For context, I took Pre-IB Biology, Pre-IB World History, Pre-IB English 9, Pre-IB Algebra II/Trig, Pre-IB French II, Health and PE 9, and Economics and Personal Finance. I did not take any AP courses or exams, however. Is this bad? Will it hurt my chances of admission to a top college/university? Also, I will be in the IB Diploma programme in my junior and senior years, so this will further reduce the amount of time I can have to take/study for AP classes and exams. Is this an unfavorable situation? I just get really anxious about college admissions, especially during COVID-19.
No, you won’t be penalized for not taking AP courses your freshman year. Admissions offices view the rigor of AP classes and IB classes about equally. Some might even prefer IB.
AP classes are NOT a golden ticket to selective colleges.
Thank you for your response!
Agreeing, and clarifying: don’t try and force APs into your schedule. Talk to your GC and ask what course loads s/he considers “most rigorous”. HL IB in core academic classes will be more impressive than SL + APs. Your GC will know how many (if any!)/which APs are typical for IB students at your school. Context is everything: it doesn’t matter if students from other schools have a dozen APs: if IB students at your school don’t do APs (not unusual), then your app won’t get dinged by even the most selective schools for not having APs.
There are plenty of high schools out there that don’t allow students to take AP classes until junior year, and they are not penalized in the admissions process. Our school only offers three AP classes to freshmen, but as they are all electives, no one takes more than one, if that.
The fact that more than a very few freshman are taking AP classes shows how much of a joke APs have become (I am looking at you, APHUG). How many students are really 4 years ahead?
Wow… and I always think that APs are something to be cherished…
nope. some of the fanciest prep schools don’t even do “AP” classes- they see their own classes are more rigorous than the AP curriculum.
Again, the context of your school is what matters- talk to your GC.
All AP classes are not valued equally either. APHUGE, mentioned upthread, is not going to impress a college in the same way as AP Calculus BC, AP Chemistry or AP Physics C.
AP in Freshman year is out of the ordinary, other than the soft, “look, I’m taking an AP class” topic that some think will impress (they don’t).
Calc, 3 big sciences, 2 English, US/World/Euro, CSA (off the top of my head, surely a few others) are mostly Jr/Sr, with some Sophomore.
In my D’s school of ~600, I think she said 11 of them had a Freshman AP.
(edit: nothing wrong with HG, ES, etc. if you’re interested in the topic. Just don’t do it to impress admissions officers)
Since AP material is supposed to be college frosh level material, it makes sense that many of them are taken predominantly by high school students in 12th grade (one grade level ahead in the subject), sometimes 11th grade (two grade levels ahead in the subject).
Some college frosh level courses that some of the newer AP courses emulate are not generally considered that hard, but were not historically commonly taught in high school (so the college courses have to start assuming the students have no background knowledge or practice in the subject from high school), so those AP courses may be more suitable for high school students before 12th grade, who would be beginners in the subject just like college frosh (e.g. psychology, statistics, economics, computer science principles).
“nope. some of the fanciest prep schools don’t even do “AP” classes- they see their own classes are more rigorous than the AP curriculum.”
They may see it as more rigorous, but colleges will not automatically grant them credit for college courses. APs are typically used to reduce time and cost spent in college, so I actually don’t think they’re going anywhere. And these eight schools ooze wealth and power, so the parents are not going to have a problem with four or more years of college. Lot of poor and middle class families get a benefit out of the APs.
To the OPs question, most students get in to the selective colleges without taking any APs in 9th.