<p>I just talked to my guidance counselor today and she informed me that she would not be marking off the "most rigorous curriculum" box for me in her recommendation form because she only marks it for students who are taking 7 APs, and I'm only taking 6 because in order to be in the debate program at school, I am required to take the class as well, which takes up a spot in my schedule.</p>
<p>So how much will this hurt me?
Should I take an extra AP online or something? Is it really that big of a deal?</p>
<p>You’re taking 6 AP’s this year? and your GC requires 7? That’s just nuts.</p>
<p>Yeah, because 7 is technically the most rigorous. /: 6 doesn’t make the cut. Unless I take a dual enrollment class or AP online…is it worth the hassle just to get this box checked off?</p>
<p>I would love to tell you it doesn’t make a bit of difference, but unfortunately I 've read and heard otherwise. It’s absolutely ridiculous in this case that your GC is doing this. Can you ask the GC to not check off anything there? Many do not. </p>
<p>The problem is that at the most selective schools, it could hurt you. That’s why many GCs and recommenders have stopped filling out any of those quesitons and just send out a narrative. In fact, if the GC is filling out those squares, and you don’t get a top notch score in everything, it is possible that at HPY type schools it could hurt. Ask the GC if just a narrative can be submitted. If not, you do what you can. Maybe a note saying that 7 APs are what constitute most rigorous and you are taking 6 to do debate. </p>
<p>What schools are on your list, and could you find out if your GC is filling out the boxes and if you are NOT getting all top notch scores? It won’t make a difference except at the most selective schools.</p>
<p>Honestly that sounds totally ridiculous for for GC to say. How can he or she say that you are not taking the most rigorous schedule just by how many APs you are taking? What if you takeChinese, and your school does not have AP Chinese and just Honors Chinese IV and you take IV senior year? Then he or she would not be able to say that you were not taking the most rigorous curriculum available to you. Just because you do not have the maximum number of APs that can fit in your schedule, does not mean you are not taking the hardest courses available to you.</p>
<p>But I would not worry about taking the extra AP, since the colleges will be able to see your transcript. It is not like your GC’s evaluation of the difficulty of your curriculum is the only thing that the colleges see. But still, it is crazy that your guidance department is basing that off of how many APs you take.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies guys. I’m just going to take a dual enrollment class winter term. It won’t be that bad because I’ll have submitted all of my apps by then, but it will show up on the mid-year report and that’s the only way my GC will mark the box.</p>
<p>So I should ask her if she’s going to be checking the top-notch boxes?</p>
<p>I would. Because if he or she still will not despite the fact you are taking the dual enrollment class, then the class will be a waste of time, unless you actually want to take it.</p>
<p>And I would still question him/her on how they base the rigor of your curriculum on how many APs you take. I still cannot get over that. But you do not have to if you know that is just the way it is.</p>