Hi…My daughter is in the process if doing her UC application. We have a quick question. There are 2 parts in the application (550 words) that ask if there is anything you want them to know that you haven’t shared in the app. One is in the academic tab and the other is after the personal insight questions.
So the question is should she use the academic extra section to explain why she has only taken 4 AP classes? She has taken all honors but only 4 AP. The reason being is varsity swim team practice. Which was 2 a day 4 hours long for 3 months out of the year. Then last year her junior year she had to get a job to help out with family bills. It was just a part time job. So should she include this or leave each section blank and take our chances with only the 4 AP classes?
She did include varsity swim in her ECs and described her practice schedule and team duties. But not sure that is enough. Thank you for your help.
How did the extra activities prevent her from taking more APs?
Was this a direct schedule conflict or wanting to maintain a manageable work flow while doing extra activities?
If the ladder, I would not explain. It’s a sensible approach to not over schedule but I don’t think it warrants an extra explanation.
If there as a true schedule conflict that prevented taking an AP class I would include the explanation.
I assume you included the part time job as an activity on the application too.
I would not make an “excuse” for her not taking more AP classes due to her swim practice or part time job. The job should included in the activities section and Adcoms realize that perform at a high level in any sport, sacrifices have to be made but again this is the student’s choice.
I agree with @svlab112.
What is the average # of AP classes taken by students at her HS?
@svlab112 her swim practices were from 4AM-7:00AM before school and again 3PM-5PM after school. That was just too many hours of practice to take the rigourous AP classes. It was hard enough taking the honors. But she managed to squeeze in 4. She did get A’s in those. But I will tell you it nearly broke her. So I cut off the AP classes last year and wouldnt let her take any.
We did include the part-time job. It is related to swimming which she loves. A private swim coach at a country club.
@Gumbymom thank you for your response. I highly respect your opinion and have been reading your replies for years.
Her school offers 12 AP classes. She has only taken 4. I am very afraid this will hurt her chances on getting into a UC. She has a 4.13 UC capped GPA. But her SAT score is just 1260. Her lack of rigor and her SAT score I am afraid will hurt her chances.
We will leave those areas blank if you think it’s wise.
This is part of the reason that the application asks for the time commitment involved in extracurricular activities.
That’s what I thought. We will just leave those 2 sections blank. Just hoping they truly read the EC descriptions as I know they read thousands of applications. I thought it might get missed and she just really wants them to understand her reasoning why she didn’t take more.