<p>Hello I am afraid I shot myself in the foot by not taking any AP Classes for my junior year in high school. I figured that as long as I did well and worked in hard in the classes I was going to take that I would be alright. Though as I started looking more intently into colleges such as Northwestern, UPenn, NYU, and the like I realized how essential AP courses are. I feel sick to my stomach because I was hoping to take advantage of the ED for some of these schools but I figure it may not even be worth it given how behind Ill be. Any advice? Ill provide more info if needed.</p>
<p>how many APs have you had total?</p>
<p>none as I could only start taking AP in Junior Year.</p>
<p>How many are available at your school?</p>
<p>Sent from my iPhone using CC</p>
<p>It’s perfectly okay if you make up for it in your EC’s. I did the same thing too for my Junior year because i was doing a lot of out of school EC’s. Just make sure your SAT scores are high, your essays are well crafted, and your recommendations from your teachers are good. Also, try to explain to them in the optional section of the Common APP why you decided not to take AP’s junior year. And, oh yeah, and play up your hooks!</p>
<p>^No, it’s not “perfectly okay.” To go to a top school, applicants need APs (if offered), top grades, and good ECs. You don’t get to pick 1 or 2 of the three. You need all of them. </p>
<p>OP, sorry about this, but I really don’t think you can get into top schools without AP classes. There are too many super qualified applicants these days. Take a few next year as apply to some lower tiers. It’s ok to have reaches, but he realistic as well.</p>
<p>What AP courses are available to you?</p>
<p>Some of the advice here makes me sick to my stomach…Totally ignore post #5</p>
<p>Is unfortunately a big deal. Top colleges want you to have taken your school’s hardest classes. Why would you do well at the nation’s top colleges if you were scared of high school APs, which are community college level classes at best? However, with high SAT scores, schools on the NYU level may bite.</p>
<p>I agree that this may hurt you at schools like Northwestern and Penn, but all you can do is move forward and make your application as strong as possible. Take as many APs as you can handle senior year to show that you’re not afraid to try difficult courses. It’s fine to apply to some reaches, but I also recommend applying to schools that are slightly less competitive. Take a look at BU, GWU and American.</p>
<p>The schools you list reject lots of kids who took “most rigorous” schedules. Taking a less rigorous courseload will hurt you.</p>
<p>I agree it’s not for Penn, google Penn’s common data set.</p>
<p>Your GC should have intervened. This is not a decision you should have been making as a sophomore, entering your junior year, without benefit of input. This is not the best situation for you, but make sure you take AP for your senior year.</p>
<p>You might consider taking college classes this summer.</p>