<p>Lots of colleges say that they want to see students taking the toughest course load that the school offers. At my school, however, this is very frowned upon and even the best of the top students never take the toughest possible schedule. Most students end up taking 3-6 AP courses during their high school career (APs aren't even offered until Junior year), even the best in the class. Advisors and college counselors generally place limits on students' amount of AP and Honors classes.</p>
<p>I go to a small, prestigious private prep school and every year they send a handful of students to the Ivies and a ton to Top 25s.</p>
<p>Relax.
That's the first that comes to mind.
If your school is placing limits on what they'll let you do, talk with your parents and let them have the final say. If they agree with the school, then you probably should abide by that opinion. I don't know you, so I have no idea what you're capable of, but simply sign up for the classes.
If your parents agree that you can take more than your counselor will allow, then go with your parents to speak with the principle or vice principle.</p>
<p>In most cases (and certainly in your case - at a prestigious private school), you college/guidance counselor will be sending a school profile with his/her rec letter and your transcript. That profile will undoubtedly include a statement about what kinds of courses your school allows you to take. If they limit you to 2-3 APs, then they're telling colleges that. And the colleges are then considering your program to be the most rigorous possible if you take 2-3 APs.</p>
<p>A much more serious problem is when a great student at a ho-hum high school runs up against bureaucratic barriers. In that case, it may well be worth it to buck the system in one way or another.</p>
<p>My prep school is very much like yours in that taking more than 1-2 APs per year is highly frowned upon, and probably not possible anyway due to the high volume of work involved. Don't worry, you're fine.</p>
<p>They're lying. They don't want you to take the toughest course possible. They want you to have a really high GPA. No I am not kidding. Take harder courses only if your GPA does not suffer.</p>