Im grade 11 right now I took 4 aps grade 10 all five and I am taking 5 more this year(I have two left but I would be surprised if I didnt get all fives). My ACT is 35 sat is 2130(not applying with this) and I have 700 hours of community service building software applications.
As I have finished a lot of courses early I have the choice of taking 4 APs next year while having a day off for everyday of school, this would potentially allow me to intern/co-op with a company. However, I have been told that “Senior work load” is really important. So my question is would admin officers look at my gr12 transcript and be confused that I am only taking 4 classes that year? Would I have any room on the Common app to explain? Should I instead go for a few more courses and not intern?
I am going into compsci if that helps, thanks in advance!
Could you be certain of an internship before you have to finalize your courseload? The internship could be a great asset to your application- but if you end up just doing 4 courses and not having a meaningful internship that won’t be great. Can you do your internship as an independent study? Would your GC rec include reference to your having done this internship in addition to the 4 AP classes? Would your course load be typical of your school or on the high end?
I am also taking four courses next year not because I have something else to do, but because I’ve satisfied all my school’s graduation requirements and have no more core classes to take. Though, I will still be taking part in ECs, sports, and volunteer activities.
If those 4 APs are all that are left at your high school, there’s nothing wrong with that. You’ve exhausted the curriculum.
It would be ideal if you could get some sort of recognition on your transcript for pusuing the internship in place of more courses. Some schools also award credit for internships to meet graduation requirements.
collegemom: yes my internship will count as a class and I am taking 4 courses(not including the work experience course) but it is actually 6 APs since ap research and ap language fit into one class and ap physics 1 and 2 fit into one class. Is there a spot for my employers to write a rec letter? Is there a limit to how many rec letters there can be? My course load will be average in gr12 compared to my peers but considering I have 9 APs already in my gr11 and 10 years I was hoping admissions officer would overlook that.
Don’t go for overlook! Go for a serious internship & have your boss write a rec. IMO, go for it.