Anonymous wrote:Doesn't sound like a very successful planner for top level schools. Kids going to highly selective schools have 4-5 APs a year Jr/Sr year, and 2-3 9th and 10th.
Poor advice if aiming for top tier.

Most private schools (who send kids to top level school) do not even allow APs in 9th-10th, so the advice totally depends on the school.

Anonymous wrote:There are plenty of kids on social media at T20 schools that only took 4-6 AP classes in 4 years and others that took 12-15, but were denied or waitlisted at T20 schools. Some kids took a heavy AP load and got 2-3 C's (gasp) and still got accepted to top schools. There's no magic formula so just have your kid take the classes that interest them and that they feel show their ability.

+1 it’s not a linear thing where the more you take the better your odds at better schools. I assume the advisor was balancing number of APs with time for ECs, getting As, and studying for SATs.

You need to school counselor to say you took the most rigorous course load, whether that’s 1 AP or 10 is irrelevant

There are plenty of kids on social media at T20 schools that only took 4-6 AP classes in 4 years and others that took 12-15, but were denied or waitlisted at T20 schools. Some kids took a heavy AP load and got 2-3 C's (gasp) and still got accepted to top schools. There's no magic formula so just have your kid take the classes that interest them and that they feel show their ability.

We got the advice that it’s basically neutral between 4 and 5 per year as an upperclassman.

I went to a small town high school in the late 1990s and even I took five APs senior year.

I guess they aren't that much work if kids take so many of them. I know many private schools limit the number of APs because of the big workload.

From what I have seen, yes, regular classes are crap. No comparison. Also like an earlier poster said, some APs are easier than others. Also depends on the kid’s interests and talents. I always told my kids you have to be at school anyway, taking the easier courses is a waste of time provided they still have time for a life outside of school. AP classes give a kid more options after graduation whether for credit and/or admission to a better school. Also puts your kid with better students and more driven students. Why not take them?

Not a HS parent but are the regular courses in HS total crap? My niece and nephew are great kids but not all that bright and they both take multiple APs. Who takes the regular courses?

I think 3 is reasonable for a junior. My senior took 7 and it wasn’t overwhelming.

Lol no. Prob not ap bio and chem and physics all at once. But certainly ap phys, calc, lit and a language is doable. I did 4 a year starting junior year. Not a big deal.

Doesn't sound like a very successful planner for top level schools. Kids going to highly selective schools have 4-5 APs a year Jr/Sr year, and 2-3 9th and 10th.
Poor advice if aiming for top tier.

It also depends on the AP courses--some are considerably easier than others.

Depends on the kid and the particular classes in question, what their workloads look like. Very generally, 3 is reasonable, 4 for a senior, 5 is probably too many and yet also not uncommon.

My daughter told me that her friend’s parents hired a college planner who told them that most kids shouldn’t take more than three AP’s per year.
Is this true? I was under the impression that there were many kids who took all AP’s.