Hey guys, I am getting multiple different opinions about this and it is really starting to confuse me, so I was wondering if I can get some advice.
So this year, I just transferred into one of the best Catholic high schools in my state. However, for some reason, they offer such a limited amount of AP classes to juniors and mainly only offer a variety of AP classes exclusively to seniors. My school only offers 4 AP classes to juniors, one for each core subject. However, not all students, including me, are good at core science, history, or English subjects and therefore, would usually take other AP classes such as Psychology or Art history.
I am just worried that not being able to take multiple AP classes this year will hurt my chances of getting into schools like Lafayette, Purdue, or Fordham considering that I am only taking one AP class and one honors class (Computer Science Principles and Latin 1). Not only that, but I am also trying to get myself to have an upward trend to make up for two Cs and one D in my transcript that are not related to what I want to study, and I cannot take AP Bio, English, or history simply because I suck in those fields of study, but am really good in language and other AP history classes. Why do top private schools offer limited AP classes, and would not being able to take multiple AP and honors classes this year hurt my admissions chances even though I come from a very good school that many colleges respect?
I should also mention that I am taking 2 AP classes online, but I am still worried that the lack of APs would still hurt me. Any advice?
My D’s private HS also limited APs. The most any student could take over the course of 4 years was 8 (and that was with permission).
Many private schools are also moving away from APs and focusing on building their own rigorous curriculums. As such, my D’s school weighed Honors the same as AP courses.
Do the best you can with what is offered in your school. There is no need to take online APs outside of school. Focus on your getting your grades up and then build your college list from there…
The reason any high school offers more or fewer AP courses is specific to the school, not necessarily whether it is private or public.
In any case, college-bound students should focus on core subjects (English, math, science, history and social studies, foreign language, art and music) before trying to pad their schedule with electives. With respect to AP or otherwise more rigorous options, college admission readers are often more impressed with those in core subjects, versus known-easier AP elective courses.
AP®
Advanced Placement is a brand. It has become Jello or Kleenex. However, some places prefer to advance their own brand. If you are trying to differentiate yourself, you cannot follow the pack.
Every school submits a school profile that indicates (among many other things) what honors and/or APs are offered, who is eligible to take them, how many students take them, what the typical scores are, etc. The AO for your area will be familiar with your school.
Your upward trend will come with better grades, whether or not they are weighted.
I wouldn’t take the 2 online AP classes unless they are part of your regular school curriculum. Taking them on the side won’t help your admissions chances, and if it cut into your time for studying for your regular classes or doing your ECs it could hurt your admissions classes.
APs are not a magic bullet. You need to get your grades up, which will do more to help your college chances than APs.
Colleges care most about the 5 core subject areas and most colleges will strip down your transcript and recalculate your GPA based on your grades in English, math, history, science and foreign language. So AP’s in other subjects are not really going to affect your GPA for college admissions anyways. My D only took one AP and one honors class junior and senior year and got into every school she applied to, including Fordham and American. Her weighted GPA and her UW GPA were not very different but her UW GPA was very good (around a 3.75).
Just curious but if you are so concerned about AP’s, why didn’t you research that before you transferred? But now you are there, so do the best you can with the classes that you are in. Schools are looking for a full package, not just how many AP’s you took. And I agree, skip the online AP’s unless you are doing them as part of your regular curriculum. You want to make sure you don’t end up with any more C’s or D’s because you are focusing on things that don’t really matter to colleges (such as online AP courses).
Many Catholic schools consider all students to be doing college prep level work and that their courses are better than AP because the AP classes are controlled by the test (teach the material AP creates). And I have to agree that in many Catholic high schools, the level of the classes is pretty high. The private schools do not have to accept students who aren’t as advanced so don’t have to offer basic level classes. Everything is college prep, honors, AP, or IB.
