A list of AP’s I have taken so far with scores:
Human Geo 5
World 5
Biology 4
English Language 5
This year I am taking (as a junior)
Chem
Psych
Lit
US history
Us gov
comparative gov
Next Year I was considering this as my scedule (undecided)
AP Environmental
AP Art history (online)
AP european history (online)
AP Calculus (havent decided between AB or BC, I do not wish to major in STEM)
AP computer science? Maybe?
AP Micro
AP Macro
Is this number significantly above the average? This track will have me graduate with 17 AP exams taken. I am aiming to achieve a four or higher on all of them. My top schools are Harvard, Dartmouth, and Georgetown at the moment.
Winning the AP race will not ensure you a spot in a top university. HS course rigor is important, but you need more than just AP classes to make it into these schools.
IMHO - Yes, I think you will earn you extra credit! Your APs - as outlined - will certainly show that you are serious about the “student” part of “student athlete”.
I am with the naysayers, sorry. Top colleges expect rigor, and they aren’t going to admit anyone who doesn’t have it. Taking endless AP classes will draw their attention, but maybe not in a positive way. They might well think you are an academic drone. Colleges don’t penalize students who only have limited AP classes to take, and they don’t reward those who have an abundance of AP classes either. Senior CC posters will say that a good number of AP classes to have for those who are looking at top colleges is anywhere from 6-8. More doesn’t mean better.
If you are sacrificing time doing other extra curriculars, or if your grades have suffered at all because of all the APs, that definitely does not look good. As far as your senior year schedule goes, I think that looks like a great way to not do well in all of those classes. (There is zero benefit to doing online AP classes, as they will not care about that. Unless you really are looking for the credits, of course. Be aware that many colleges will only accept limited numbers of APs for credit or placement.) Colleges like to see APs, but they also like to see students taking classes they are genuinely interested in. Your senior year is a great time to take that photography class you have always wanted to take.
Agree. Your schedule demonstrates course rigor which si a positive, but college admissions is not a race where the person who has taken the most APs wins. Course rigor and GPA, which together make up the transcript, is one part of the equation – it is an important part but it is one part nonetheless. Top colleges are looking for students who are interesting, involved, and leaders both in and out of the classroom.
And I agree with @Lindagaf and would not bother to take the online APs. Enough is enough.
I don’t think anyone is saying you can’t do well in AP classes, or that you don’t have other things to offer. It’s more that 17 AP tests are not really going to give you an edge over having 10 or 13 (let’s say), and spending a lot of time trying to do every possible AP will not be the best use of your efforts.
That said, it looks to me like only the two online courses are not worth your time, for the reasons mentioned by Lindagaf. Otherwise, it seems you’re taking four or five full-year AP courses each for sophomore, junior, and senior year, which is fine if you do well on all of them. (I’m assuming you’re taking some single classes, like Economics, that let you take two AP tests.)
But, as mentioned, those top colleges won’t give you much of an edge (if any at all) for things like taking four APs sophomore year, when they know most students don’t have that opportunity. It’s what you do with the classes (and everything else) that counts.
I think posters do understand. More doesn’t equal better. Participate in ECs because you enjoy them and take courses because you’re interested in them. How many isn’t important. It’s the what and the why that count.
Yes @Wilson98 . Good for you OP if you excel in every class. You can take ten or four or twenty. Taking twenty will absolutely not give you an edge over the kid who takes ten, esepcially if that kid (as at our high school) isn’t allowed to take APs until junior year. It won’t give you the edge over the kid who only has four APs in his school.
We aren’t misunderstanding. Most people here seem to agree that your many APs are NOT going to give you a leg up at top colleges. You specifically asked about those. By all means, do them if you like. APs can often help you place out of Intro level courses, even at top colleges. By the same token, you may find that your AP is worth nothing. My kid did seven APs. She got credit for some of them. Some have been disappointing, because her college has mandatory prerequisites for some classes, or she isn’t allowed to take a class until she is a sophomore, even though she did meet a prerequisite with an AP.
A kid from our school is a freshman at Harvard. I believe he took five APs, maybe four. Our school offers 18. It wasn’t his APs that got him in.
First, it is amazing to take such a difficult workload and succeed with it, so congratulations. I just have a couple of comments: If you are going for rigor, you should definitely take AP Calc BC, and Physics C if you haven’t already taken another version of physics. Also, although you have a lot of social sciences AP’s, I don’t see an AP in foreign language, which can be enough to get eliminated at some competitive schools if they are looking for an excuse. It might be better to opt for the harder math and an AP foreign language than, say, AP art history.
Many students who apply for top universities are taking average 10 or more AP classes through their school.
You are taking AP classes through online is not that impressive unless your school doesn’t offer many AP classes.
Also your AP classes are not core classes either such as AP physics, AP stats, AP lit.
Taking many AP classes doesn’t set you apart form other candidates. Good Luck!!
I find it insulting to label this student a “drone”. It is universally agreed that the transcript is the most important part of the application, and here we have a student striving to present a very strong transcript. I think that should be commended, not mocked.
Do not underestimate the amount of time that college applications, interviews, visits, etcetera will take during your senior year and whether you will be able to maintain the same GPA you did in earlier years with that number of AP classes.
Thank you. I think I will take BC, even though next year will be my school’s first year offering it. My school doesn’t have AP foreign languages. I do plan on double majoring and having Spanish be one of my majors.
