So let’s say that I’m talking about English. I took English 1 and 2 my freshman and sophomore year (normal class, not honors) but take AP Lang and AP Lit my junior and senior year respectively. Student B does Honors English 1 and Honors Eng. 2 his fresh and sophomore year and AP Lang and AP Lit his junior and senior year as well. Is there any significant difference between these 2 students admissions wise if both students ended up taking the highest level English class offered in the school (AP Lit) but I started with taking 2 normal english classes while the other took honors for 2 years (disregard the honors weighted gpa boost for this answer, not worried about that). Thanks in advance 
CC isn’t fond of these hypothetical comparisons.
They look at the transcript, see the courses. But also the grades. And it matters how this track relates to your hoped-for major. And all the “what else” in your app.
I hope you’re not under the typical high school misunderstanding that everything needs to be “better” or “higher” or “more” than someone else in your high school. That’s often what leads to high schoolawards or status. not what gets you into a top college.
In that case, I’m gonna ask you a loaded question. Judging by my entire transcript, am I competitive for t20 schools for finance or econ (hs offers 20 ap’s and UW gpa is currently 3.92 but should go up to 3.95 ish next year)? Here it is:
Freshman: Normal English 1, Double Period Math (Adv. Algebra 1 and Half of Algebra 2), Normal Bio., Business Explorations, AP Human Geo.
Sophomore: Normal English 2, Double Period Math (Adv. Geo and Trig), Normal Chemistry, Accounting 1, Spanish 2, Normal USH (Summer)
Junior: AP Lang, Double Period Math (Adv. Algebra 2 and Pre-Calc), Normal Physics (400 level class), Spanish 3, AP World
Senior: Senior Composition and Advanced Reading (1 semester each) or AP Lit (probably AP Lit if I do well in Lang), Double Period AP Calc AB, AP Macro (1 semester) AP Gov. (1 sem.), Spanish 4, APES
Thanks in advance for bearing with me
The best person to ask if your transcript is rigorous is your guidance counselor. They are the ones who will be checking off if you’ve taken the most rigorous courses at your school. It is something judged in context, which no one over the internet has.
AOs will consider far more than just your courses and GPA, including test scores (ACT and/or SAT, subject tests where required/recommended), ECs-(duration, support of intended major, leadership), essays, demonstrated interest and more.
It seems like you may be overly focused on prestige…the set of T20 schools varies widely in culture/vibe, curriculum/gen ed requirements, geography, number of undergraduates, etc.
Focus on making the best match you can…what are you looking for in a school? What will you bring to the school? What is your budget?
There’s all kinds of reasons why students aren’t in honors courses. My kids missed out on quite a few because of scheduling issues. I believe (with absolutely no evidence but anecdata) that the final course level you are in is more important than how you got there. I’ll also say that both my kids got into very selective schools without either AP English courses - they took lots of STEM and social science/history ones though.
Rising junior?
There are so many factors you haven’t shared. Like grades, (what course was lower than A?,) whether your hs allows AP before jr year and/or restricts how many AP/year. Or ECs. Any AP scores yet? It also matters where you live. Certain areas have fiercer than usual competiton
We can’t compare you within your hs, with other competitors there. But across the country, aiming for tippy tops, this may not be a “Most Demanding” schedule. If your GC calls it MD, fine. But you compete in your hs, local area, wider area and nationally.
Business major? Accounting is no tip. (It’s an elective.) APES does not replace taking an AP lab science, and you’re just reaching AP calc in sr year. Who will your best LoR writers be? (Not accounting.) You really need to back up and learn more about what matters to top holistic colleges.