Let's talk AP for a sec

<p>I must be missing something. I've been looking around in these threads for a couple of days now and I'm astonished at the number of former applicants who've gotten into Yale with so few AP classes under their belts. My guess is that most high schools around the country don't offer many AP's, but I really don't know since no one has ever posted a thread just on AP classes.</p>

<p>I've been told since Freshman year that kids looking to go Ivy take upwards of 10ish ap classes in high school, starting in sophomore year if permitted. Similar situations exist in other top-notch public schools in our area, and some online AP classes are even offered, (which only cut-throat valedictorian competitors ever take). </p>

<p>My school offers about 20 AP courses, and I know a kid who's a freshman this year at Wharton who had taken 14 by the time he graduated. Maybe this is something unique to South Florida high schools, maybe not.</p>

<p>I'm not trying to get a "chances" reply, but I'm going to list the AP's I've taken just to give an example of what our college advisers are telling us year after year is required if we're to have "any chance at all."</p>

<p>10th
Biology</p>

<p>11th
Calc AB
Calc BC (we have 4x4 block scheduling = 1 calc per semester)
Chemistry
Lang.
Amer. Hist.
Psychology</p>

<p>12th (current)
Art Hist.
Lit.
Physics C
Micro
Macro</p>

<p>Honestly, all I can think of right now is all the extra sleep I could've had in the last 2 years that I'll never get back. Can anyone relate?</p>

<p>Best of luck to everyone on Dec. 16 by the way!!!</p>

<p>My school offers 12 AP classes and I will have taken 10 of them by the end of this year.</p>

<p>hey,</p>

<p>im a freshman at yale not doing his french paper.</p>

<p>i think it just depends on your high school. the admissions committee tries to look at every kid in the context of his/her environment. in my high school, there was one clearly defined honors/AP track, and all I did was follow that. (one of my mini-hooks was taking two/three extra APs, though, in areas that interested me--comp sci and music theory [why it's two/three is a long story]--without taking the required classes. but none of the other four people in my grade who got into hypsm did that.)</p>

<p>come to think of it, my hs did offer AP art something (I think), and I never took that, since I'm not into that kind of art, but that wasn't part of the honors track.</p>

<p>for me, it was:
10th
nothing! (they've started offering AP chem now but they didn't offer it when i was a sophomore)
11th
bio (my school's science course order is weird)
us hist
french
12th
physics
european hist
english
calc</p>

<p>plus the other two/three APs i mentioned above.</p>

<p>ehh...i'm not sure if i really answered your question. i'm gonna give you advice that i'm sure you've heard a million times but probably (if you're like me) haven't listened to because you know it's impossible to do: it's no sense worrying. btw, though, when it was before january 1 (or whatever date they're due), what i did is channel all of my stress and worrying into trying to make killer applications.</p>

<p>also, the college process made me believe (or want to believe) in fate a little bit, because it seems like everyone i know has ended up in a school right for him/her.</p>

<p>You're right yoshe, and I have heard that a thousand times before. It just gets really hard sometimes given the looming, "just because you think you're good, and all your friends, and teachers, and advisers do too, doesn't add up to ****." "20,000 applicants, 80% with a resume like yours, and only 1880appx. get welcomed to the class of ____" </p>

<p>For a lot of us, I think we put too much of ourselves into this, making not only the mistake of singling one school out in a league of its own for all its respective merits, but also in tying some of our self worth into the process. Not to mention we know the odds, and most of our peers don't. The just keep saying "you're going to get in...don't worry about it" when we know different about what we're up against.</p>

<p>As for the fate bit, I know you're right, but you know you know that doesn't help. :-)</p>

<p>so it goes</p>

<p>lol i relate</p>

<p>Soph: Bio 4, Apush 4, and APlang 3 (yeah i kinda blew it, especially my bio which i knew i could get a 5 on)</p>

<p>Junior (this year) AP Euro, Ap Economics micro and macro, Ap physics, AP psych, ap gov comp, and the other ap gov (us i think. im self studying this)</p>

<p>yeah thats 10 by the end of junior year. im trying to get state scholar, too bad it doesnt show up on my apps :(</p>

<p>and yeah, im going insane next year too. (maybe 5, im not sure)</p>

<p>will the leets look down on me cause im expecting to get mostly 4's on all my tests with some 3's and some 5's. im taking a bunch, even for my school (i think i have the most)</p>

<p>I know this is the Yale forum, but I just wanted to point out that Ben Jones, an admissions officer at MIT, posted a rather informative/interesting blog entry about AP exams. Here's the link: <a href="http://ben.mitblogs.com/archives/2005/10/many_ways_to_de.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://ben.mitblogs.com/archives/2005/10/many_ways_to_de.html&lt;/a>
I think it was a response to a CC thread too...hope this helps...</p>

<p>My school offers 22... I'll have taken 18 by graduation. (I self-studied 2).</p>

<p>My school only offers 11 (currently...it changes yearly based on demand because we have a small school) and I'll have taken 7 by graduation if you count AP Calc AB a part of my AP Calc BC course. Two of them (Art and Computer Science) are elective-y, so do you think I'm in pretty good shape?</p>

<p>i'd say none of you have anything to worry about! My school offers a whopping 4 AP classes... yes 4! and by graduation I will have taken 4. Haha, compared to all of your 10+ AP's, I'm screwed!</p>

<p>My school offered none before this year (except for US History).</p>

<p>allie, actually what admissions officers would be saying is that you grasped every opportunity you could at your high school! They do look at you in the context of your environment!</p>

<p>I'll have 12.</p>

<p>geez,people are insane with the ap's. my schools is very structured so while it offers 10 ap's, because of scheduling and rules one can only take a maximum of 2 in junior year and 5 in senior year, or a total of 7 (ive taken 6). admissions officers want to see drive and passion with the resources your school has. ap's are only one way of showing this, but certainly not the only way.</p>

<p>By the end of high school, I'll have taken 10 AP classes and anywhere from 9 to 13 exams depending on the requirements of the school I'm going to (for example, if I get a 5 on lang this year, there would be no need to take lit next year).</p>

<p>
[quote]
By the end of high school, I'll have taken 10 AP classes and anywhere from 9 to 13 exams depending on the requirements of the school I'm going to (for example, if I get a 5 on lang this year, there would be no need to take lit next year).

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Are you expecting a pat on the back?</p>

<p>I'll pat you on the back, theoneo... </p>

<p>APs are a ton of work and it's no small achievement to take 10+. You deserve a pat on the back.</p>

<p>i think my school offers 16. by the end of senior year i'll have taken 14.</p>

<p>Thanks, mijehar!</p>

<p>(To add to my plast post, my school offers about 20 AP courses.)</p>

<p>Business_Freak - thanks for singling me out from a bunch of people who posted the same thing about themselves? When the OP asked "Can anyone relate?" I interpreted it as "Does anyone else have a similar situation?". Apparently everyone else has the same interpretation, so I don't see why you even posted in the first place. Did you just not read the other posts above mine? Let's make an effort to do that from now on, ok? Ok.</p>

<p>My school offers a total of 9, and you are not allowed to take AP courses until you are a junior. Plus, one is AP Spanish and the other is AP French (you can only take one language for 4 years at my school.) The most one person could possibly get because of schedculing is 8, and that is only if you take Spanish. If you take French, which conflicts with AP Music Theory, the most you could possibly take is 7, which is what I will have.</p>