NOTE: While parts of this post are specific to AP classes, much of it also applies other advanced classes, such as dual enrollment.
I hear this one a lot.
Many students or their parents think they need to take almost every AP their school allows. If their school offers 25+ APs, they will attempt to take 20 APs (skipping only those for languages they didn’t study). If this means taking AP classes over the summer, or taking the test after only self-study, so be it. They do this because they think it helps them get into the most selective schools.
Let me be clear on this: This level of self-abuse is wasted effort for any of the Tier 1 schools. For them, there is little benefit after 8 APs or so. In fact, maxing out on APs while neglecting other parts of your application can get you labeled as an Academic Drone, actually hurting your chances at the Tier 1 schools.
And while I would ideally like to end this post right here, I cannot. There are a few reasons why taking more than 8 APs could be the right decision for you.
- “Most rigorous” designation: Your school counselor will send a recommendation letter and forms to every college you apply to. On one form, your counselor will evaluate the difficulty of your coursework relative to others in the class. You want it to be marked as “most rigorous” designation. Ideally you want to find this out early exactly in high school how many advanced classes this designation requires. For some schools this might be 3 APs along with mostly honors classes. For others it might be 12 APs. Hopefully it isn’t 20 APs.
- Graduating Early: If paying for 4 years of college is a concern, then taking more APs can shorten the time to graduate, if the college you attend provides credit for AP classes. Most public universities do, and I have known students that were able to graduate with a 4 year degree in as little as 5 semesters. Note however that many highly selective private colleges do not accept AP credit.
- Admission Based on Rank: Many high schools calculate a weighted GPA that takes into account course difficulty. Couple that with colleges that admit based upon class rank (e.g. the University of Texas with its top 6% cutoff), and the result is an unhealthy competition to maximize APs to achieve a certain class rank.
In summary, the most selective colleges don’t expect you to overload on AP classes. However, you always want to take enough to earn the “most rigorous” designation.
