<p>One thing to consider is whom wil be writing the counselor portion of her Common App - the college counselor who is making these recommendations or her guidance counselor. In our high school, it is the guidance counselor, not the college counselor, who completes the counselor portion of the College App.</p>
<p>It seems to me that your daughter has already demonstrated her ability to challenge herself and excel. I think if her preferred course selection is in line with her interests, that will be viewed favorably by admissions. There are plenty of applicants who grind out AP courses and get high or even perfect SAT and ACT scores who don’t have a sense of who they are or what their direction is and do more poorly in admissions. She will stand out if her application conveys that her choices of courses, ECs, and interests are coherent and consistent with who she is.</p>
<p>I am grateful that our public high school, while regularly sending students to top schools, has not gotten caught up in the ‘race to nowhere.’ There are a limited number of AP courses offered, all very rigorous, and we have students who get into top tier schools, including NU and ivies, with considerably fewer AP courses than your daughter plans on taking.</p>