I am an incoming senior in my high school who has been taking AP/honors English classes for my past 3 years (AP Capstone, Honors English, and AP Lang). I have already completed 7 AP courses so far and I plan on taking 5-6 for my senior year. I do not want to over burden myself this year and so I had planned on dropping AP Lit. However, my counselor advised me that if I were to do this, then my chances for admission into competitive colleges would decrease as I’ll be showing a drop in rigor for that subject after my previous trends. Is this true? And to what extent, considering I will be taking at least 5 other AP classes even if I drop it.
Your GC is the one who indicates what the rigor of your curriculum is, so far be it for me to argue with that.
There is a very basic standard of what is considered rigor in the fundamental academics, but it’s not etched in stone and it varies from high school to high school and from college to college. At some high schools there are English courses one can take without getting dinged as drop in rigor, and I doubt any college , even the most selective ones are going to question it. But the further you go from a recipe, the more likely the product is not going to make standard. In your case, all of this is made easy with your GC’s stance on this
What are the other AP classes you’re scheduling? Which English class would you take, if not AP Lit? If any of your planned senior APs are electives rather than core courses, It’s probably a good idea to drop one of these in favor of AP Lit.
Yes, if you are targeting T20 type colleges, not taking an English class senior year will be a red flag. English is considered a core subject area. Not all AP courses are viewed equally in terms of rigor. Here is a link to the Yale Admissions website, which is representative of what of the top schools look for generally. https://admissions.yale.edu/advice-selecting-high-school-courses.
Just so I am clear, I would be taking college prep senior English in its place. How big of a drop is that in comparison?
What is your likely major? What do your grades look like to this point?
I would be relatively more concerned if you are going to be an English major. I would be less concerned if you are intending to major in math or computer science.
To me the overall task of researching universities, visiting universities, preparing for and taking SAT or ACT tests, filling out applications, getting acceptances (and possibly rejections), figuring out what you can afford, and deciding which school to attend (possibly requiring more visits), adds up to the equivalent of another AP class in terms of how much work is required. This suggests that it might be good to take one less AP that you think you are comfortable with.
I suppose that depends somewhat on the content of the course. Would it be literature-focused? If the content would duplicate AP Lang (especially if watered-down) it might look like a step down.
Again, which APs (or other rigorous classes) have you taken and are planning to take? It’s hard for anyone to weigh in without context.
Your GC has told you that dropping AP Lit will be considered a reduction in rigor. Drop the elective AP’s if you are shooting for top schools.
You need to make sure that your GC will still consider your schedule “most rigorous.”
That said, my STEM D dropped AP lit to take both AP Physics C (mech and E&M) and AP chem, and she still had enough rigor to get that “most rigorous” designation.
What courses are you taking?
The top tier colleges will want to see the guidance counselor check the box on the recommendation saying you have taken the most rigorous course-load available at your HS (which doesn’t mean taking every AP class – there is often some latitude in this). If the guidance counselor says that your prior and current HS schedules are sufficient to get that most rigorous box checked then you should be fine.
Even if the GC checks Most Demanding, adcoms will see CP English on the transcript and know it’s basic.
OP, if you want other answers, you’re going to need to answer poster questions about what you’ve taken, what you plan, major, plus stats, including AP scores.
You need to understand how top colleges view this. Or change targets.
I’m with @BKSquared Core subjects are more important than electives. I’d drop one of these other 5-6 instead of AP Lit. But the impact on admissions really depends on what the other AP courses are and if the GC still marks your schedule as “most demanding.”
I’d like to thank everyone who replied to my question. I have one more. I see that the overall consensus is that I should probably listen to my GC and keep AP lit to maintain my academic pattern for competitive colleges. Perhaps I could drop AP Latin in its place for senior year. I have been taking the class ever since my freshman year and have completed level 4. Would a selective school be fine if I stopped taking a foreign language for senior year?
What does your entire schedule look like?
1.AP Bio 2.AP Calc BC 3.AP Comp Sci principles 4.AP Latin/Lit 5.AP gov (government is required by my school so I can’t take something else) 6. Health 7. PE (I also need to catch up on these electives to graduate). How burdensome is my workload?
We still don’t know what AP you already took. You could drop APCS and keep Latin. Did you ever compare your total record to what your targets recommend?
Health and PE aren’t usually “electives,” when they’re mandatory. Did you fill prior years with true electives, non cores?