For top 20 college, what did your AP/rigor look like from typical suburban high school?

[Anonymous]

I understand that it is based on high school, but assuming middle to upper middle class large public, what did your rigor look like?

Currently on track to complete:

AP World History (modern), AP Euro History, AP US History, AP Government

AP Bio, AP Chem, AP Physics C (Mechanics), AP Comp Sci Principles

AP Calc AB, AP Calc BC, AP Stats

AP Language and Composition, AP Literature

AP Pyschology, AP Macroeconomics


We are approaching it that this is the floor to be competitive, and even if get all A's in the class, and 5's on the AP exams, that it just gets your application looked at.

We are worried that because our high school offers more AP's, including AP Computer Science A, AP Physics C-Electromagnetism, and AP's in 3 languages but because of circumstances like interest and class schedule, child won't be taking an AP language, all the hard physics classes or computer science ones, for major of something pre-med, maybe Chemicstry or Biochemistry that they will be at disadvantage.

[Anonymous]

Can your kid take just BC? Most kids don’t do AB then BC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can your kid take just BC? Most kids don’t do AB then BC.

Our school has a sequence where they encourage students to take AB first then take BC. There are some students who definitely do not take both, however.

[Anonymous]

15 is overkill

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can your kid take just BC? Most kids don’t do AB then BC.

This isn't accurate. This varies by high school. Many high schools organize the sequence so that AB is a prerequisite for BC.

[Anonymous]

This would be impossible in my kids’ school because they can’t take APs until junior year.(yet kids get into T20 every year)

[Anonymous]

9th calc AB
10th calc BC
11th AP Stats, AP Physics 1, APUSH
12th Multivariable calc, AP Physics C, AP Euro

OP, your student's rigor is more than sufficient. Someone will be along shortly to tell you that AP foreign language is somehow required for T20. It isn't, not when there is plenty of other rigor.

[Anonymous]

Suggest to take ap comp sci a. Most top schools don’t give class equivalent credit for principles. Also, top schools especially engineering only accept 5s.

Also take multi var calc even though there is no ap. My kid took 13 ap exams and got 12 5s and 1500+ sat to confirm gpa and is at an ivy from public high school. Kids classmates took lots of advanced classes at Stanford that gave them transferable credit. The competition is fierce.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:9th calc AB
10th calc BC
11th AP Stats, AP Physics 1, APUSH
12th Multivariable calc, AP Physics C, AP Euro

OP, your student's rigor is more than sufficient. Someone will be along shortly to tell you that AP foreign language is somehow required for T20. It isn't, not when there is plenty of other rigor.

Are you saying this is what your kid did and got into a top 20? I ask because I always thought AP Lang/Lit was pretty much required.
OP, your kid would be fine to be considered and most likely fine with fewer APs. But you also need something else- volunteer work, a passion project, a job, etc. Leadership and an athletic or artistic endeavor are also helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:9th calc AB
10th calc BC
11th AP Stats, AP Physics 1, APUSH
12th Multivariable calc, AP Physics C, AP Euro

OP, your student's rigor is more than sufficient. Someone will be along shortly to tell you that AP foreign language is somehow required for T20. It isn't, not when there is plenty of other rigor.

Are you saying this is what your kid did and got into a top 20? I ask because I always thought AP Lang/Lit was pretty much required.
OP, your kid would be fine to be considered and most likely fine with fewer APs. But you also need something else- volunteer work, a passion project, a job, etc. Leadership and an athletic or artistic endeavor are also helpful.

Yes, my kid is at a T10. 4.0uw/1550. Decent but typical STEM-related ECs.

[Anonymous]

Rigor is not so much box-checking but big picture. OP's big picture is plenty of APs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I understand that it is based on high school, but assuming middle to upper middle class large public, what did your rigor look like?

Currently on track to complete:

AP World History (modern), AP Euro History, AP US History, AP Government

AP Bio, AP Chem, AP Physics C (Mechanics), AP Comp Sci Principles

AP Calc AB, AP Calc BC, AP Stats

AP Language and Composition, AP Literature

AP Pyschology, AP Macroeconomics


We are approaching it that this is the floor to be competitive, and even if get all A's in the class, and 5's on the AP exams, that it just gets your application looked at.

We are worried that because our high school offers more AP's, including AP Computer Science A, AP Physics C-Electromagnetism, and AP's in 3 languages but because of circumstances like interest and class schedule, child won't be taking an AP language, all the hard physics classes or computer science ones, for major of something pre-med, maybe Chemicstry or Biochemistry that they will be at disadvantage.

This is actually same as what my son took, except he didn’t take comp sci or stat. Mostly 5s. All As. He is not really looking at T20 but I’m not sure of exact rankings so maybe t18-t30 ish. I’ve been concerned since this group informed me that no Spanish 5 (just Spanish 4) is a bad for UVA. He has 13 Aps. I think this gets them in the door and then you win some, you lose some. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think AP Stats and Psychology make a difference, like it’s more impressive to take Calc BC and Multivariable rather than AB, BC, and Stats. Maximizing the number of APs is not necessarily helpful.

[Anonymous]

I would only do psych if actually interested in psych.

My child did AP BC Calc in 10th, followed by Multi and Diff eq/ Linear Algebra which are both honors not AP, but I think more meaningful than Stats

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think AP Stats and Psychology make a difference, like it’s more impressive to take Calc BC and Multivariable rather than AB, BC, and Stats. Maximizing the number of APs is not necessarily helpful.

Multivariable isn't offered at our high school, with the highest math class.Calculus BC. In order to take multivariable at a local college is not feasible. The sports don't end until 5:30 pm more or less, and very few, if any, of those types of math classes are offered at night.