I’m taking 2 aps junior year and 2 honors (ap english, ap calc bc, physics h, spanish 4h, business, and us history) and will take 4 aps senior year (ap statistics, ap spanish, ap physics c, ap gov one semester regular econ (no ap option) the other, and european literature). That’s 6 aps total. I’ve also taken 4 honors, and 3 dual enrollment courses (macro + micro econ and general psych). My problem is that many of my classmates take 3 aps (a couple take 4 aps). Considering that the absolute maximum aps students in my school take is 9 (because we have almost no ap options freshman or sophomore year), which is actually quite rare, will my courseload be a huge problem for UCB/UCLA applications?
Colleges will know the context of your school curriculum so it will not matter. Your classload is rigorous enough and as long as the APs/DE classes were taken sophomore/junior year you are fine.
Are you an in-state student and have you calculated your cappes and uncapped UC GPA?
yes, in-state. UW-GPA: 4.0, W-GPA: 4.58, assuming I don’t get any B’s this semester ( I might possibly get one b but no more, most likely).
Since you are in in-state student your counselor should have a pretty good idea of what previous students from your school that were accepted to those schools had in terms of AP classes
That is not your UC capped/uncapped GPA. You need to calculate that.
As a 4.0 unweighted GPA, the Capped UC GPA will be somewhere between 4.30 and 4.40. Its a good number regardless.
The question on number of APs is dependent on the major and what college, and also the number of APs offers at your school. For UCB and UCLA for example I’ve heard a minimum of 8 APs are expected for EECS, maybe L&S CS also (for UCB).
If you really wanted to pad your AP numbers, you can always sign up for taking the AP Microeconomics and/or AP Macroeconomics tests on your own, even though the school offers only Honors. Keep in mind that for UCB (probably for the other UCs too) if you actually wanted Econ credit you need to a 4 or 5 on both Micro and Macro. AP Physics C also is divided up into 2 tests which you sign up for separately. A lot of people at my kid’s high school apply for AP Music Theory on their own as well.
AP English Literature is probably a better option than European Literature since getting a 5 on it will allow you to skip both English RW classes at UCB.
Oh sorry, that was my full weighted gpa. Capped weighted is 4.36. I’m planning to major in economics or statistics or international relations (in UCB L&S).
@ProfessorPlum168 , if I take AP English LIterature, I’ll have 5 aps one semester andn that feels like too much. Is AP Literature better than AP Gov then?
UCB L&S does not admit by major. However, UCB L&S students need to meet college GPA minimums in prerequisites to declare economics (3.0) or statistics (3.2).
I know, just giving information for context @ucbalumnus
I will answer the question by stating that AP English Lit, if you get a qualifying score, will get you out of a required class, maybe even 2 classes. AP Stats and AP US Govt doesn’t serve as much of a purpose IMO except for personal challenge and impressing AOs.
My kid took 6 APs this year and I will say he was overwhelmed, but not because he wasn’t smart enough or that there was too much work. More of an issue with organization and juggling prioritization issues. Plus he is also taking a CC class at the same time. But I’ve seen others do it successfully.
Yes, but it does depend on the school. In my school, taking more than 4 is almost unheard of, it’s very, very rare, as AP classes are genuinely 2.5 hrs of work each day.
2.5 hours a day?
My kid is a very inefficient student, wastes a lot of time, and he rarely does more than 1 hour of homework in any one subject per day. Well except for AP Physics C, that class he probably spends 2 hours a day on. My kid’s school had 50 NMSFs this year so it’s a pretty decent school.
Its just different in each school- Our school had around 70 NMSF and is named one of the top 10 stem schools. Its a public school still, its just in general, the school has tried to push students to take less APs but increased the rigor of them.