with a high GPA, more is okay as long as GPA isn’t suffering. Having said that, students have gotten into Harvard with fewer, most likely because their high school didn’t offer more.
Take about 4 APs each year, including AP Lang, then add what seems most relevant to your plans. Do not replace a core class with a random AP.
You should have 4 units in English and social science/history, math through calculus (or Precalculus + if possible AP Stats if humanities/art major), foreign language through level 4 or AP, bio, chem, physics + 1 AP science.
The top tier colleges will want to see the guidance counselor check the box on the recommendation saying you have taken the most rigorous course-load available at your HS (which doesn’t mean taking every AP class – there is often some latitude in this). So talk to your guidance counselor – if he/she says that your prior and current HS schedules are sufficient to get that most rigorous box checked then you are fine.
Also keep in mind that not all APs are created equally. As just a few examples Calc BC is considered more rigorous than AP Stat, an AP in a hard science (bio, chem, physics) would be considered more rigorous than AP Environmental, and APUSH would be considered more rigorous than AP Psych.
Agree with @happy1. Speak with your guidance counselor to see if you are on track for them to check the most rigorous course-load box on the Secondary School Report. As the number of AP’s a college bound student is expected to take varies from HS to HS, with some HS’s restricting the number of AP’s a student can take each year, while others limit AP’s to just junior and seniors, the correct answer is: speak with your GC!