<p>Colleges want to see passion, not generic students who take a bunch of APs because it'll "look good". If you're able to take a fair share of APs and balance a few, solid extra-curriculars, then you're set. I need to stop seeing so many questions debating the rigorousness of classes. Trust me, colleges want to see students who stand out, not a typical "cram lots of APs and ECs in my course load because it'll look great". Instead of pondering whether or not taking an AP is a good idea, do it. Do it because you're confident, not because you feel obligated to.</p>
<p>How nice that sounds.</p>
<p>In reality, AP classes are given more weight than your regular or gifted classes. So, if you don’t take the same AP’s as everybody else, your rank drops like a stone. So does your GPA. Colleges tend to care about those things :)</p>
<p>Also, if you score fairly well on the AP tests, certain schools will count your 3’s, 4’s, 5’s as credits to be used towards their curriculum, so you don’t have to take the pointless classes you never liked in high school. </p>
<p>So you could argue that AP classes save you money in the long run. They also get you prepped for college. Etc., etc.</p>
<p>Edit: I thought you were hating on AP classes. It turns out, you’re trying to encourage CC’ers to get more…confidence? What a misleading title.</p>
<p>I’m tired. Too much AP homework. You understand.</p>
<p>There’s a maximum number of credits college will accept from AP scores. I’m merely arguing that people focus too much on why APs will good, when, in reality, they’ll look like everyone else.</p>
<p>I’m currently taking two APs and a political science course at my city’s university. You may say this is blatant hypocrisy, but I’m passionate about my classes; I enjoy them and am taking them because I want to pursue a career that revolves around the subject of these courses (APUSH and AP English 11). Too many people are taking courses and doing activities for the wrong reasons, and they’ll probably end up with disappointment.</p>
<p>I’m not trying to offend anyone, I’m just offering my view.</p>
<p>I’m not offended. It can be hard to tell on the internet. Nuances slip through cyberspace.</p>
<p>Of course all applicants look the same to admissions people. The one’s with AP’s become “average” because everyone takes the classes, turning non-AP people into “below-average” candidates. Some people self-study the tests to look extra special. Personally, I don’t see a way around taking AP classes.</p>
<p>The irony of this thread title made me laugh.</p>
<p>Of course there’s no way around taking APs, but incessantly posting about them and constantly asking if it’ll “look good enough” is ridiculous.</p>
<p>Dare to be different.</p>
<p>ITT:</p>
<p>Lolkidswhothinktheyknowwhatcollegeadmissionofficerslookfor</p>
<p>Lol I do. My uncle works in the admissions department at Cornell.</p>
<p>Nice. You are lucky. How does he discern confidence from taking APs just to take them for transcript</p>
<p>They want to see students who are dedicated and passionate; who try to be different and stand out. To do so, you must have confidence. You won’t be special in life if you don’t speak up and act out (don’t take “act out” in the sense of misconduct). Colleges get tons of applicants who’ve shoved their schedules with APs, but none of these students have reasons as to why they did that (aside from “it looks good”). Passion and motivation will get you where you want to be, not some meek test scores (don’t get me wrong, the scores are still important).</p>
<p>It’s a bit presumptuous of you to say that “none of these students [who’ve shoved their schedules with APs] have reasons as to why they did that.” Really, how would you know? I take all of the APs available to me because it’s the most challenging schedule. Anyway, non-AP students don’t only take classes that they are strictly interested in and passionate about; future engineers take English classes.</p>
<p>Stop tossing around words like “dedication,” “passion,” “confidence,” “motivation.” Taking lots of APs does not preclude those. As if you have those qualities just because you’re taking 2 APs in subjects you’re interested in. There is a difference between confidence and arrogance.</p>
<p>It seem ridiculous to me to “bundle” up AP classes while it may save you some money and prepare you more for college it causes a lot of stress and is very tiresome. However, if you can handle it than I says go for it.</p>
<p>I commend students who take APs for the challenge, and that’s a partial reason as to why I take them. I’m a little reluctant to praise those who are asking if they’ll get into a college because they took x number of APs.
