Not taking enough APs?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello. I'll be an upcoming Junior with unfortunately only one AP(Biology) because of I honestly don't believe that I'll be able to succeed if I were to take more. I have never taken an AP and this will be my first. I have taken 3 honors in my sophomore year and 2 others my junior year as well along with my AP Bio. Senior year I plan on taking 2 more( French and Calculus). I'm not expecting to go to an Ivy School, but My top choice right now is UC Irvine. My main question is do colleges penalize you for not having the strongest course rigor? I do Involve myself with other EC's to keep myself occupied throughout the year. My school does offer several APs but I won't be taking most of them. Thank you!</p>

2

<p>The UC’s do consider course rigor important in admissions, so if your fellow high school students are taking several AP’s and you are not, it would definitely make you less competitive especially for the UC’s. </p>

3

<p>AP Biology might be the hardest one. If you are doing well in your honors classes, you will probably do well in the AP classes. While I don’t think “penalize” is the right word, you will be at a disadvantage compared to the students who DID take a rigorous course load. Your guidance counsellor should be able to guide you.</p>

4

<p>Every conversation I have with admission officers, they say that course rigor is probably the most important thing considered on your application. Your course rigor will be compared both to your classmates and the entire applicant pool. I find this site good for UC advice: </p>

<p><a href=“http://■■■■■■■■■■■■/home/”>http://■■■■■■■■■■■■/home/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

5

<p>First off, I’d like to say that there is no “hardest” AP class - yes, statistically AP Biology is the exam you are least likely to receive a 5 in (only 6.3% of test takers did last year); however colleges care more about your grade in the class than they do about the score on the exam, and obviously class difficulty varies by the teacher.</p>

<p>If you feel taking more honors and AP level courses will be too much, don’t take them. Colleges want to see you pushing yourself, but they also want to see you succeed. Focus on doing really well in the classes you are taking.
That being said, academic rigor is still an important part of your application as top level university expect to see honors and AP level courses. Not knowing your GPA or test scores, its hard to say how you would fare in admissions at UC Irvine, but if other applicants have taken more APs, that will put you at a disadvantage.</p>

<p>(For reference, I’m applying there this year: I’ve taken 4 APs already and will be taking another 4 senior year)</p>