<p>My school offers 22 AP classes and 8 honors classes. You can only start taking any weighted classes from 10th grade.
I have taken 7 AP classes and 4 honors classes, w/a 3.89 UW GPA (5 semester B's) and 4.48 W (10-12) GPA.
I could not have taken 6 of those AP classes and 4 of those honors classes (ie. can't take AP Chinese and AP French).
I could not have taken 4 more of those AP classes (because of lack of space in the classes themselves/limitations based on other courses I was taking).
So that leaves me with having taken 7 out of the possible 12 AP classes and all of the possible honors classes I could have taken. </p>
<p>Is this enough rigor for USC, specifically for one of its schools that ask for an art supplement?
(I also have a 2300+ SAT, 750+ subject test, and 800 subject test... so in general, are these good enough academic stats).</p>
<p>Thanks so much! </p>
<p>Colleges aren’t looking for quantity - they’re looking for quality. Some kids with a lot of AP’s get in. Some with a lot of AP’s get turned down. Some kids with zero AP’s get in, others don’t.</p>
<p>It’s not about how many courses you took - it’s about whether you challenged yourself, learned something from the experience, and still took time to have a passionate non-academic life.</p>
<p>They want interesting students who will create an interesting incoming class - not academic robots. And for some portfolio schools, a great portfolio often overrides a not-so-perfect transcript.</p>
<p>Focus on what is important to you - not on what you think will make you more attractive. Too many kids are doing the latter and getting a big surprise in the spring (and not in a good way).</p>
<p>Hope that helps (because it’s true of most schools these days given the crush of applications).</p>
<p>@ArtsandLetters That’s good to hear! Thanks so much for your response- it really helped. But what do you mean by “quality” and “whether you challenged yourself”- if someone feels challenged with all regular classes when their school offers 20+ APs, wouldn’t that be a bad thing regarding admissions? </p>
<p>@awesomekid well yes, but those kids wouldnt be applying to top colleges probably </p>
<p>In a portfolio based school (for instance CalArts doesn’t look at grades or test scores at all) what they are looking for is talent, drive, motivation, and insight.</p>
<p>At USC - however - you are up against something different. The portfolio supplement matters to the program (Cinematic Arts, Dance, Music, etc.) but the grades and transcript matter to USC. So you have to juggle both.</p>
<p>I can tell you that my kid did not load up on a ton of AP’s. We told her to challenge herself but I see too many kids who take tons of AP’s because they think it will look impressive, burn out - or worse - get turned down by top schools because they’re in a pool of applicants that did the same thing and it’s the kids with something extra - a spark that get the nod.</p>
<p>Do what is right for YOU. If it’s taking a bunch of AP’s then do it. But do it because you love it, not becuase you want to build your resume. Not all gifted kids are in AP classes and honestly - AP classes and tests are starting to favor a lot of memorization not synthesizing.</p>
<p>Hence, you can take a lot of AP’s and get into MIT only to find out that the college doesn’t grant any credit for them - even 5’s because the Freshman classes are much harder and AP constitutes only a few weeks of Freshman classes.</p>
<p>So again - stop worrying about what looks good and start worrying more about what enhances you and that you’re passionate about as a person and a student. Colleges are now getting so many applications they are starting to take the AP overload with a grain of salt and are looking for the human being buried in those numbers.</p>
<p>Thank you @ArtsandLetters . I just wanted to make sure that my schedule would not put me out of the running at USC, and was wondering whether they would be slightly more lenient if someone had a really good portfolio. All the classes have been ones I have wanted to take because I was interested in them, and I am going to be making sure my essays are the best they can be. </p>
<p>I was at a USC reception and one of the moms stood up and bragged that her kid had entered with 48 college credits from AP courses. The rest of us rolled our eyes. Her complaint? That he had to declare a major right away. What the heck did he expect if he came in placing out of a year and a half of classes?</p>
<p>After she finished talking we wondered if he had missed the view because she’d pushed him down the road too fast.</p>
<p>USC is holistic. Trust me - they’ll evaluate you as a whole person. That includes recommendations from your teachers and counselors, your hobbies and extracurriculars, and misc. What they are looking for (like any college) will change each year depending on who is in the applicant pool, who has graduated, and where the holes are so do your best and the right school will gravitate to your “light!” Good luck!</p>