<p>One of my cousin is actually planning to do this. He is 7th grade in middle school and studying 5 APs 'now'.
He says that this will guarantee Harvard acceptance letter.</p>
<p>How do you think about that?</p>
<p>it wont...and it might make him look crazy</p>
<p>I agree though is this make him special? I mean, is this a hook?</p>
<p>No. 5s on all APs is not a reason to regard one applicant over another. Also tell your cousin that if he thinks anything will guarantee him a Harvard acceptance letter, he's mistaken.</p>
<p>AP courses are falling out of favor with many top high schools and colleges. I would not recommend this plan as a way to get into Harvard!</p>
<p>Being serious here: Is your cousin a typical braggart? Did he make void promises before in his life? A seventh grader is, at most, very immature. Thirty APs with all fives is near impossible due to both the amount of work involved and the difficulty of such a wide range of tests. Math, science, history, English, Spanish, French, German, Music theory, Art studio... He/she can't possibly do that. Plus, it is vital to remember the purpose of AP classes:
It is to allow advanced HS students to take college courses. If you are going to take ALL AP classes, just go to college.</p>
<p>I doubt it'll get him to Harvard. But MIT..hmm..may be!!</p>
<p>Then again, he might just be making fake promises like spectrum said above!</p>
<p>ntek, I don't think it will get him into MIT...</p>
<p>
<p>First, the MIT adcom perspective.</p>
<p>I don't know the exact numbers; I couldn't tell you even if I thought it would be helpful. Numbers mean nothing to us because ~70% of our applicant pool is qualified in those terms.</p>
<p>Based on the thousands of apps I saw last year both in selection committee and as a reader, I can tell you that the average # of AP's for admitted kids was 5 or 6 (that's total for all 4 years of HS - i.e. 1-2 per year if evenly distributed). Many admits (most likely the majority) had no college classes. The most common AP's taken were in math and science (no surprise, it's MIT). The overwhelming majority got 4's and 5's on all tests.</p>
<p>I'll pause here to add that I frequently saw kids with perfect SAT scores and perfect grades and a gazillion AP classes get rejected. Why? Because often these kids knew how to grind, but brought nothing else to the table. And that's not who we're looking for at MIT. We admit kids who show genuine passion. Sure AP's can be one of many passion indicators - but I emphasize one of many.</p>
<p>When I was on the road, kids asked me repeatedly whether or not they should take a given AP class.</p>
<p>"Well," I'd respond, "would you be taking it because you genuinely want to, or simply because you think it will get you into college?"</p>
<p>Sometimes they didn't know the difference, which is a tragedy that deserves its own thread. But I digress.</p>
<p>And this is where you all start saying that adcoms are talking out of both sides of our mouths: we encourage kids to follow their hearts in the choices they make, and then as adcoms we want to see that they've taken "the most challenging courseload."</p>
<p>To which I say: guys, I work for MIT! If a kid doesn't want to be taking a challenging courseload in high school, that kid is certainly not going to be happy here.</p>
<p>Quite simply, the students who are happiest here are those who thrive on challenge. Most of our admits have taken AP math and science because they would have been bored silly in the regular classes. Indeed, they genuinely wanted to take those classes. They don't look at MIT as the prize; they look at MIT as the logical next step. It's an important distinction.</p>
<p>That said, AP's are not the only way to demonstrate that one is passionate and likes challenge. Read Anthony's story for an example: <a href="http://anthony.mitblogs.com/archives/2005/06/hello_im_anthon.html%5B/url%5D">http://anthony.mitblogs.com/archives/2005/06/hello_im_anthon.html</a></p>
<p>When faced with the choice, we will always choose "the right match*" over numbers. We're not lying when we say that. You've heard me beat that sentiment to death in other threads, so I won't do so here.</p>
<p>(*Match = mission, collaborative spirit, hands-on, balance, character, and passion, among others.)</p>
<p>But the reality is that when you have 10,500+ applications for ~1000 spots and 70% of the pool has great numbers, your pool is going to have plenty of kids who have the passion and the match and the scores/grades/AP's. So we admit those kids - what other choice do we have?</p>
<p>But then (understandably) you guys say "Look! You need X, Y, and Z to get into MIT!" To clarify, we don't require those things; many of our admits just happen to have them. And, I might add, for the right reasons.</p>
<p>This brings me to the more important part, where we toss my affiliation with MIT out the window and I give you my thoughts as a parent.</p>
