Hi everyone!
I’m planning on taking 7 APs senior year, 3 other kids in my grade are as well (so you know i’m not an anomaly, though my school might be!).
I’m totally ready to tough it out for my entire senior year if it means i get an acceptance to my dream university.
However, i think that i should switch out Calculus BC for Calculus AB( But i’m afraid it’ll look like i’m not fulfilling my true potential).
This is my course load as of now:
AP Calculus BC
AP Research
AP English Literature
AP Statistics
AP Chem
AP European History
AP Comparative Government & Politics (self study)(Free block)
Free Block
How do you suggest i can show my willingness to work extremely hard while also succeeding in the courses i’ve chosen!
Also, if you have any stories of people who’ve taken similar schedules then please share!! I do know of a guy who took 7 APs in one semester and got into Harvard but i’m sure there were other factors as well.
7 APs is a lot- and it might be way too many for senior year, since the work of applying to college can feel like a whole additional class. Most would caution against this- However, if you feel you can manage it and not go crazy then go ahead. I would take BC if you feel up to it- but AB is by no means not “fulfilling your potential.” If you were to drop something you could definitely drop down to AB.
I think the best way to show that you work hard is to get good grades in these subjects. your first semester (or quarter, if you apply EA/ED) senior grades are the last grades colleges see before they make their decision- so you want to be sure you are showing a strong finish. The best of luck to you with this courseload!
Thanks so much!! I will be working on my college apps throughout the summer so it’ll be less stressful during the school year. Anyways, thank you for the encouragement!
How many AP’s did you take last year? You don’t have to fill up your schedule with AP courses to be on “on track” for Ivy League. There is no required number of AP’s to be accepted to Ivy League. Colleges have already stated that it’s not a race for the number of AP’s - there is a lot more to an application than your AP’s.
The only reason you should be self-study AP Gov is if you want college credit (and you should check if colleges of interest even offer credit or placement). If you’re self-studying for some other reason then I suggest you not self-study.
AP Chem is one of the hardest AP sciences (and AP class overall) and I highly suggest you drop it if you don’t plan on going into a science field. AP Chem requires a lot of memorization and outside work for labs and this time could be better spent improving your application. Same goes for AP Research - this class requires a lot of writing and research. At the end of the course, you’re expected to write a 4,000-5,000 word (8-10 pages singe spaced, 16-20 double) academic paper. Make sure you can balance this while still doing your other AP homework and perfecting your apps.
Choose AB or BC depending on how well you think you will do in the class. There’s no such thing as “full potential” - really, colleges don’t see too much of a difference between either. As long as you get a good semester grade you can take AB or BC.
Make sure you have time for EC’s. If you don’t have any, then it just looks like you’re an AP junkie, and colleges tend to avoid students of that nature.
Also, don’t ever take a class just for the application. Might be your last year, but you’re still figuring out your schedule. If you hate a class, drop it. If you’re taking it because it will “look good to colleges” (it won’t and it doesn’t impress anyone), you need to drop that class. This is your last year of high school and you should enjoy at least some of it.
pinklinks is right, don’t load up on AP courses just to look good for colleges. Unless you genuinely are interested in it, I’d drop AP Stats, its generally viewed as a light class, and since you already have AP Calc, you already have a math-oriented subject. If you are going to have 5+ AP’s, I’d switch to AB, especially if you don’t plan on doing something math-related in college. Unless you are seeking college credit, I wouldn’t bother self-studying AP Gov, your free blocks would be better used studying for your immense courseload and tackling college apps.
I’m trying to recuperate for the fact that my school didn’t allow me to take many APs in grade 11 because of prerequisites. I feel that an overall of 10 AP classes is alright for ivy league schools, taking into account the results threads in which many accepted applicants take 9-15.
Colleges won’t see if you self-studied AP Gov, but you’ll have the credit and placement at your school if they allow it. Really though, colleges don’t care if you’ve self-studies or not.
There is no minimum number of AP’s you need to take. There are other aspects that will appeal to top colleges and number of AP’s isn’t one of them. Instead of spending your time doing your AP homework for useless classes you should be working on your essays and college apps. colleges will know that you weren’t allowed to take AP’s until senior year and will know that you’ve taken the most rigorous course level with 4+ AP’s. You don’t need 7 AP classes to prove that you are an ambitious student or that you can work hard. Also, a jump from 0 to 7 AP’s might be tough.
The common app has a space to list AP tests you’ve already taken and the scores. Colleges will also see the courses you’re enrolled in. There isn’t any space designated for self studying APs. I guess you could mention it somewhere, though as a senior you won’t have any score to show so I doubt they would pay much attention to it. Even if you did have a score, most colleges aren’t that impressed by kids self studying APs. They know which are the easy APs–that includes AP gov-- and they value the classroom experience, not just cramming from a test prep book. They also say that AP scores don’t carry much weight in admissions and if all you have to show is an AP score (and you won’t even have that yet), then it’s not going to carry much weight.
Your schedule looks rather imbalanced–where is your foreign language, don’t you have any interests in the arts? I think that lack would stand out to them more than X APs. If you look at a school like Stanford they explicitly say, it’s not a case of whoever has the most APs wins.
Just wanted to add, if gov is your interest and your school doesn’t offer the class, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with studying it. I just wanted to make sure you know that colleges aren’t nearly as impressed by self studying APs as the high school students on this site seem to think they are. There are always posts by bitter students who had more APs or higher SATs than the kids who “stole” “their” spot.