How many AP’s are recommended for Ivy League colleges?
I know that more with good scores is the ideal, but what is the range of amount of AP’s needed to be selected?
Obviously, there is no set number of AP courses, but it is expected that you take a the most rigorous, relevant courses your school offers to get into a top school.
It depends on what is offered at your High School. However, in admissions, many Ivies don’t stick to the ‘rules’ - students that have taken 3 APs from a school that offers 20 have been admitted to top schools, where students with 12 APs have been denied.
It really depends on your GPA, ACT/SAT, etc…
Challenge yourself, take AP/IB/Other college level classes to the extent that your high school allows. I personally am on track for 13 by the time I graduate.
The minimum amount needed is…wait for it…zero. It’s all in context with what your school offers.
7-12 is generally accepted to be sufficient if your school has extensive AP offerings. If not, just take what your school has.
Whatever you feel like taking, don’t take AP courses you are highly uninterested in or dislike. Take as many as you can handle and ones that you are somewhat interested in.
From a Stanford Dean of Admissions:
One thing we are trying to do is dispel the myth that a curriculum loaded to the brim with Advanced Placement courses—with no regard to a student’s happiness or personal interests—is a prerequisite for admission to Stanford. Such a course load is not required, nor is it always healthy.
Whenever we talk to students and parents, we encourage them to work with you [guidance counselors] to develop an appropriate course load. Of course we want students to challenge themselves, but we don’t want them to hurt themselves physically or mentally along the way. We try to explain to families that the students who will thrive at Stanford are those who are genuinely excited about learning, not necessarily those who take every single AP or Honors or Accelerated class. We tell students we expect them to take a reasonably challenging load, selecting from among the most demanding courses available to them. And we make it clear that we want students to work with you to exercise good judgment in course selection.