Sure, I may be acting somewhat sanctimonious, but there’s too much talk of what colleges you’ll get into because of what APs you’re taking. I think the biggest factor into college admissions is the person who you are, and if you’re simply a generic production of yet another high school, you can guarantee less chance of success. Ever heard of the college essays you need to write?</p>
<p>The only reason I’ve brought this up is because of the incessant posting on “looking good” on this site. I mean, look good because you are good; don’t feign success.</p>
<p>^ Agreed.</p>
<p>Every high school kid looks back on what they could have done differently. Academically, I feel like I was more concerned about the numerical grade than actually learning the content - meaning that I took classes that had the AP label but wasn’t interesting to me. Looking back, considering the offers I had beyond my ED school, I wouldn’t have mind taking a lighter load consisting of classes that really intrigued me.</p>
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<li><p>No one is going to stop posting about AP’s simply because that is what you want.</p></li>
<li><p>Colleges have no way of knowing WHY the applicants took an AP exam. All they see is the number of AP exams taken and the scores (if reported by the student).</p></li>
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<p>So you’re implying that colleges assume students who take “a bunch of APs” are taking it because they look good. No. </p>
<p>If anything, taking a lot of AP exams shows a clear passion for learning and challenging oneself.</p>
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<p>Why are you saying this? Colleges don’t ask students why they took AP exams. As I said, all they see is what AP exams/classes you took. And nice generalization, saying that all those applicants took AP classes because it looks good. </p>
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<p>I feel obligated to take my AP classes. So do many of my friends. Why? Because the classes in the next level down are simply to easy to take and would frankly be a waste of time, learning concepts in weeks and months that would be condensed to days and up to a week in AP classes. What choice do we have, but to take AP classes because they are challenging and the right level for us?</p>
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<p>Class rigor is an important factor in college admissions. Why do you blame students for discussing it and striving for a more rigorous schedule when taking mostly honors/regular and maybe 1 AP class can severely hurt your application to top colleges?</p>
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<p>Why? Because if a student doesn’t take even 1 AP class, it will be pretty tough for that student to get into top colleges. If you take the majority of your school’s AP classes, it will look good and keep you a competitor in admissions because the college knows you can handle college level work. (If you did good in that class). (And for upper tier colleges, not just top 20 schools).</p>
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<p>I can’t disagree with this statement any more than possible. So if you get an applicant who is the greatest person in the world, wonderful personality and excellent essay, but has mediocre test scores and grades, that student would still get accepted? I don’t think so. Unless a student can prove that he/she can handle the workload and be successful in university X, academically and socially, then it will be pretty hard for that student to get accepted. Yes, your personality is a factor, but certainly not the biggest.</p>
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<p>Simply taking a number of AP classes doesn’t look good unless you actually succeed in that class and do well. If you take say 6 AP classes in high school and averaged a low B/high C’s in those classes and scored 3’s and maybe a few 4’s on those exams, then it won’t look good at all.</p>
<p>As much as colleges like to say they mainly care about “who you are” and want to see “passion,” every single top college stresses and over-stresses the need for students to take a very rigorous if not the most rigorous courseload offered by the school. Given this, I find threads about APs excusable. As nice as it sounds to say that one should be passionate rather than obsessing over APs, the transcript is the number one criteria and that’s important. Saying “just be passionate” gives a student nowhere to start wheras guiding them with APs does.</p>
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<li><p>Of course not, don’t be so bleak. I’m merely stating an opinion, no one’s forcing you to concur.</p></li>
<li><p>First off, you’re clearly oblivious to the fact that, in order to be admitted to any qualified university, you MUST write a college entrance exam. By writing this essay, colleges will glean who you are, what you did throughout high school, et cetera. </p></li>
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<p>Also, don’t get personality confused with the person who you are. I’m not saying test scores are of no importance, but I’m stressing the importance on having a mindset and attitude that’ll reinforce that.</p>
<p>Yes, taking APs for the challenge is a good idea. It’s worth it if you can ensure success, and trust me, I love my APs. Too many people abuse this though. Centering your classes on what you want to pursue when you’re older is key. If you aren’t thinking about the future, you’re in for a rude awakening.</p>
<p>Lol… OP, are you bored? Why are you seriously arguing this on CC?</p>
<p>Because I’m really bored lol.
It’s entertaining.</p>
<p>OP, are you cute?</p>