<p>Does it look better to admissions if I stay in an AP and really struggle or if I drop it? This is my only AP course and I have one Honors class that I am doing well in.</p>
<p>Applying to Towson, UMASS, URI, U Delaware, Ithaca, Binghamton</p>
<p>If you think you can do a C or better, you should stick with it. Only if there’s a real chance that you will fail the course, should you drop it. It looks much better to admissions officers that you challenged yourself at least a little, and stuck it out even if it brings down your GPA. They would rather see lower grades in challenging courses than straight-A’s with a less challenging curriculum.</p>
<p>How would they even know you dropped it? You are better off dropping it if it risks a C or below, as long as it doesn’t appear on your transcript…</p>
<p>Our neighbor applied to UW-Madison last spring. In a super competitive HS she had taken several AP classes where she got Bs and B-s. She had a 3.7 GPA lots of ECs and was waitlisted. The Madison Admissions rep told her it was the AP grades that were holdong her up. He told her it would have been to her benefit to have just dropped to the regular class and excelled there. Every school is different so who knows!!! Good luck!</p>
<p>NorthMinnesota makes a good point, guess I shouldn’t make a blanket statement about what appeals to all admissions officers. But the ones that I know always say that if you can do a C or better, you should stay in.</p>
<p>I think with the colleges on your list, you would be better off with a good grade than an AP course. Most state colleges (most of your list) don’t pay attention to AP vs. other, and I doubt Ithaca does either.</p>