<p>D applied to mostly top LAC’s - took eight APs (half of them as a senior), got into the schools ranked 25-75 but not the two in the top 10 (maybe they would have changed their minds if they saw the senior AP scores!)</p>
<p>Bio
Chem
US Hist
Euro Hist
Eng Comp
Eng Lit
Government
Calc BC</p>
<p>Only took advantage of the Calc and English credits, couldn’t use the science because of her major but they helped in initial placement</p>
<p>His brother got into Harvard and Carnegie Mellon having taken:
1 Freshman year (Comp Sci)
1 Sophomore year (Bio)
3 Junior Year (Physics C and Calc BC, US History)
3 Senior Year (Latin, Econ-Macro, Chem, and not AP but he did take Linear Equations) </p>
<p>Oops - forgot one for older son – he took US History junior year too. (re #41)</p>
<p>To be honest, my school isn’t entirely AP driven (probably a total of 10-12 AP courses offered overall), and consequentially, I only took two AP’s during my career. I still got into Georgetown with only 2. It’s possible!</p>
<p>i’m curious - do you guys take AP tests after all the ap courses?</p>
<p>a lot of times, an AP course is offered, and most, if not all, students end up taking the AP. Other times, as in my case, I did not take AP English, but a majority of my class waltzed in and took the AP Lit exam-- and did well. It varies though considerably from class to class.</p>
<p>At my school, taking the AP test is mandatory if you take the class.</p>
<p>Regarding the AP tests, there are several threads where people have reported out the various school policies. In our school, the tests are taken in lieu of the final exam and thus “required”, if a student requests an exception not to take the AP test it requires a one-on-one with GC and teacher. If the cost is a hardship, the school will cover the cost.</p>
<p>Our AP tests are not mandatory. We have to pay if we take them</p>
<p>I took the APUSH test and the AP Psych test, but decided against the AP Lang test(wouldn’t be useful in the long run)</p>
<p>I’d be interested in hearing about more good students who took no AP’s before senior year even though the school offered them, yet still managed to get into highly ranked schools.</p>
<p>The school requires students to take the AP tests. Up until this year the school paid for the tests so the students had nothing to lose. Now with budget cuts, the students will have to pay for the tests.</p>
<p>My son took “only” 4 AP’s at his suburban NJ public high school, and was admitted to the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins, among others.</p>
<p>I think he thought that people who took many more than that were out of their minds!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Haha, I’m a perfect example…</p>
<p>I was stressing out all this year and last (I’m a senior now) that I would not get in to any of the schools I wanted because I’m only taking 3 AP’s this year (for the first time), when many people took them junior year.</p>
<p>Turns out, I got into Cornell and University of Michigan!</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Congrats to both of the above! That’s great.</p>
<p>Congrats DonnaL on the great news. </p>
<p>ds143, you made my day! Big congrats on both of them. </p>
<p>I went back and looked at some of your old posts including some where people said that you’d never get in! Ha! You did it your way, and the schools saw what they wanted. Outstanding!</p>
<p>Thanks for your kind words, everyone!</p>
<p>Haha, you can definitely tell by my post history that this has been a worry of mine for the past two years (having posted many threads about course rigor, number of AP’s, etc.). I know it sounds neurotic, but I’d often stay up at night and wonder, “have I just lost all my chances by not challenging myself junior year?”</p>
<p>I truly can’t tell you how much of a relief it has been to get accepted at two of my top choices (despite, as you noticed, many posters said I didn’t stand a chance). It is such a weight off of my shoulders, and I am ecstatic!</p>
<p>It made my day that it made your day, so thanks!</p>
<p>EDIT: For reference:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/790263-how-does-look.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/790263-how-does-look.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/711856-i-really-dont-know-what-caliber-school-i-should-looking-help-please.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/711856-i-really-dont-know-what-caliber-school-i-should-looking-help-please.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/701154-how-can-i-show-colleges-im-challenging-myself.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/701154-how-can-i-show-colleges-im-challenging-myself.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/high-school-life/641278-only-taking-aps-senior-year.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/high-school-life/641278-only-taking-aps-senior-year.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/high-school-life/577432-do-i-need-take-aps.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/high-school-life/577432-do-i-need-take-aps.html</a></p>
<p>It really depends on your high school and which APs they offer. For example my high school had 18 AP classes but I only tool 11. I didn’t take the ones like Human Geography, French, Spanish, or Art History and still did fine.</p>
<p>On the other hand all the core academic APs he should be taking. And senior year he should max out on APs.
For me it was:
Junior Year- Comp Sci A, Chemistry, US History, and English Lang
Senior Year-Calculus AB, Biology, Physics B, Statistics, Macroeconomics, Government, and English Literature</p>
<p>My son took APUSH in 10th grade (took the test) and AP Comp in 12th grade (didn’t take the test), and he got into Amherst. He did take some classes at the local college though.</p>
<p>ds143, may I ask how many APs does your high school offer.
I have to say I’m very pleased about your post( #57). I know there are a few absolutelists here who stated that if you don’t have 10-12 APs or if your screenname is not “ParentOfMaxAPs” then your kid would be doomed for top colleges.</p>
<p>Columbia, 20 AP’s.</p>
<p>I know someone who got into a top 25 with exactly one AP course from a rigorous private. She had a 3.4 gpa. She had a very, very focused application and a clear academic goal. Culturally, she was a fit for this U as well. Her e.c.'s & community service complemented & strengthened her academic focus. I should also be clear that, while not a development admit or otherwise hooked, she nevertheless was definitely not a FA candidate. (For the non-generously endowed institutions, and for those ones which do not offer merit aid either, this can factor into the standard for any particular admit.)
I also think that foreign language fluency was a tip. </p>
<p>I’ve seen many CC students not be admitted to top 15 when they had double-digit AP’s and a long unfocused “list” of mediocre e.c.'s. Many of these students in the last 5 years have also owned up on Results threads that they believed they somewhat blew off the app or merely regretted being insufficiently explicit.</p>
<p>And I have seen statistically equal candidates from prestigious public & private h.schools, where both – applying to the same Elite, for example – have impressive AP completions & scores, identical gpa’s, but where one of the two has distinguished himself or herself qualitatively – going deeper into academics, deeper into committed e.c.'s, and above all (again) showing that in the applications, resulting in an acceptance for the one candidate who did so, not for the “equal” classmate.</p>
<p>Some of us continue to notice that the application effort can be where the rubber meets the road. It’s great to have accomplishments, great to have stats, and exciting to have goals, but in the end these all need to be communicated in an appealing & differentiating way.</p>