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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Look, what GDS is saying is something that I’ve always known to be true and the college admissions counselors have said over and over again is true but that DCUM simply refuses to accept:  AP scores don’t matter for college admissions.  They just don’t.  They only matter for college credit.  What’s important to college admissions officials at the top colleges is that you generally take the toughest courses available to you in high school, and in public schools and many privates those courses are AP.  But it’s the courses that count, not the scores on the AP exams.  After all, most students take more AP courses their senior year than any other year, and colleges won’t even see the AP exam scores into after they have already made their admissions decisions.

Every time I see a “chance my kid” post here where somebody talks about their kid having all 5s I roll my eyes for this reason.  They just don’t get it.

I think it’s safe to assume that a school as prestigious and successful in college admissions as GDS knows better about what is important to college admissions than the likes of you.[/quote]

AP absolutely count for college admissions, most students who attend those selective universities have 8-12 AP taken in high school. Some privates are well enough known for their rigor that they can get by without APs, but I don’t think this translates to ‘all’ schools. Even so, students that apply to the UC system will be a a huge disadvantage without APs.

GDS is saying it doesn’t matter if students take APs, it seems the answer is more nuanced than this. It doesn’t matter for who? All students? The high SES ones with stellar extracurriculars? The hooked students? The competition for unhooked middle class is quite fierce, it is very difficult to separate students that roughly look the same. APs is one way for students to differentiate themselves. Virtually every top university states that they view APs as the student taking the most rigorous coursework and challenging themselves. I think this is a disservice to the students that are strong academics, but not very good at athletics or not too involved in clubs and extracurriculars.[/quote]

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