For Langley/McLean, how many AP classes should a student shoot for to be taking a most rigorous courseload

[Anonymous]

My kid says a student needs to take about 11-14 AP classes to be in a good position for UVA admission.

Is this accurate? I know colleges say you should take the most rigorous available at your school but those schools have basically unlimited AP classes.

[Anonymous]

The most rigorous label is determined by your high school by checking the corresponding box to rigor level. Ask your college counselor how many honors/AP classes a student must take to get that box checked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid says a student needs to take about 11-14 AP classes to be in a good position for UVA admission.

Is this accurate? I know colleges say you should take the most rigorous available at your school but those schools have basically unlimited AP classes.

Your kid doesn't know anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid says a student needs to take about 11-14 AP classes to be in a good position for UVA admission.

Is this accurate? I know colleges say you should take the most rigorous available at your school but those schools have basically unlimited AP classes.

Your kid doesn't know anything.

they are correc. 21:04 is correct. Ask the counselor what it takes to get that box checked off. I'm was a Langley parent

[Anonymous]

I think DeanJ said they don’t care about that box because they know how to evaluate transcripts themselves. Which makes sense because not all APs are equal.

[Anonymous]

My kid went to McLean and is at sn ivy for college. 9 APs and mulitvariable calc. APs were all “hard” except comp sci a.

In the end I don’t think it’s the number of APs you take. I think it’s the entire package. Are you taking APs that makes sense for your intended major. And do you have extracurriculars where you made an impact on your community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think DeanJ said they don’t care about that box because they know how to evaluate transcripts themselves. Which makes sense because not all APs are equal.

yeah the box does not matter anymore as many schools check it for half the students now. the schools , uva and higher, know how to compare students and figure out what is really top rigor at each HS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid says a student needs to take about 11-14 AP classes to be in a good position for UVA admission.

Is this accurate? I know colleges say you should take the most rigorous available at your school but those schools have basically unlimited AP classes.

its not umber, it is quality of AP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid went to McLean and is at sn ivy for college. 9 APs and mulitvariable calc. APs were all “hard” except comp sci a.

In the end I don’t think it’s the number of APs you take. I think it’s the entire package. Are you taking APs that makes sense for your intended major. And do you have extracurriculars where you made an impact on your community.

I think this is correct. It's not an absolute number, but rather how does it fit in the overall narrative of the applicant. At schools like Langley and McLean - and the Ws across the river - you cannot get into an arms race over the number of APs taken. You will be dead of exhaustion if you play that game.

But obviously if you are shooting for UVA and Top 30s, rigor is going to be important. English and math. If you can max what's available at the high school, that's good. But then it's about being strategic. There is only so much time in the day. For someone with STEM aspirations, they should shoot for Calculus BC and ideally MV. But they should probably take a pass on a notorious time suck class like AP World.

Someone with law school aspirations might make different calculations and take AP World, but Calculus AB instead of BC and then MV.

Try to spread it out a bit. I think you can take AP Gov or something similar freshman year. Try two more sophomore year, but if it's too much, don't hesitate dropping down a level. Try to mitigate the inevitable insanity of junior year and first semester senior year. Besides English and math, the AP classes should follow the student's natural interests. Don't worry too much about the actual number. Think of it as one part of a larger story - the ECs, the essays, the test scores, the recommendation letters and so on.

But maintain sanity. Avoid comparing with the students who have turned high school into a Bataan Death March.

[Anonymous]

There does seem to be a double standard for CS and engineering. While humanities can probably get away with not taking Calc BC and MV/Linear, the hard Science majors better take AP Lang/Lit. Honors English likely won't cut it.

[Anonymous]

AP World is not a time suck. How is a freshman in high school supposed to know exactly what his major/lifetime career is going to be at 13/14?

If AP World is available as a freshman, take it. Learn about the world you live in.

[Anonymous]

DC is a McLean/Langley 2024 grad now a first year in UVA CAS focusing on humanities (and not trying for McIntyre).

DC had 11 APs, but none in hard sciences (only in AP Environmental Science), not in languages (3 years Chinese/2 years German), and "only" Calculus AB. DC did take AP Lang (but not AP Lit). DC also had a few Bs along the way.

This is not sufficient for a STEM focus, but it did work for DC's intended coursework.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC is a McLean/Langley 2024 grad now a first year in UVA CAS focusing on humanities (and not trying for McIntyre).

DC had 11 APs, but none in hard sciences (only in AP Environmental Science), not in languages (3 years Chinese/2 years German), and "only" Calculus AB. DC did take AP Lang (but not AP Lit). DC also had a few Bs along the way.

This is not sufficient for a STEM focus, but it did work for DC's intended coursework.

This sounds like my DC. What were your DC’s test scores and GPA? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid says a student needs to take about 11-14 AP classes to be in a good position for UVA admission.

Is this accurate? I know colleges say you should take the most rigorous available at your school but those schools have basically unlimited AP classes.

My kid took 9. Competitive FCPS.

[Anonymous]

Forgot to add: Was accepted into and is attending UVA. Wahoowa!