<p>currently a soph, but im just wondering
i was planning on taking a lot (maybe like 5) during my senior year, but since colleges wont see that, should i pretty much just fill up my junior year with AP courses? my school doesnt offer any APs until junior year, and im seeing around here that people have taken like 11 AP tests... x_x</p>
<p>... There is no set number.
It all depends on how many your school offers.
And besides, if you take 5 your senior year, colleges will know anyway.</p>
<p>Take the hardest courseload available to you.</p>
<p>my school has about forty people getting into the ivy league every year and they all generally take about 12-14 total APs... Although I did know one guy who went crazy and took 20-ish.</p>
<p>My school only offers 8 official APs (Chem, Bio, Physics, Calc AB and BC, Enviro and Stat). The level 5 foreign language classes prepare you for AP Lit and every junior takes AP US History and AP English Lit. But only those 8 are officially APs. So very few kids graduate having taken the max possible (6/7) much less the 20 that other schools offer. Most kids take 3/4.</p>
<p>It's all in the context of your school.</p>
<p>this question is ridiculous, no offense. </p>
<p>Schools offer different numbers of AP classes. AND...some don't offer any at all. Also, some schools do IB in place of AP. </p>
<p>take the most rigorous courseload available to you.</p>
<p>forty people? ***? I hate your school, a LOT</p>
<p>easiest answer--take as many as you can without sacrificing your ability to do well.</p>
<p>If you can take 6 aps a year and get As thats fine...if you take 6 and get Bs in 3 or You can take 4 and 2 honors classes and get As in all 6--it might be to your benefit to do that.</p>
<p>it depends on how many your school offers and what the average at your school is. to remain competitive and stay in the top 5 or so percent, you'd probably have to take at least 10 at my school. if you want top 8 kids <em>top 1 percent</em> taking at least 15+ would be necessary. a friend of mine in a different state will only have 7 by the time he graduates and will most likely be val, so it really depends on what your school offers and what your goal is.</p>
<p>The most AP classes a student could take in the class of '07 at my school was four. We had a kid turn down an Ivy for U Chicago with one half year of one.</p>
<p>4-6.
For an Ivy, I would take 6.</p>
<p>all colleges look at senior year. I dont know what u are talking about. Even UCs do for that matter.</p>
<p>Number is meaningless. Rigor is not. At my school, you are considered a psychopath to take more than 3 at once. I have 3 right now, and i expect at least 4 hrs of homework a night on average. Sometimes even as much as 8 a night, even if planned out right and not procrastinating.</p>
<p>If you go to a tough school, take enough for it to be challenging. If you are diligent and effective with your time, a tough schedule should take some time, especially to get As.</p>
<p>I do go to a top california public school though, so...</p>
<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://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/misc/miscellaneous/hello_im_anthony.shtml%5B/url%5D">http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/misc/miscellaneous/hello_im_anthony.shtml</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>does anyone know if semester-long AP courses, i.e. AP microeconomics and AP government, count as 2 AP courses or 1 AP course?</p>
<p>also, the above post is an excellent one for sure.</p>