Does AP/IB make a difference?

Applying to College
1

<p>Do AP/IB classes affect admissions at all? I am enrolled in IB Chemistry HL2 this year and I decided that I don’t care for pursuing chemistry in college so I want to drop it, but I don’t want my admission chances to be affected. I will be applying to all the UC schools and San Diego State University. I have some honors courses I have taken already, but no AP/IB courses. I am in my senior year and my schedule is currently English, APS/Econ, Chinese 3, PE (damn PE requirement), IB Chem HL2, AP Stats. I know I will definitely drop AP stats, but what about IB Chem? I want to pursue East Asian Studies in college so I thought I might want to take Philosophy in place of AP stats and then have a free period in place of IB Chem and do work experience for any other credits I may need. Will the colleges care whether or not I take any AP classes my senior year? I was also thinking about taking Calc I at a CC next term, but I am not sure yet.</p>

2

<p>It depends on which UCs. Many matriculants to Cal and UCLA have taken multiple AP/IB courses, so that’s your competition for admission to those campuses. The mid-tier UCs won’t care as much.</p>

<p>just my opinion, but AP Stats is a great course for life.</p>

3

<p>To answer your question, I don’t really know. However, on a recent visit to MIT, I asked the student tour guide how many APs she had taken. To my surprise, she had only taken 6, and had attended a well respected public school in DC. At Harvard, they said indirectly that they expect to see at least 4. At Johns, the said they expected at least 5 or 6. </p>

<p>Top 5% at our school, a very strong Southern public school, will take between 11 and 13 including Chem., Physics, Biology, and Calculus BC. (Many of our students will go into the honors program at public U and then on to top graduate programs.) Given that most private schools will not give you credit for more than 5 or 6, one ought to take the additional as either extra preparation or for placement purposes. After all, it is all about learning for learning’s sake, isn’t it?</p>