<p>Hi,
MIT has been my top choice for a long time, and that is because I have always enjoyed math, sciences and engineering. At the same time, I love my history classes, and do well in them as well. I will become junior next year, and I am planning on taking APUSH. </p>
<p>My questions is, does taking APUSH set me apart when applying to MIT, or is that yet another part of being 'well rounded'? (assuming that I get a good grade, of course)</p>
<p>thanks,</p>
<p>I’m just going to tell you to look around CollegeConfidential… “Taking APUSH will make me look well-rounded” lol…</p>
<p>I am not taking APUSH just because it would look good on my application.
I was just wondering if it is advantageous in any way.</p>
<p><a href=“http://web.mit.edu/firstyear/2017/subjects/incomingcredit/ap.html”>http://web.mit.edu/firstyear/2017/subjects/incomingcredit/ap.html</a> indicates that a score of 5 on AP US history gives 9 units of elective credit (9 MIT units is like 3 credit units at most schools). That is not all that useful, since it does not fulfill any requirements (including humanities, arts, and social studies breadth).</p>
<p>There is NO advantage when it comes to schools of that caliber. Just take what you want to take; however, it’s probably a good idea to utilize all the most rigorous courses that are available to you.</p>
<p>I think taking APUSH is pretty common for MIT students although taking it versus a similarly rigorous history class will make little difference.</p>
<p>No, it won’t set you apart. Many people at MIT have taken APUSH. In general, your curriculum won’t set you apart unless you’ve exhausted your high school’s resources and taken more advanced college courses. Most people are set apart by their extracurricular activities (including academic ones). (And, of course, recommendations and essays, but these occupy a different sphere.)</p>
<p>I agree. It won’t set you apart. Your reason for taking APUSH should be that you love to write and critically analyze historical events. I absolutely loved APUSH and I am sure that my professor (oops, I mean teacher!) wrote an absolutely stellar recommendation letter for MIT and other colleges. So in that way, <em>maybe</em> APUSH can be an advatange, as can any other class which you are truly passionate about. 
</p>
<p>Even if you don’t love APUSH you should probably take the class anyway because MIT and other very selective schools want to see that you are taking all the hardest classes available to you, and regular high school US history classes are usually not challenging enough. That being said, the reason to NOT take APUSH is it if it will prevent you from taking another class that you actually are passionate about. I chose to take regular English over AP English in 12th grade because the teacher giving the regular class was my teacher the year before and she was one of the best teachers that I have ever had. I knew I would continue to learn a lot in her class and by having her for two years she knew me really well and so she was the perfect teacher to write my evaluation.</p>
<p>I took the AP class but not the AP exam. Judging by the fact that I still got in, it seems that no one cared. I doubt MIT will really care whether or not you take APUSH. You can get through your entire MIT career without taking a single history class.</p>