<p>Last week my nephew who lives in LA came to stay with us in Lexington MA to visit colleges in Boston. He goes to a very good public high school in the LA area. He said he took 5 AP courses his Junior year. He said that if he had been studying in a public school in MA, he doesn’t think he could have taken so many AP classes because the rigour is greater in the East coast than in the West coast. Is this true? How many AP classes should a high school student take during the four years?</p>
<p>It depends on the student, of course. I live on the east coat and I am taking 6 classes, and 8 exams (one class is at a local university). Some of my peers take fewer, and I am sure you will find students on CC that take more than I do. By the end of my senior year, I will have about 14 AP exams total. It really depends more on the school you go to, how much self-motivation you have and how much you actually care about AP classes. I don’t think it’s a geographical factor.</p>
<p>As Metrical said, it’s all about what the student can handle. I say to push your limits–I regret not taking AP classes my sophomore year because I’m doing fine with 5 AP classes in school and 4 self studies.</p>