Curriculum rigor questions for reaches: BU, Wesleyan, Tufts, Georgetown ... ?

[Anonymous]

My rising junior is going to take 2-3 AP level courses next year and already completed 1 AP this year. So she'll have a total of 3-4 going into senior year before she plans on taking 3-4 more in her senior year. She'll end up having at least 1 AP in Eng, Math, History, Language, Science and more than 1 year in History, Math and English.

Her reaches will possibly include 2 schools out of the following schools: Georgetown, Wesleyan, Tufts and BU.

Her safety/target list is still being determined, but she'll aim lower than her reaches.

Does she have enough rigor to have a shot at er reaches (she's not trying for ivy league)? She is currently A- student with normal ECs. She will be pursuing humanities.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I think that's enough APs, and she should have a shot with teh A- average and normal ECs. I do think it matters, however, what rigor level the rest of her classes are. If her non-AP classes are Honors level, great, but I'm not sure what happens when it's a mix of APs with standard level classes.

[Anonymous]

Georgetown is highly unlikely but the others are possible.

[Anonymous]

Depends on her HS and what courses they offer. MY current senior was accepted to 3 of those 4 (did not apply to Georgetown). She only took 2 AP classes but her schools doesn't offer many.

[Anonymous]

Public or private? Could make a big difference.

[Anonymous]

Rigor is evaluated by how many APs your school offers and how many classmates are taking

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Georgetown is highly unlikely but the others are possible.

Yes, based on GPA.

[Anonymous]

At our school all are possible except Georgetown. Obviously chances are much better for the three others ED than RD. Being full pay helps too.

[Anonymous]

The actual APs matter too. APES is not equivalent to AP Chem, AP stats not the same as AB Calc BC

[Anonymous]

As others have said, HS context matters. Is that a lot of APs relative to classmates? Does an A- minus average put her in the top 10% of her class?

Is she submitting test scores to the TO schools? If not, GPA should be closer to 4.0. Agree about applying ED; that can make a big difference.

Wesleyan wants students to have completed bio, chem, and physics; calculus; and at least four years of foreign language. Not required, but they report 80+% of accepted students meet these standards.

Will her recommendations be strong? Does she have anyone (e.g., EC advisor) who can write a supplementary recommendation for the schools that accept them?

[Anonymous]

As other have said, rigor is VERY context specific. That course load would not be considered "most rigorous" or maybe even "very rigorous" at our public high school because: 1) a lot of kids take 10+ APs by the time they graduate (and many more take at least 7-8); and 2) non-AP classes are sort of a joke. This might not be the case at your school at all, which is why school counselors are asked how your kid's course selection stacks up.

[Anonymous]

Is she top10% in her class? She's not getting in those places if she's not and she has an A minus GPA and only 4 APs (unless from a Big3).

[Anonymous]

If coming from a DMV public, I’d say 3 as a junior and 4 as a senior is the floor for these schools.

[Anonymous]

Since Georgetown is a stretch and has no ED, pick two of the others for ED1 and ED2. Use of ED will be more determinative than gradations of difference in rigor…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I think that's enough APs, and she should have a shot with teh A- average and normal ECs. I do think it matters, however, what rigor level the rest of her classes are. If her non-AP classes are Honors level, great, but I'm not sure what happens when it's a mix of APs with standard level classes.

not enough for Georgetown or Tufts