Not all good colleges recalculate gpa. They can learn more by looking at the transcript, seeing what you did take and the grades. That’s where skipping some rigor in cores can hurt. They want to see how you both choose and how you then master the basics. Taking a side course doesn’t replace cores.
Also, there’s a point in hs where kids have to face the music. If you aren’t strong enough in history, English, science and math, that’s where you put the effort. Not psych and art history. Same goes for anyone using local college courses to suplement. Not some “any” class thinking the label makes up for what’s not there.
All that said, right, many schools are dropping the AP brand. I believe many of the fine Jesuit high schools led the way. It’s up to OP to learn more about what any/all of thetarget colleges want to see- both in terms of academics and in the rest of the story. From the sources, those colleges.
I appreciate the help of every single post on this thread. However, there are specific questions I would like to ask. All of you have said that these online AP classes really won’t help me get into a good college. Should I just drop AP CSP. And my two online classes all together? Would AP Psychology, World History, or Human Geography online classes be good core subjects to take? Or should I just ignore those also?
You should do well in the classes at your HS first and foremost. No college expects additional courses outside of your HS. With Cs and Ds, the first step is not to get Cs and Ds. Taking APCSP with your school is better than an online class, unless the online class is an approved part of your HS curriculum. But taking an AP just because it’s an AP makes no sense if you don’t perform well.
Well the online classes are a part of my high school’s curriculum. However, I am taking the class through a provider that my school doesn’t recognize. Should I just drop the APs online and focus on my regular course load? Or would the online APs somewhat help with the admit process?
If your school doesn’t recognize them , drop them. They will not help you at all in the admissions process. Put that time into getting good grades in your new school, and doing ECs that are meaningful to you.
You don’t need to quote us all on a short thread. Or not fully quote.
You probably need to work with the GC to get an idea what’s best.
Colleges don’t admit based on number of AP. And for the schools you named, not based on GPA. They look at the relevance and the balance shown in the transcript, between those that relate to your possible major and the rest of the cores. So what possible major?
Hard to say your extra classes are both part of the school curriculum and then not by a recognized provider.
Take the time to figure this out. Some assumptions and leaps are what got you into this mess. How far are you into the semester?
Right now, in addition to this confusion, your problem IS the C and D. Adcoms will see that. First look will be an Uh-Oh for the colleges you named. The solution is not freaking taking odd AP to bump up GPA through weighting. It IS to get this year’s and next year’s grades up to A level. Then, an adcom can say, ok, must have been a blip, clearly he/she is capable of the work.
CS principles, psychology, and human geography are generally regarded as relatively easy AP courses, so they will not necessarily be seen as adding rigor compared to AP courses in other subjects. Throwing easier AP courses at your high school record will not hide the C and D grades.
I was not there to hear how the question was asked or the response. I highly doubt any counselor would have said “Great idea” if the question asked was " Should I take online AP classes given that I have gotten Cs and Ds in my brick-and-mortar classes?"
I call it “admissions speak.” They say something positive. They don’t know specifics for you until they see your app. They get so used to this way of speaking that it’s hard for anyone to get a straight, satisfactory answer. Lol.
I have to jump in here. First, I agree that there is no need to take APs that are not offered by your school.
BUT… This notion that APs are meaningless unless they are specific hard APs is really not true. OK I agree that HYPSM and other top 20’s will expect the more rigorous APs, but people on this site are so focused on those schools that I don’t think they realize that schools a step down do not have the same expectations. FWIW, my S took only one AP (a lesser AP by CC standards) and had a sprinkling of Cs on his transcript. His uw gpa was slightly under 3.2. While he didn’t have any overlap with the OP’s list, he is currently attending a school ranked in the 50’s. People here are so focused on the upper tier schools and what you need to do to get into them that they tend to over estimate what is required to be accepted at schools outside the top ones.
I cannot even begin to tell you how much stress has been relieved from my shoulders just by reading your comment. If you don’t mind me asking, what colleges has she been admitted to or is attuning?