How important are AP’s?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do take online AP classes at night during freshman year if school won’t provide AP?

Check and make sure your school system will put it in the regular transcript.

Having APs listed as an Online Class can possibly be a red flag and might do more harm than good. But this is pretty new and it would be easy to explain this away if needed.

[Anonymous]

From our experience, 7-9 APs (in a school that offers 25-ish) in relevant subjects plus great teacher recommendations, great ECs, strong test score if submitted, strong essays and strong GPA is what you need for top 25-ish schools. It's not about number of APs, it's how those APs fit within the full story your kid is telling about themselves.

Kid is at Penn studying social sciences. He did 8 APs, his friend got in with 7 from the same school.

[Anonymous]

quality over quantity.

not all APs are equally rigorous and focus on why you are taking them given what you are curous about and want to learn in college.

[Anonymous]

*curious (typo)

[Anonymous]

I know UVA likes to see at least one AP course of the five main subject areas. My kid did that, and got in. She took 9 or 10 AP courses in high school. FCPS high school.

[Anonymous]

For the kid described by OP, GPA above all else.

[Anonymous]

I wonder if college admissions officers read these threads to each other for entertainment value. Y’all are ridiculous. The kid that has genuine academic interests and passions is going to stand out — it’s not about a robotic formula of which APs or how many.

[Anonymous]

Core APs are enough. Once you have 7-8 core APs, taking additional non-core APs does not add much value.

If the student has the drive, he can take more rigorous courses (but not AP courses). Organic chemistry, Linear Algebra, astrophysics. These would be really interesting courses for AOs to see.

If your school does not offer it, you can take it in the state university. Achieving As in these advanced courses with college students in a same class demonstrates that you are an academic powerhouse.