<p>AP courses are not important to colleges that know the schools and know that the curriculum is rigorous. A whole other story when it comes to schools off the radar, both universities and the high schools. The number of APs and how well the students do on those APs and where a given applicant stands in that situation can be very important.</p>
<p>My sons’ prep school did not bother to designate AP to a lot of the courses, but permitted kids to sign up for any AP exams they pleased. Some AP prep classes were held a few weeks before the exams for some courses. But the kids have an excellent record in getting 4s and 5s on the AP exams. </p>
<p>I think what is important is how well kid do on the AP exams at a school It doesn’t mean a thing to have 30 AP courses if the kids don’t tend to do well on them. Also, there are certain critical AP exams that colleges hold more important than others. AP Psychology or Computer Science, for instance is not going to have as much clout as AP BC Calc and the AP Englishes and the AP basic sciences, including the Physics C.</p>