re #105 Exactly. My kids didn’t take a lot of non-basic APs:
My kids took 1st year of foreign language, Integrated Math 1, and High school biology in middle school. Older one also took level 2 of Math.
Our system is set up so it’s hard to take more than 6 courses because of required gym, health and extra time for lab sciences unless you took the honors art program before school.
Older son then took:
Freshman Year: English, Physics (regular honors was a sch. conflict), Global Hist 1, Latin 2, Math 3 honors, AP Comp Sci AB, Arts Elective (required)
Sophomore Year: ( Honor chem summer before to avoid schedule conflicts), English honors, AP Bio, Global Hist 2, Latin 3, Honors Pre-Calc
Junior Year: English honors, AP Physics C, APUSH, Latin 4 honors, AP Calc BC, Health
Senior Year: English, AP Chem, AP Econ with NYS government req thrown in (he basically had to take both econ and gov in some form for a NYS requirement), AP Latin, Linear Equations, Astrophysics
Younger son:
Freshman year: English, Honors Chem, Global History 1, Latin 2, Math 2, Regular and honors orchestra
Sophomore year: honors English, Reg Physics, AP Global, Latin 3, Math 3 (regular because of sch. conflict), Regular and honors orchestra
Junior Year: honors English, AP Bio, APUSH, Latin 3, honors Pre-Calc, Regular and honors orchestra
Senior Year, English, AP Physics C, AP Euro, AP Calc BC, Regular and honors orchestra (tested out of the econ and gov requirement.), Health (I think he had a study period senior year.)
Older son with better grades and scores got into Harvard, CMU. Younger son with iffier grades and scores got into Chicago, Tufts and Vassar. 8 APs plus one post AP for older son. 6 APs for the younger one.