3
3 years ago
Admissions Advice

Taking only a few AP classes, but more are offered

Hey! I’m a Junior in high school, and my school offers up to 15 AP classes and 1 honors class! In all, I’m only taking 4, 1 now in my junior year, and possibly 3 in my senior year. I don’t want to stress myself out, or take so many and not end up doing well in some. So, should I go for more AP classes to increase my chances for colleges or should I stick with what I have?

11th
apclasses
2022
3
6
🎉 First post
Let’s welcome @AnayaJ to the community! Remember to be kind, helpful, and supportive in your responses.
@cambria_sanders3 years ago

Stick with what you have for now. As long as you do well on those AP tests you should get college credit. I took 11 AP classes and that was stressful enough. While having AP's is a good idea, you shouldn't stress yourself too much

Earn karma by helping others:

1 karma for each ⬆️ upvote on your answer, and 20 karma if your answer is marked accepted.

5 answers

2
3 years ago

Always remember that your mental health matters far more than a few exams. If it stresses you out beyond what you can handle, then I'd advise you to avoid taking too many. However, the fact stands that the more APs you take, the better. Colleges want to see you challenge yourself academically. If you can do it, go ahead! Just make sure you follow a plan that distributes work smartly and doesn't stress you out.

2
1
3 years ago[edited]

At my school, the average number of AP classes taken is 8 to 10. For your school, this may be different. Regardless, I would say take as many AP classes as possible since it shows academic rigor. If you were a sophomore, I would say you should do 3 in ur junior year since it isn't too hard. However, you are already a junior so what you can do is take college courses to make up for the lack of AP courses. I just want to remind you that what I am basing off my answer on is my school which is pretty competitive. Try not to take more than 3 in your senior year though. U are going to suffer from senioritis and college essays and scholarships. 3 is a good amount for ur senior year.

1
0
3 years ago

Ooh, this is a good question. I am only taking 1, yes 1, AP course at my school and there are 27 offered. On the contrary, I am taking 6 honors and 3 college courses. Apparently, this combination is still good enough to get into a school like OSU or UF (just to name a few). I think in your case, you could get into Duke or Stanford (Duke is my dream school!). 4/15 is greater than 1/27, so yes, you should be perfectly fine.

0
0
3 years ago

I think quantity is important for AP classes but its more important that you are taking them in your intended field of study. Colleges do compare the offered number of APs at your high school to the number you are taking and maybe how many other applicants from your same high school are taking, but everyone's situation is different. Just take the APs you think are valuable to your future.

0
0
3 years ago

I'm a junior and the same thing happened to me I didn't know how many ap classes to take. In my opinion, you should make sure if you will have enough time next year to study and ask yourself if you really want to take a lot of ap classes. It is a good idea so you can increase your chances for college but don't go too far to the point where you are stressing about exams. If you are taking an ap class right now and feel that it's pretty easy for you then go for it!

0
What are your chances of acceptance?
Your chance of acceptance
Duke University
Loading…
UCLA
Loading…
+ add school
Your chancing factors
Unweighted GPA: 3.7
1.0
4.0
SAT: 720 math
200
800
| 800 verbal
200
800

Extracurriculars

Low accuracy (4 of 18 factors)

Community Guidelines

To keep this community safe and supportive:

  1. Be kind and respectful!
  2. Keep posts relevant to college admissions and high school.
  3. Don’t ask “chance-me” questions. Use CollegeVine’s chancing instead!

How karma works