<p>My high school is unable to offer AP calculus, so I take the regular (and only) calculus class, which I had a 98% in last quarter. Meanwhile, our school had a student transfer from Texas who had been taking AP Calc, but he is far behind my "regular" calculus class and barely keeping up.</p>
<p>If my school could offer more AP classes (only offers English Lit), I would definitly take them, and I know not being able to take them hurt me in admissions decisions. But in light of the above, is AP nothing more than a label?</p>
<p>AP is a label. Packaged and ready for the consumer who doens't know better. Most New England prep schools don't offer "AP" classes. They offer classes of the same level, but they aren't labled "AP."</p>
<p>I think now a days it is. There are just so many and they seem so stupid because everyone takes them, not just the people who are extremely interested in the subject or just learning in general.</p>
<p>By now many AP courses have been watered down and given labels as such, even if the students there are not of AP caliber, to raise its rankings in Newsweek. (This applies only to districts that are not actually very good but want to appear that way.)</p>
<p>Many of the prestigious private prep schools no longer offer AP courses because of their elementary nature. APs really are not that prestigious in todays society. Anyone can take them regardeless of their GPA, etc.</p>
<p>In addition, many of the AP exams are not true predictors of success nor are they good copies of college curricula; it is possible to get a 65% combined on the APUSH exam and still end up with a 5, which no college would ever allow.</p>