Let's talk AP for a sec

<p>so say you went to a school that offered 20 aps and you took ten, would that be more impressive than someone who took 4 aps outa the 4 offered at their school? im wondering cause it seems nicer to say i took every ap the school offered then saying i took half of the aps offered. so what im saying is that at schools with a lot of aps if you dont take all of them, your not making the best use of your abilities while if you do the 4/4 plus say you self study one, you made the best use of what was availible even though it wasnt as nice as everyone else. i am taking 10, but im expecting a 4 on most of them. a person who takes 5 ap's but gets 5's on all of them is probebly in a better shape then i am. what do you think?</p>

<p>Taking 10 is not not using the best of your ability.</p>

<p>This is why schools review applicants in the context of their environments.</p>

<p>Thank you chinchilla for posting a link to that entry. Still though, I have my doubts about the efficiency of this process, if the aim of these schools is to create the best campus, filled with the best applicants, who will become the best and brightest scholars later in life that University X can then claim attended. This may come off as a bit presumptuous, but I don't believe that Yale would have a 10 billion dollar endowment if it weren't for its fantastically successful alumni donating to the institution that is in part responsible for their successes. </p>

<p>That being said, I have an entirely speculative hunch that it is easier for a student with an exemplary talent in a very narrow field, (the Van Cliburn finalist, or the engineering fair 2 time winner...all who have taken classes that they love in a likewise limited range) to shine in this process than someone who just hasn't been fortunate enough to find their one true passion because they are equally passionate about a great many different and unrelated things academically. This is my big fear. That being a jack of all trades will set a candidate behind others that devoted all their time and emotional energy into "debate." I don't believe that "well-roundedness" is all its cracked up to be because everyone I know personally or have heard of, seen on this site, etc. that's successfully been accepted at their dream school has been outstandingly talented in ONE area.</p>

<p>I hope that I'm wrong. But sometimes I wonder whether it's advantageous in the long run to love math and english equally when its aggressively more difficult to convey that evenly distributed passion in a world of medals and awards. Any thoughts?</p>

<p>jli you didnt take art or compsci...</p>

<p>My school offers 24 AP classes but we can only take one sophomore year, 5 junior year, and 6 senior year. Just choosing between them is overwhelming.</p>

<p>My school offers 14 distinct AP tests. I took 19.</p>

<p>bloodandiron, i meant out of the TOTAL 11...duh</p>

<p>my school offers 5 APs, I believe.</p>

<p>No languages, only US history, etc. I'll graduate having taken all of them.</p>

<p>Have taken 8.
Will have taken 11-12 by the end of senior year.
+IB diploma</p>

<p>hmm, like the OP, my school's block schedule also so my very nerdy friends & i managed to find a way to fit in 6 APs even though we can only take 4 classes. umm, someone (cant remember who) is right about the context of the environment. also, it's much more impressive to get all 4/5's on say 5 exams vs. 3's on 10 exams.</p>

<p>i've taken 9 exams...and i'm taking another 4 next year... but one guy at my school took 12 exams by end of junior year (all 5's!) and is looking at about 4 or so more next year. not all the classes are offered though. he self-studies.</p>

<p>i'm kinda worried because my school offers 14 and i'll have only 8 by the end of my senior year. of course, there is no way i could take AP french and german since i'm in spanish, and i'm taking AP biology, but not chemistry or physics since i'm not really in to science. i just don't understand how you guys take so many AP classes. maybe your school's requirements are just set up differently than mine. if i was more into math and science i think i would have taken more AP's. you guys just make me so nervous with your 10+ AP classes! oh well.</p>

<p>All this AP talk, and deplorably my friends none of it will be credited except for Foreign Language and for graduating early/ placement. You can rarely skip courses or fulfill requirements via AP.</p>

<p>My school only offers 4 as well.
US history for juniors.
Calculus AB, Biology, and English (the lit one) for seniors.</p>

<p>But don't worry, those of you who have taken only 5 or so in a school that offers 20+. I know this is a Yale thread, but I recently visited Princeton and the lady who works in admissions and did our info session specifically said that they didn't see the need in taking 14 or whatever APs and that her impression of these people is that "they never sleep" and that they'll be "worn out by the time they get to college." They only want to see that you worked hard and did your best in classes that interest you. You don't need to take AP music theory just cuz your school has it if you're more into football.</p>

<p>ahha.........
my school only offers Math (calculus) enlighs(LIT) and SOMETIMES science..
so basically theres only CALCULUS and LIT :(:(</p>

<p>don't worry if your school doesn't offer many.</p>

<p>the only reason why i take ap classes is because i absolutely can NOT stand a normal class. the teachers don't know what they're talking about. they give out busy work that has no purpose at all. the students don't care about their grades or learning. it just has a really bad atmosphere. that's why i've tried to avoid normal classes as much as possible.</p>

<p>wow, i just read through what i said and realized i'm a complete nerd (actually, i knew that already, just not THAT nerdy.)</p>

<p>I don't think the number of AP's should matter too much. I think if you're taking some that should be good enough. I'm saying this because my school only offers about 12 of them. You can only take 2 in junior year and 5 in senior year, so it doesn't give students a chance to take 18 or any other crazy number of classes. I hope admissions officers think about that when they're looking at applications. I would hate to hear of a case of a tie betweent two prospective students being broken by the number of AP classes taken by each.</p>

<p>if anything, it's all relative to the number of aps provided. if you take one AP, it's leaves a more profound impression if the school only has 1 to 5 aps then if the schools has 10 to 20 aps</p>

<p>Jli don't mess with blood. He's miles ahead of me as a runner. AND he loves chappelle's show AKA the MOST BALLIN SHOW EVER. Can't beat that.</p>

<p>STOP DROP SHUT EM DOWN OPEN UP SHOP</p>

<p>Edit: woah, wrong thread.....</p>