I go to a very small public high school in Queens with less than 100 people in my grade (currently in 11th grade). My school doesn’t offer any AP courses except for AP Bio and AP Psych which you can only take in senior year. In order to take one of these, I would have to double up on science courses next year because I also have to take physics. However, my school does have a partnership with Queens College and top notch students (including me) can take college courses at Queens College with other college students. Could this be considered as an equivalent to AP courses? Will colleges see that I have taken college level courses with college level students?
If it’s on your transcript, of course they will see it.
Anyway, to answer your question, colleges will judge your transcript in context. If your school offers few AP’s, colleges will know that since it will be listed on the school profile. There is no expectation from any college that an applicant needs something that is not offered as part of the HS curriculum.
AP courses are generally supposed to be college level courses (although usually a course is spread over a year where as in college it is in one semester)…so of course something at a college would be equivalent.
But keep in mind if you take something at Queens College and get college credit for it, it will be part of your college GPA so make sure to do well.
When your transcript is sent to colleges a school profile goes with it. That school profile details things like what APs the school offers, levels of courses, grading scale etc. This allows your HS transcript to be reviewed in the proper context.
And he QC classes will likely not be part of a college GPA unless the OP attends QC. At least in my experiences, colleges take transfer credits in as P/F courses. Nonetheless, when the OP applies to colleges they will see the transcript so it is important to do well.
Also, the college courses taken while in high school and their grades will be included in GPA calculations if the student applies to medical or law school, even if they are not included in GPA calculations at subsequent undergraduate colleges.
@skieurope One thing I don’t understand… If an applicant purposefully went to a school with very few APs and a easier curricula, will he/she have an equal shot with someone who took 20 APs and has a 4.9 GPA, when both took the hardest classes possible?
I realize this goes against CC conventional wisdom, but a jolt of reality: More APs/IBs doesn’t necessarily equal a less demanding curriculum.
This is really helpful because I didn’t know this “school profile” thing even existed. I’m getting all As and few A minuses in all my courses including the college ones so I am doing pretty well. Thank you all!
Agreed. Also, just because a school does not offer AP’s does not mean the school does not offer rigorous classes. Many, many turbocharged High Schools do not offer AP’s for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, the fact that they feel that they can design a curriculum for their school more effectively that the College Board can.
Additionally, let’s not kid ourselves - all AP’s are not created equal. AP Calc BC and AP HG are both AP’s, but no admissions officer will assume that they are equivalent in rigor, even if they don’t tell you this to your face.
Colleges will, as I said earlier, evaluate in context. Very few applicants have the luxury of “purposefully” choosing a HS - they go where their parent(s)/guardian(s) send them.