<p>There is only one coin. There are many sides to the coin, but there is only one coin. And you can flip it however you like.</p>
<p>So when a parent says to me, "Why does HYPSM put so much emphasis on AP's?" I reply "Why do you put so much emphasis on HYPSM?" When a parent says "My kid's value as a person/student shouldn't be measured by how many AP's he/she has taken" I say "...and your kid's value as a person/student shouldn't be measured by whether or not he/she goes to HYPSM." I could go on and on.</p>
<p>There are literally hundreds of amazing colleges and universities out there (some of which actually admit kids with no AP's!). Many of them would actually be better matches for your child. Many of them would provide your child with a better education. Most importantly, many of them would ultimately give your child a greater sense of happiness and fulfillment. The right match will do that.</p>
<p>And the match goes both ways. We try to determine if your kid is a good match for MIT. Your kid should be trying to determine which school is the best match for him/her. As a parent, what are you doing to help him/her figure that out?</p>
<p>Here's a hint: if you're spending time obsessing that a lack of AP's is going to keep your kid out of Stanford, you're missing the point.</p>
<p>As I told the kids in my blog, I had a wonderful college experience that I wouldn't trade for anything, at a school that is currently only #23 on the USNWR LAC list (The HORROR!). I got a phenomenal education and can certainly hold my own against any Ivy grad. As a bonus I got to grow up, get married, have kids, buy a house, land a great job, and enjoy life.</p>
<p>I took one AP class in high school.</p>
<p>Make sure your kids are choosing their schools for the right reasons. Name, status, "brand" - these are not the right reasons. Let your kids be kids. Let them follow their hearts. Encourage them to have a present, not just a future. Don't let them define themselves by which colleges accept them - and don't let them define themselves by doing things only to get into certain colleges.</p>
<p>The machine is fed from all sides. USNWR, the media in general, the GC's, the parents, the colleges and universities, the high-priced independent counselors, the test prep people...</p>
<p>My kids are still many years away from college, and I'm no expert on the parent side of this process. But I do know one thing: I will fight to protect them from all of this, to help them with perspective and clarity.
</p>
<p>no offence but ur cousin is crazy...</p>
<p>Did u read this threead where a 1590 SAt retook and got 1 1600 and was rejected for obsessiveness and tho they didnt say it prolly retardedness..</p>
<p>Now,
1. 30 AP's is crazy
2. he wont have ANY EC's cause he's gonna be slogging is ... lower backside off to get 5's
3. He is gonna look nuts
4. harvard probably wont think him orthy.. they want people not mark churning robots</p>
<p>You need to be more focused on getting a good education, not getting good grades.</p>
<p>eh. 20 is enough: ) tell him to reduce it to 20. when he's in high school, he'll take no more than 15: )</p>
<p>geez, 15. i only have 10.</p>
<p>Don't fool us. Tell us which 4 out of 34 AP subjects he/she won't take.</p>
<p>Nobody can actually do that. When your cousin actually gets to high school hopefully he'll realize that.</p>
<p>Maybe your cousin can get into the Guinness book of world records by doing that. Don't think it'll help your cousin with college admissions, though.</p>
<p>Then again, if he takes 10 AP exams while he's still in middle school, then he only has to take 20 in high school. That's like, what, 5 per year? I guess it's doable.</p>
<p>By the way, I took 6 APs. 3 my junior year, 3 my senior year. I guess I'm about average.</p>
<p>what school offers 30 APs? Mine only offers 4</p>
<p>He can't possibly learn all the languages for the AP tests.</p>
<p>Mine offers 3!</p>
<p>Seventh grader ALREADY prepping for APs? That is ridiculous. And it doesn't guarantee anything. By the way, 30 APs = a lot of money, unless the school is paying for it (but then again, I don't think the school would want to do that).</p>
<p>I think it'd be a lot more productive for him to start finding things he's genuinely interested in. Like, try to learn C++ one summer, or maybe read some interesting books. This way, by the time he's in late high school (when things actually matter), he'll have genuine interests, and his resume will reflect it. Also, it'll be a lot more fun, make high school a less stressful, more enjoyable experience, and he'll be more prepared to take full advantage of whatever school he gets into.</p>
<p>I meant to add: with so many people with perfect stats, 30 APs hardly matter at all. If he develops something he really enjoys, it'll show up on his college app and that will give him a huge advantage over people who shamelessly play the GPA game.</p>