<p>I understand that generally, most people believe that getting a B in AP is better than an A in Honors, or that getting a B in honors is better than a A in regular. But in the long run what would be better. </p>
<p>AP Student:
-Has taken 5 AP Core classes since Sophomore year and has a B average. (3.2 UW GPA)</p>
<p>Honors Student:
-Has taken 4 Honor Core classes since Sophomore year and has and A average. (3.8 UW GPA)</p>
<p>I'm only asking because I represent the "AP student" and I have gotten 4 Bs and an A in my AP Classes (AP French, AP Biology, AP Human Geo, AP Chemistry, AP World History). AP Human Geo is my only A. I was just wondering how I would stack up against other applicants b/c I'm a Junior know and I realize that my GPA isn't good even though I've taken AP classes. Its always been easy for me to get Bs but incredibly hard for me to get As for some reason. So anyways what do you guys think.</p>
<p>Ap classes for sure is way better than honors because its supposed to be a “collage level course” and honors classes just are harder than the regular course.</p>
<p>College level curriculum + AP Score to show for it vs. taking easier “honors” level courses = AP Student in most all cases. </p>
<p>I can say I’m in the same circumstance as you, I’ve gotten Bs in most of the APs I’ve taken, but have done generally well on AP Exams themselves, so I would put myself up against a straight A “honors” student any day.</p>
<p>I read in Kat Cohen’s admissions book that a B in an AP course is better than an A in a regular (didn’t mention honors) course. Adcoms like to see that you’re challenging yourself. Of course, in terms of honors vs. AP, the rigor of a school’s honors curriculum may vary drastically, so the answer would depend on your school. </p>
<p>Then again, the same principle may not hold true for consistent B’s (rather than the occasional B).</p>
<p>An AP student. But, most schools have honors courses more rigorous than AP courses. So it depends. I you go to those elite prep schools than a B is understandable.</p>
<p>It’s always been my understanding, that if you can make an A in an Honors Class, that you should be taking an AP Class, even if you get a B. Anything that you have an A in is ‘too easy’ and isn’t properly challenging.</p>
<p>So theoretically, if you have an A in a Regular Class, you should take Honors. And if you have an A in a Honors Class, you should take AP.</p>
<p>Generally, at my High School Honor Classes aren’t very challenging. I had a Honors Chemistry Teacher who let us watch CSI through half the class everyday…</p>
<p>It depends. Admissions officers do like to see that a student challenged him/herself in high school. But at the same time, colleges also like to be able to brag about statistics, and so being able to say that x% of students had a 3.5 or better GPA is also quite attractive. You just have to research which ways heavier at the schools you’re interested in.</p>
<p>I seem to favor the idea that a good mix of honors and APs is the way to go. Take the AP if you are strong in the subject, but if you are not, don’t be too proud to stick with honors.</p>
<p>Obviously the IB student is better than both :)</p>
<p>But really as someone said, it depends on your school. In my school, honors classes were really easy in my opinion while in another school, honors classes could be nearing the AP/IB level. I would say AP is better only because if you take the AP test then it sort of validates whatever grade you got because if you got an A in honors, then how would they know how rigorous the course is? Conversely if you got say a B in AP but got a 4 or 5 on the test, then it verifies your grade or maybe even shows your class is even more rigorous than normal.</p>