<p>Hey guys, I was just wondering , how many AP classes should I take to make my transcript look strong for top tier schools. I know a lot of other things go into the decision but my school next year offers 18 AP classes. I know i cant take them all but how many should i take to make me a strong candidate? I also know that i wont pile my transcript with just AP classes because lower grades for more AP's isnt worth it. thanks for your imputs.</p>
<p>Just take what is obvious for what you need.</p>
<p>You will need English 3 and 4… so take AP Lang and Lit.
You will need government and economics, so take AP US Gov’t and AP Macro and/or AP Micro</p>
<p>Did you already take Bio Honors… if so take AP Bio
Did you take Precalc/calc Honors, then take AP Calc</p>
<p>Just follow what you need. Don’t take something like AP Psych, just because it is AP. But you can take it if that is what you want to study in college or explore an interest.</p>
<p>College do not look for a set number of AP classes. Also, there is no reason to make bad grades in AP… the lowest you should even come close to is a B, but you should still be able to make A’s. If you can’t maybe you shouldn’t be in AP.</p>
<p>Are the actual AP scores important? I’ve gotten A’s in all my AP classes (very rigorous course load), have an extremely high GPA, etc…does it matter if I don’t do too well on the APs? (get 3s or something)</p>
<p>My dream school is Stanford…so I’m wondering if the top-tier schools really place a lot of weight on AP scores if the rest of the app is good</p>
<p>Well, if you have a 95 in the class but a 2 on the exam, that takes away a bit of the legitmacy of the course. Some schools offer very rigorous AP courses that prepare students very well for the exam, while others don’t do such a great job. I would say taking 2 APs and getting a 5 on each of the exams looks better than taking 5 APs and getting all 2s.</p>
<p>A common misconception about AP Exams is that you have to send them.</p>
<p>Unlike other standardized tests, you don’t have to send your AP scores.</p>
<p>Thus if you get a 2 on the exam, you can choose to eliminate the score and no record will be seen by colleges.</p>
<p>In my opinion I would just take the AP classes to inflate your GPA and not worry about passing the exam, although passing should be preferable considering how easy it is to get a 3 on most exams.</p>
<p>ah, very true…
yeah, all my classes are AP/H (5 APs this year w/ pre-calc H) and taking 6 next year…
getting As in all those classes…but I know I won’t get a 4 or 5 on the APs (maybe on a few)…</p>
<p>thank you! i suppose i’ll continue to not stress about the AP scores :]</p>