Which APs most important for "most rigorous"
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Anonymous
| And how many total? |
Anonymous
| Depends entirely on the high school - what is offered, how many are offered, and what and how many are typically taken by other top students. |
Anonymous
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I agree with the PP, it depends on a number of variables. There is no one-size-fits-all answer.
Setting that aside, I would say, ideally: AP calculus (AB or BC), one of APUSH or AP Euro, one of bio/chem/physics, one of AP Lang or Lit, AP foreign lang. And then more for a total of, say, 8. That said, I have two kids at T10s. Of the above list, kid #1 took AB, APUSH and AP Euro, AP Physics 1, dual enrollment English, and had a total of 11 APs/DE. Kid #2 took DE multivariable, both APUSH and AP Euro, AP Physics C, and had a total of 8 APs/DE, including AB/BC/stats, so four of his weighted courses were math. What to take from these particular anecdotes: you don't need ALL subjects if you have sufficient rigor overall. Neither of my kids took AP foreign lang, both only had through level 3 foreign lang. Neither took AP Lang or Lit, though both had two rigorous AP history courses, which provides some decent reading/writing. One had dual enrollment English which may substitute for AP Lang/Lit and the other had post-AP math. Both had high SAT scores (1550+), one had all As, one had a single B. Feels like there's probably an algorithm somewhere that accounts for all these academic pieces. Wish we had access to that. |
Anonymous
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And not do what DS' friend is doing:
AP Chem, Physics C (both), Calc BC, Lang, APUSH, HUG, African American studies, PreCalc, Physics 2 (don't ask), Stats and Gov. |
Anonymous
PP. In your example here, what is your objection, as far as rigor? They have at least 6 rigorous APs. I count 11 (or 12, if you count Physics C mech and E&M separately). Not all APs need to be rigorous ones. As an aside, high schools in our area have only one Physics C that includes the material for both Physics C exams. |
Anonymous
Just the scattershot nature of the classes (i.e. Physics 2 after having taken, and scored 5s, on both Physics C Mechanics and E&M). Just take a logical rigorous sequence depending on what the school offers rather than load up on a bunch of random APs just to bump GPA. But then again, this strategy might work for this kid, so who knows. |
Anonymous
It's probably not the kid's fault. There are plenty of high schools in which kids cannot take the courses they want. My daughter wanted AP Chem to follow Honors Chem, but she was told to pick something else because there weren't enough seats and she didn't have priority because she wasn't a junior or senior. She chose AP Physics C instead, only to find out a week before the start of school that even though the description says it prepares for both Mech and E&M, it will only actually cover Mech. Other kids have had their language classes cancelled at the last minute because their schools couldn't find a language teacher. So I would think any admissions officer worth their salt will understand that sometimes kids are not masters of their own schedules. Of course it helps if the college applicant adds a little note somewhere if there's really a discrepancy such as Physics 2 after AP Physics C. Or perhaps a kid developed a serious health issue or something like that, and needs to downgrade for a little bit. |
Anonymous
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At our school it’s probably 11-12 APs total.
The “most rigorous” schedules include: Math: 11th - Calc BC (junior year); and 12th either MV / Linear (for STEM applicants) or AP Stats (for non-STEM) English: 11th - AP Lang (junior) and 12th - AP Lit Science: 10th - AP Physics; 11th - AP Bio or AP Chem (both for STEM); 12th - Physics C History: 10th - AP World; 11th - APUSH; 12th - AP Euro and/AP Gov Foreign Lang: 12th AP Lang |
Anonymous
Also, every year there seems to a STEM kid or two at our HS who adds an additional AP or dual credit class over the summers between 9th, 10th, and/or 11th. But I don’t think the kids who follow schedules similar to the one above are bumped down from “most rigorous” category as a result of other kids’ summer choices. |
Anonymous
What’s wrong with this? |
Anonymous
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My Ivy bound class of '29 took the following:
AP Calc AB, AP Calc BC, AP World History; AP Spanish; AP Lit, AP Lang/Composition, AP Chem, AP Gov and also took Advanced Topics Bio and the corresponding AP test |
Anonymous
| If your kid can’t take the classes they want, make sure you keep a note of that throughout high school so you can add it into the additional information section and explain in detail where the conflicts were. |
Anonymous
OP here and this will mostly be my kid with the exception of science. Taking Chem H as a 10th grader. Likely to take AP Physics 1 in 11th and AP Bio or Chem in 12th. This is the only area where I am a little worried. |
Anonymous
No worries. Those kinds of small differences likely don’t move the needle That said, the most useful insights on this will come from your high school, as “most rigorous” is school-specific. So, if you really want to get nitpicky, ask around about the “most rigorous schedule” kids who are a year or two or three ahead of your DC at their high school. What do they do for science in 10th grade? FWIW, our HS seems similar to yours - honors chem in 10th. A handful or two of kids each year choose to double in science in 10th, taking Physics 1 contemporaneously with chem (and pre-calc.) YMMV. |
Anonymous
My Top 10 and Top 20 accepted took same but not AP Chem or AP Spanish. Had taken 4 AP's by the end of his junior year. Took 3 more his senior year. |