Anonymous
Post 01/15/2026 10:39     Subject: Engineering - AP Capstone
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Do colleges care about the Capstone diploma? Would they prefer more AP in math and science classes vs AP Seminar and AP Research, or do they expect both?

They do not care about capstone.
For Engineering at the big-4 public OOS (UCB, GT, UIUC, Michigan) or ivy-level private with Engineering(MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Penn, Cornell, CMU, Columbia, Harvard, Northwestern, JHU, Duke), they need to take the highest level math, physics and chem courses offered at the high school and get As /5s in every stem class, 770+ on math SAT, 720+ reading, as well as take max rigor in English and History all four years. The stem-magnet competitive-entry public high school as well as the top private in our area have a large % of the top kids who want engineering these days, the past four cycles more females than males in the top group of grads (cum laude/top 20%) are targeting engineering!
These top students all want top places. Engineering has become hugely competitive at these most-desirable programs.
The above is what the counselors advise. Data on engineering applicants with SAT breakdown is available to parents if asked.


Max rigor in history = AP Human Geography in 9th?


AP Human Geo won't move the needle for engineering
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2026 16:31     Subject: Engineering - AP Capstone
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Do colleges care about the Capstone diploma? Would they prefer more AP in math and science classes vs AP Seminar and AP Research, or do they expect both?

They do not care about capstone.
For Engineering at the big-4 public OOS (UCB, GT, UIUC, Michigan) or ivy-level private with Engineering(MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Penn, Cornell, CMU, Columbia, Harvard, Northwestern, JHU, Duke), they need to take the highest level math, physics and chem courses offered at the high school and get As /5s in every stem class, 770+ on math SAT, 720+ reading, as well as take max rigor in English and History all four years. The stem-magnet competitive-entry public high school as well as the top private in our area have a large % of the top kids who want engineering these days, the past four cycles more females than males in the top group of grads (cum laude/top 20%) are targeting engineering!
These top students all want top places. Engineering has become hugely competitive at these most-desirable programs.
The above is what the counselors advise. Data on engineering applicants with SAT breakdown is available to parents if asked.


Max rigor in history = AP Human Geography in 9th?
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2026 13:55     Subject: Engineering - AP Capstone
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Do colleges care about the Capstone diploma? Would they prefer more AP in math and science classes vs AP Seminar and AP Research, or do they expect both?

They do not care about capstone.
For Engineering at the big-4 public OOS (UCB, GT, UIUC, Michigan) or ivy-level private with Engineering(MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Penn, Cornell, CMU, Columbia, Harvard, Northwestern, JHU, Duke), they need to take the highest level math, physics and chem courses offered at the high school and get As /5s in every stem class, 770+ on math SAT, 720+ reading, as well as take max rigor in English and History all four years. The stem-magnet competitive-entry public high school as well as the top private in our area have a large % of the top kids who want engineering these days, the past four cycles more females than males in the top group of grads (cum laude/top 20%) are targeting engineering!
These top students all want top places. Engineering has become hugely competitive at these most-desirable programs.
The above is what the counselors advise. Data on engineering applicants with SAT breakdown is available to parents if asked.


+1
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2026 13:32     Subject: Engineering - AP Capstone
Anonymous wrote:Do colleges care about the Capstone diploma? Would they prefer more AP in math and science classes vs AP Seminar and AP Research, or do they expect both?

They do not care about capstone.
For Engineering at the big-4 public OOS (UCB, GT, UIUC, Michigan) or ivy-level private with Engineering(MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Penn, Cornell, CMU, Columbia, Harvard, Northwestern, JHU, Duke), they need to take the highest level math, physics and chem courses offered at the high school and get As /5s in every stem class, 770+ on math SAT, 720+ reading, as well as take max rigor in English and History all four years. The stem-magnet competitive-entry public high school as well as the top private in our area have a large % of the top kids who want engineering these days, the past four cycles more females than males in the top group of grads (cum laude/top 20%) are targeting engineering!
These top students all want top places. Engineering has become hugely competitive at these most-desirable programs.
The above is what the counselors advise. Data on engineering applicants with SAT breakdown is available to parents if asked.
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2026 12:34     Subject: Engineering - AP Capstone
Fine if AP Seminar is offered as English 10. I don’t think it’s worth wasting an elective. Better to double up on other courses like AP Statistics, and take more AP sciences since some of them has honors prerequisites.

I’d prioritize DE math, AP Statistics, Physics C, Chemistry, Biology, Computer Science A, and foreign language before AP Research.
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2026 11:11     Subject: Engineering - AP Capstone
I wouldn't suggest those in lieu of math and science. For engineering you will want 4 years of math and if available, depending on area of interest you will want AP Bio + AP Chem or AP Chem + AP Physics (C if possible). Once those are taken care of then adding on Seminar + Research could be great if that is your DC's interest.

Generally, you want to make sure the core foundation classes are taken care of first. I would think of Capstone as an elective
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2026 08:59     Subject: Engineering - AP Capstone
DS is a STEM kid. Many colleges don’t award credit for Sem/Research. That being said, these have been the most valuable courses my kid has taken. Seminar teaches how to critically look at sources, summarize for lit review, and synthesize all the differing opinions. It also teaches collaboration and presentation skills. In Research you put all those skills from Seminar into practice. In short, it teaches practical skills that will be used across all subjects in college. I don’t know how admissions views these subjects but they are valuable courses.

Anonymous
Post 01/14/2026 08:37     Subject: Engineering - AP Capstone
My kid is in a top engineering program and I've never heard of a "Capstone Diploma". Took a lot of AP courses though. So, just sayin.
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2026 07:04     Subject: Engineering - AP Capstone
Probably depends on the college, the reader, and the day.
Anonymous
Post 01/14/2026 05:45     Subject: Engineering - AP Capstone
Do colleges care about the Capstone diploma? Would they prefer more AP in math and science classes vs AP Seminar and AP Research, or do they expect both?