<p>one AP in junior year while average people take more in my competitive school. is admission to top tier (under Ivy) possible without considering ECs,sats?
plan to do 3~4 AP next year.</p>
<p>Of course not. You just have to realize that a lot of this is a toss-up.</p>
<p>AP's don't really mean much unless you take the exam and score 5 or 4. The quality of AP classes varies so much. The colleges know they don't guarantee anything, and even using them for advanced placement, much less credit, is dicey. </p>
<p>Don't spend your time worrying, spend your time studying!</p>
<p>I was concerned about this issue because at many of the private schools, kids only wind up with 2 or 3 AP classes. The AP classes are very rigorous, and none are offered before junior year (usually). At many public schools, every top level class has the AP designation, and kids wind up with 12 or more APs. I asked some admissions people about this. Everyone said they are well aware of the variance between "AP"s and that they take a look at the rigor of the entire curriculum at the school.</p>
<p>On many college visits, we heard that what admission officers want to see is that you took the most rigorous courses offered by your school. In some schools the top students take college courses, in some advanced placement, in some IBs, in some the high schools own honors classes. It wont be held against you if you took only two AP classes in a school that only offers APs in three or four subjects. But if other top students typically have taken five or six AP classes by end of junior year and you have taken just one, you need to be prepared to explain why that happened that puts you in the best light. In the meantime, as one poster said, the best thing you can do now is study hard and do well.</p>