<p>I could imagine almost no scenario in which taking 1 incremental AP class in and of itself would be the hook that gets you into a school like Stanford (especially if doing so causes you to drop a subject you are otherwise passionate about). It is quality, not quantity that matters. </p>
<p>Stanford admissions addresses this point on its website: “The students who thrive at Stanford are those who are genuinely excited about learning, not necessarily those who take every single AP, Honors, or Accelerated class just because it has that name.”</p>
<p>[Academic</a> Preparation : Stanford University](<a href=“http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/basics/selection/prepare.html]Academic”>http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/basics/selection/prepare.html)</p>
<p>My rule of thumb in HS for scheduling beyond the required courses was to take whatever interested me and focus my energies on doing as well in my chosen courses as my abilities would allow. I honestly didn’t give much thought to how my record compared to others in my high school. (Thank goodness I didn’t because otherwise I would have been bored to tears sitting in some AP computer science class or something while my theater friends were off peforming before thousands of students at the state drama festival.)</p>