I’m just wondering if UCs prefer students who take regular courses and get straight A’s or students who take AP classes and do mediocre. So in other words, weighted GPA vs. unweighted GPA.
On the common datasets for the UC’s there are 4 items marked for Highly considered when evaluating applications and HS course rigor is one of them. The other three are GPA, test scores and essays. See Section C7
http://opa.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/uc_berkeley_cds_2014-15_august.pdf
UC’s prefer students that take AP/IB/Honor/DE courses and get A’s over taking a regular classes with A’s.
It is to your benefit to challenge your self by taking these courses. UC’s are competitive schools, so to have the best possible chances you want to have these courses on your transcript (if available at your school).
They prefer students who take the harder courses and earn A grades.
@Gumbymom @ucbalumnus But do they prefer students who get A’s in non-AP courses or students who get B’s in AP courses?
UC’s want you to take the most rigorous HS courses available to you. Of course, it is preferred you get A’s in the AP courses but a few B’s will not hurt, however; just taking regular courses and getting all A’s will actually hurt your chances more than a few B’s in rigorous courses in the long run. The UC’s also will give you up to 8 semesters of extra honors points toward your UC GPA in 10-11th grade, that is why 6 of the 9 UC’s have an average UC GPA above 4.0.
To be competitive, you need to take some AP courses in HS if your school offers them. Just remember, that GPA and HS course rigor are only part of your application. Test scores, essays and EC’s will also contribute to your chances.
Pick the AP classes that interest you. If you have an interest in these classes, you should perform better.