My daughter is a rising senior at a competitive high school that sends many kids to Ivies and other highly selective colleges each year. I recently started reviewing this site, and it has made me wonder about her course selections for next year. She is an excellent student (likely top 10% of class) and will take eight APs by the end of senior year, which is the maximum number her school allows. The eight APs she will have taken are Chemistry, AB Calculus, World, US and European History, Economics, US Government, and Comparative Government. She wants to major in political science. She took French 4 as a junior, so she has satisfied her foreign language requirement.
She thinks her course selection will be considered “most rigorous” by colleges because she is taking eight APs. I am now wondering whether she should have signed up for AP English next year instead of English 12 . I have seen comments in some threads that suggest the highly selective colleges would view AP English more favorably than some of her other APs. Should she ask whether she can switch AP Economics for AP English next year? Several of her classmates will be applying to the same Ivies and other highly selective colleges, so I am concerned that her course selection might not appear as rigorous compared to theirs, even though they have the same number of APs.
Thank you in advance.
She should ask her counselor if her schedule will be considered “most demanding” by her counselor, and if she will be “one of the top few encountered” by her counselor for academic achievement, when the counselor is filling in the school report sent for college applications, and whether changing her courses would affect those answers.
https://commonapp.my.salesforce.com/sfc/p/#d0000000eEna/a/0V000001Avzq/PBXzR0UOtu4hSdgTXHDH9Sk6bTeQ6w8l2NQblq_KoZ0
Of course, colleges may look beyond the counselor’s check marks, particularly if the counselor is an “easy grader” for them. But not having a “most demanding” schedule or being “one of the top few” in the high school context is likely to significantly diminish the chance of admission to a highly selective college.
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This probably depends on what the very top kids at her HS usually take, and what the kids who have been successful at getting in to top schools usually take.
Some HS just “check the box” for most rigorous or not—but at some high schools including ours, there are definitely specific APs that are seen as more rigorous than others and the top kids reaching for the very top schools are strongly encouraged to take those very hard ones over easier options. For some students, especially those with “hooks”, it may not matter as much, but for typical kids in the top 10%, they need to take the hardest courses available to them. At least that is the case where we are, and for the most part but not always, admissions decisions seem to favor rigor.
Every HS is different—can she talk to her guidance counselor and ask these specific questions? If not, what is her senior schedule going to be , besides Eng 12?
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In addition to English 12, she will take a college prep level elective in the English department (not sure of the name) and four APs - Calculus AB, European History, Government, and Economics.
I will ask her to try to set up a meeting with her guidance counselor before school gets out. I didn’t want to raise this with her and get her worried over nothing if I was overthinking this. Thanks very much for your help.
Yes, good plan to meet. The only thing that seems questionable to me is the lack of a lab science in senior year. Ivy/ivy-like schools and in fact many other top but slightly less selective schools want or at least encourage science in the senior year. Our HS strongly encourages all students to take science in the senior year, regular options for the regular-track students.
In fact, our top-contender kids very commonly graduate with 5 or occasionally more total sciences(not saying that is necessary at your school).
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Since she’s planning on doing poli sci, I think it’s fine for her not to take AP English and instead do econ. Normally I’d encourage AP English, but since her school has a cap on APs she has some more leeway. Like other posters, I’m more concerned about lack of science. At my high school, people got into ivies without senior year science, but that was because we had exhausted the science offerings.
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I hadn’t even thought about science because she’s not interested in STEM and her school only requires bio, chem, and physics. She will have taken those classes (including AP Chem) by the end of junior year. Thank you!
Which is more important to her, government or economics?
Personally, I would encourage my kid to follow their interests. Does she have extracurriculars that relate to her interest in political science?
By all means make sure the GC will mark her as taking the most rigorous classes, but beyond that, I think taking her planned AP’s match her interests and kind of go along with the story she offers about herself, so to speak.
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