Do AP classes make a difference in admissions for target or hard target schools

Answered

Listen to your parents. 2 APs is light, very light. I don't know what your college wish list looks like but if you are thinking of applying to a top 50 school, keep in mind that most successful admits who apply from a HS that offers APs or IBs, take 6-12 of them. I think 7 was the average at an Ivy a few years back but now it's closer to 9. Some take up to 15.

Your academic narrative at a top schools consists of these 5 parts-

UWGPA - unweighted GPA

WGPA - weighted GPA, the bigger the spread between UWGPA and WGPA the better

Course Rigor - as evidenced by how many APs/IBs were avaiable and how many you took. Further supported by your grades in the course and May Test results. 5s are best.

IV/IC rating - Intellectual vitality/Intellectual curiosity rating. Some top schools give out a separate score (1-5) on this. IV/IC is evidenced by things like supervised research, publications authored, internships, college courses to support your interest or spike activity, honors from academic competitions like Intel Science Fair.

-Test Scores either SAT or ACT for the main one. Either AP scores or IB diploma and scores for the minor one.

Of course, this is completely up to you and your ability take on harder courses I won't hard sell you. Nevertheless, I think these days top colleges expect their students to be able to write extremely well compared to those that do not have advanced English prep courses. AP Lang and AP Lit will serve you well if you are interested in applying to top colleges because you are going to have to wow them with your essays and once you land on campus you mind find yourself swamped with a core curriculum that requires you to read 10 novels in 1 semester like the Columbia Core.

I took a GAP year this year at top boarding school because I didn't want to risk online learning at Columbia U. I already had 5 English classes in HS including Honors 9/10, AP Lang/ AP Lit and Journalism. I was also the Editor of the Newspaper and other publications. This year I took 6 add'l English classes so I'll have a total of 11 English classes before I start the Columbia Core this fall. Do I feel I over-prepared? Not at all. Everyone I know who went to Columbia, said the core kicked their a@@ with the reading amount and complexity of reading.

So you have to understand what you are signing up for before you apply to some of these schools. Grades and test scores alone do not equip you for a seat in the classroom or any entitlement that you deserve to be there. Top schools are eff'ing hard if you want to get good grades and prepare yourself well for grad school or a PhD program.

With regards to AP Calc. I tool College Calculus online summer of 11th grade. I used Outlier.org and it was great. I did an intensive for 7 weeks, got a high A and 3 college credits (which are transferable) and it was 10 X cheaper than enrolling in college, about $400. If you are not a math whiz, I recommend this alternative approach because it's self-paced and you get 3 different professors lesson plans with different teaching styles to suit how you learn math. Personally, I can't watch a black board and follow along. I need to see a visual representation of the problem and have someone talk the concept through so I understand it.

Don't H@te that your parents want you to succeed. H@te the system. It's a broken system so you need to have good allies, supporters and professionals like the CV team help navigate you through the process. ((I'm kidding about your parents, I'm certain you love them and are close))

Good luck.

Taking AP classes are going to help you with admissions.

I am currently a Junior who has taken a total of 5 AP classes and 5 honor classes with extracurriculars throughout my educational course and a hard target college, such as UGA, is still a reach for me. I suggest to try to take as many AP classes as you can if you want to apply for hard target colleges.

AP classes definitely help with admissions. However, GPA is also extremely important, if not moreso; if you don't feel like you can get an A in an AP class, you might not want to take it. This is especially true if your high school weights AP classes on a higher scale.

I'm lucky enough to have a fantastic Calc teacher that has helped me keep an A in that AP-AB, but if you don't think you are going to do well in that environment then I would avoid it. I think APLit is an attainable A, it just requires a little "more". If the other AP you want to take that year is easier for you I don't think it's a bad combination. I've also heard that "too many" AP classes could look like a student was just going after a GPA, so you need to have reasons for why you took the classes. Am I going to be applying Calculus in my day-to-day life as a PoliSci major? Absolutely not. Am I glad I'm taking it this year and next because of the study habits and integrity in my schoolwork it's instilling in me? Yes!!

I am a junior this year and I am currently taking 2 AP classes, one of the main reasons I decided to start taking AP classes is because I thought it would make a difference for college. From what I have been told by parents and teachers and admin at my school, AP classes don't really make a difference when you're applying for colleges but dual enrollment does, and it gives you extra credits as well.

I’m having that same question. I’d recommend you to take as many aps as you can. Admission officers also look for who you are out of school tho.

Yes! Colleges want to make sure that you can handle a more rigorous curriculum. I do not know where you want to go to college at, but just for my state school, they recommend taking upwards of 8 AP Classes to have a chance of getting in (this is a school with a 48% acceptance rate). Definitely look into taking more AP classes if you want to get into your target or hard target schools.