<p>Brackettallens, you’re in a difficult position. We were in a similar position a few years ago. My S chose AP over less challenging dual credit classes and watched many classmates skate through the dual credit offerings and get higher grades and higher ranks. However, his standardized test scores blew them all out of the water. With such a small class size at your kid’s school, I’m sure very small differences can get a kid in or out of the top 10% which probably only has 5 or 6 kids. If your kid does not want to go to UT, then I think you really should not worry about it. Trust that most colleges will recognize that he truly took the most challenging courses available at his school and excelled at them even if his rank is “low.” If he wants to go to UT, then you have to decide if you’re going to play the game and possibly get him a lower quality education so he can go to UT. In doing so, however, you may be decreasing his chances at other schools.</p>