How many APs/Honors should you take if you want to go to prestigious schools?Answered
For schools like the Ivy Leagues, Stanford, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and other prestigious colleges, how many APs/Honors classes did the accepted applicants take? Is it bad to have a few 3s and 4s for the APs or is it better to just not include the 3s? Also, does it depend on how many of the Honors/AP classes are offered at the high school or just the general number? Thanks!
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3 answers
Most successful admits of top 25 colleges have taken 8-12 APs or have completed the IB diploma. APs/IBs are not the same a honors classes however if your HS doesn't offer them, then take as many honors as possible.
I would say that 2/3rds of your AP/IB value is your grade in the class, and 1/3rd is your AP test score. Therefore there is more weight on the grade you receive than your test score so aim to get an A in your AP classes. Also aim to get 4s and 5s on the May test. If you do get 4s and 5s you should submit them even if you don't get college for 4s typically at prestigious schools. I wouldn't submit a 3 to an Ivy college or Stanford.
Coursera or eDx classes are not really replacements for actual APs or IBs. The best surrogate for an AP or IB replacement is an actual college course where you get a grade and college credits. If your HS doesn't offer APs or limited APs or IBs, then I would enroll in online college courses or take a such courses at your community college. There are handful of AP classes on edX offered by legitimate colleges so I think that's a possibility as well as a self-studying tool for May APs.
Good luck.
Hi!
The number of AP/Honors courses depends on how many are offered at your school. As for pretty much all US schools colleges have stats on avg. gpa, avg. sat/act, and the ap courses offered. So, if your schools offers 3 and you take 3, then that's amazing! If your schools offers less than 10, take pretty much all of them as long as you can handle it. If your school offers more than 10, then you definitely don't have to do all of them -- for typical applicants whos schools offer pretty much all APs, then 10-13 is more than enough.
If your school doesn't offer APs, then going to a college/uni over the summer or dual-enrolling is a great way to show your hard work ethic and preparedness for college. Or, if cost is an issue, you can take an online free college course (it wont give credits but still good for apps) through a site like coursera or edX.
On the 3/4 Ap score question, AP scores don't really matter UNLESS your AP score was significantly higher/lower than your grade. Basically, if you got an A in AP Bio, then either a 4 or 5 is great! However, if you get an A but score a 2 on the AP test, then that shows that your class was just easy and not at the 'AP' level.
Overall though, remember for prestigious schools, courses and even grades are not that important. Take a hard schedule, and get an UW gpa above 3.7 or 3.8 and you are golden. That gets your foot in, then you impress with EC's, essays, and standardized test scores.
Hope that helps!
Usually if you are at the most competitive schools, 7-8+ APs is recommended. Again, everything is in the context of your school
Your chance of acceptance
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