Not enough AP Credits? (disclaimer: SUPER STRESSED!!!!!!)

Test Preparation AP Test Preparation
1

OH MY GOD I AM SO STRESSED MY EMOTIONS ARE EVERYWHERE!!!

hyperventilating at laser speed

hello imma boutta die!

okay. lemme explain

So I’m a junior in high school who is taking 3 AP courses (AP Lang, APUSH, AP Stats). I’m taking a college readiness course that talks about our next steps after high school, and we came upon the discussion of AP courses. I look at my peers (who are planning to have 6 or 7 credits by the end of junior year, compared to my 3) couldn’t help but feel like I haven’t done enough to get into the college that I want (My dream college has always been UC Berkeley; I live somewhere around there).

Now to make matters worse, I just had the realization that college applications will only look at what I have done SO FAR instead of actually what I plan to have done by the end of senior year. (yeah it took me THAT long omg lol)

My plan is to have seven AP classes between junior and senior year; in senior year, I plan on taking AP Gov, AP Spanish, AP Environmental Sciences, and AP Calc (ik, it’s weird that they assigned me to take Stats before Calc but whatevs).

Also, just to be clear… I didn’t take ANY AP courses in my sophomore year (none were available at my school at the time).

About 10 mins ago, I looked over reading UC (Berkeley) requirements and they say that students need around Eight AP courses completed. Eight.

I only have three.

So… IM REALLY FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW!!! I’M FEELING LIKE GARBAGE AND I FEEL LIKE I HAVEN’T DONE ENOUGH!!! starts hyperventilating again

My questions are these:

  1. Should I really be freaking out right now? (kinda too late to answer that question haha XD)
  2. How important is the amount of AP courses I take in the last two years of high school? Will it matter that I only took seven instead of eight?

2a. Will colleges (UC, in this case) only see that I took three APs and not seven?

  1. Is UC Berkeley just a pipe dream now? Am I not good enough to get in?
  2. What can I do to be part of more AP courses that are otherwise not available in my high school?

I hope you guys can clear some things up for me! I really appreciate it!

Thanks!

-Ethaniel, aka “ilovenetflix1234” bc who doesn’t? XD

2

First of all, that is complete bs. Could you show me where you obtained that information?

You’re overreacting. Yes, it will hurt your chances that you aren’t taking as many APs as your peers (especially Berkeley) but no junior is expected to have completed 8 AP courses (heck, not all schools offer 8 APs) because that would be unreasonable even for the ivy leagues (most schools don’t let you take APs till junior year and generally have 7 periods instead of 8). Also, note that 8 CREDITS (different from courses) are fairly achievable (that’s like getting a 5 on say two exams) so you could walk out with over 10 credits with your three APs. Of course they are going to look at your senior year courses, they will help satisfy the a-g reqs and it will show you are increasing your rigor as you go on. If you want, take courses at a community college or try to take an online AP outside of your school system.

Sorry if I sounded overly judgemental I just find it hard to believe that a school would have an absolute cutoff at which point they don’t even look at your app.

3

My D attended UCB without a single AP. Her brothers were both admitted without APs. Their school doesn’t offer.

I’m not sure where you read about an 8 AP cutoff.

They were however in top 10% of their class.

What’s your current GPA? Test scores? ECs? Dies

Colleges will look at your planned courses for senior year. The UCs will only consider 10-11 GPA. Some colleges will look at 9-1st semester of senior year.

UCB is a possibility but yes having less APs could be an issue. So try and find other universities that you would be happy to attend that have higher acceptance rates.

4

Where did you see this?

UCs technically do not require any AP courses completed, although admission is competitive enough that applicants who chose to avoid available AP (or honors) options within the context of a well rounded college prep core are likely to be at a disadvantage.

5

At a 15% acceptance rate, UCB is highly competitive. You simply can’t count on getting in, therefore don’t fall in love with it. Take your chances, sure, but you really need to find some match and likely schools. Researching alternatives is a much better use of your time than throwing a dramatic fit.

6

If you read that UCB “requires” 8 AP courses on CC, please learn to discount much of what you read here. If you saw it on a UCB site as a requirement, please provide a link as it would be news to all of us.

College applications include your Senior year courseload and certainly factors into the admission process. Your “realization” on this topic is incorrect.

Many schools have stated that once you’re at 6-8 AP classes, addition ones are of minimal value just because they’re “more”.

Having said that, top schools expect your to take a rigorous courseload and take advantage of opportunities. If you’ve taken honors courses plus AP courses where offered, you’re fine. If students in your school typically take AP courses in 9th and 10th that you passed on, that will be a hurdle to overcome with other parts of your application.

7

So my school has year-long courses; we don’t have semesters.

In both my freshman and sophomore years, I got an A+ in every single subject, although there weren’t any AP classes available to us at the time. So, my sophomore GPA is 4.0.

I’m a junior now, so the grades I have rn won’t be official until the end of the year. That being said, I currently have two B’s (APUSH, AP Stats), one B+ (Chemistry) and two A’s (AP Lang, Spanish 3). I do project that my Chemistry grade will go up very soon since I have a small assignment I can complete that will bump my grade up to an A- or solid A. I can say the same for my APUSH grade since I have a pending essay to be graded (as well as a few graded “additional” assignments that could also boost my grade up to a solid A).

If it’s any interest to you, I don’t have a lot of extracurriculars other than being a math tutor for two years in a math support class, with the later year tutoring two different MS classes in one day. However, I do plan on starting a club (Debate Club) and getting a job at a local coffee shop I go to every day after school.

I haven’t taken any tests, but I will be planning to take the SAT for the first time in March and like I said, 3 AP tests in May.

8

UCs look at your grades in 10-11th grade but hy do look at all courses taken 9-12. So, the 4APs WILL count. Your curriculum will also be seen in the context of your school. So, if freshmen and sophomores don’t take any AP class and you didn’t, it’s not as if the honors track is AP hug in 9th=> AP world + AP stats in 10th and you didn’t take up the challenge.

However, since UCB is so selective, make sure to apply to other UCs (UCD, UCSC), some local CSU’s, and run the NPC on Willamette, Lewis&Clark, Reed, UPuget Sound, and Whitman to see which ones are affordable for your parents.
Don’t go to the sat without prepping seriously.

9

You are a Junior and sitting in coffee shop every afternoon thinking about what you are going to do sometime (soon?) to have some ECs? That ship has sailed. Starting a club spring of Junior year is not going to carry any weight. What do you do now after you get your afternoon coffee?