Will my school's lack of AP/honors classes hurt me?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I go to a very small, very rural public high school where there are only a few APs and honors classes. Hence, there is a very high demand to get into those classes, and due to administrative screw-ups which were completely out of my control, I am only in two honors classes this year.</p>

<p>However, I took APUSH (4), AP English Language (5), and AP Psychology (4) last May. My SAT score is currently a 2040 (darn math dragging my score down!), my ACT is 33, my unweighted GPA is a 3.85, and I have excellent extracurriculars. I also have excellent recommendation sources. I am a junior in high school at this moment. </p>

<p>My senior year, I will have the most vigorous course load my school offers, and this summer I am going to enroll in a few community college classes.</p>

<p>Will private colleges like Emory, Wake Forest, and Bryn Mawr look down on my application because I lack advanced courses?</p>

2

<p>What I meant by “I [took APs] last May” was that, although I had not taken the classes, I studied for and took the AP tests at another high school.</p>

3

<p>it definitely shouldn’t hurt you; colleges are responsible for knowing about your HS so they understand what opportunities you had. they’ll see that you dealt with what you were given and that you took advantages of the opportunities you had by taking APs on your own, which will look great.</p>

4

<p>It will not hurt you. You did what you could and clearly did well. Good luck!</p>