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

[Anonymous]

As others have said, that gets you in the conversation, but even with 1550+ SAT, all T20's are a crapshoot, most likely even with 15 AP's, and A's and 5's in each, there is nothing there that most high school students attain.

[Anonymous]

My guess is that the average high school top 10% student takes 15 AP's, 4.0 UW, and gets a 5 on each AP exam, and scores at or above 1550.

So those stats might not even be good enough to escape the auto-reject pile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do the kids who take all these APs end up graduating college in 3 years? Seems like a smart school would not want kids to have enough credits to do that, they lose out on $80,000 of tuition.

My DS had all these (15) as well and is not graduating early. 🥴 Even with 5s had to repeat some.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As others have said, that gets you in the conversation, but even with 1550+ SAT, all T20's are a crapshoot, most likely even with 15 AP's, and A's and 5's in each, there is nothing there that most high school students attain.

I am not the OP but mine had 15APs. My advice don’t apply RD to T-20. Even with the best academic record and involvement and all the awards titles etc….four years straight As…. Rejections will come. Apply early.

[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.

15 AP classes with a 4.00 unweighted GPA and a perfect wall of 5s on all 15 AP tests immediately puts your kid in a group of maybe 1,000 seniors across the entire country. Add in a perfect ACT or SAT and they’re in a select group of maybe 300 seniors.

Walk that tightrope and they’re going to get a lot more than “looked at” …

[Anonymous]

* perfect, one-and-done Act or SAT …

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

15 AP classes with a 4.00 unweighted GPA and a perfect wall of 5s on all 15 AP tests immediately puts your kid in a group of maybe 1,000 seniors across the entire country. Add in a perfect ACT or SAT and they’re in a select group of maybe 300 seniors.

Walk that tightrope and they’re going to get a lot more than “looked at” …

This does not seem accurate. There are hundreds of posts here, and on other college information type websites, with posters who have the requisite perfect 4.0 UW GPA, 15+ AP's, including Calc BC/Multivariable, the other STEM AP's, etc., and 1550+ SAT. That seems to be the normal student applying to T20's and even T50's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

15 AP classes with a 4.00 unweighted GPA and a perfect wall of 5s on all 15 AP tests immediately puts your kid in a group of maybe 1,000 seniors across the entire country. Add in a perfect ACT or SAT and they’re in a select group of maybe 300 seniors.

Walk that tightrope and they’re going to get a lot more than “looked at” …

This does not seem accurate. There are hundreds of posts here, and on other college information type websites, with posters who have the requisite perfect 4.0 UW GPA, 15+ AP's, including Calc BC/Multivariable, the other STEM AP's, etc., and 1550+ SAT. That seems to be the normal student applying to T20's and even T50's.

Right, but OP only asked about rigor, which is present. The secret sauce is the essays and how you "package" yourself, for lack of a better term. If you're aiming high, this is the critical factor -- not the SAT/ACT scores, and not the number of APs you took. Some kids think they're great writers and are mistaken.

[Anonymous]

One observation from a top school: There is a lot of regional disparity.

Kids from the DMV have had to jump through many more academic hoops than kids from less represented areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Lesson #1 for T20 admission: Ignore everything the school "encourages" the avarage student to do. Do you think all the students following that advice will get into T20? No, it's mathematically impossible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Lesson #1 for T20 admission: Ignore everything the school "encourages" the avarage student to do. Do you think all the students following that advice will get into T20? No, it's mathematically impossible.

I would think if you take Calc AB as a freshman and Calc BC as a sophomore you then have more scheduling opportunities for taking multivariable calc and linear equations/diff equations as a junior or senior.

But if you are a junior deciding between Calc AB or BC, then take BC because you won't get to multivariable.

This also depends on the school. But the majority of middle class/UMC schools will offer Calc BC to freshmen/sophomores, and there are probably tens of thousands of sophomores completing Calc BC, if not a hundred thousand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

15 AP classes with a 4.00 unweighted GPA and a perfect wall of 5s on all 15 AP tests immediately puts your kid in a group of maybe 1,000 seniors across the entire country. Add in a perfect ACT or SAT and they’re in a select group of maybe 300 seniors.

Walk that tightrope and they’re going to get a lot more than “looked at” …

This is actually disinformation. It’s setting up disappointment in a kid who worked their ass off, did everything right, and will still probably get rejected. It is not what they do in high school that gets them into T20. Once you figure that out, you understand who gets into Ivies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

15 AP classes with a 4.00 unweighted GPA and a perfect wall of 5s on all 15 AP tests immediately puts your kid in a group of maybe 1,000 seniors across the entire country. Add in a perfect ACT or SAT and they’re in a select group of maybe 300 seniors.

Walk that tightrope and they’re going to get a lot more than “looked at” …

This is actually disinformation. It’s setting up disappointment in a kid who worked their ass off, did everything right, and will still probably get rejected. It is not what they do in high school that gets them into T20. Once you figure that out, you understand who gets into Ivies.

This. If the incorrect poster was correct, no one would ever get in from schools that don’t offer many APs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

15 AP classes with a 4.00 unweighted GPA and a perfect wall of 5s on all 15 AP tests immediately puts your kid in a group of maybe 1,000 seniors across the entire country. Add in a perfect ACT or SAT and they’re in a select group of maybe 300 seniors.

Walk that tightrope and they’re going to get a lot more than “looked at” …

This is actually disinformation. It’s setting up disappointment in a kid who worked their ass off, did everything right, and will still probably get rejected. It is not what they do in high school that gets them into T20. Once you figure that out, you understand who gets into Ivies.

Correct. The floor for a student to even be considered at T20 attending a middle class/upper middle class suburban high school is roughly 15 AP's, perfect or near perfect UW GPA, 1550 on the SAT. All this does is make you candidate for admission. Expect to be rejected by all 20.

[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.

Dime a dozen. Might have a decent shot at VaTech, though.