I won't have enough APs?

emberjed
Mon, 03 Sep 2012 18:05:24 +0000

First of all, you don’t need to take a remedial class just because you didn’t get an A originally. Almost-straight A’s is nothing to be ashamed of, even at the US’s most competitive colleges.

Second of all, I’m in much the same boat as you. My school offers a lot of APs (like 15-20), but it is difficult to take more than two, three, or MAYBE four before senior year because of all the prerequisites and other miscellaneous requirements (like the only way to get into AP Calc before senior year is to get above a certain score on a test that’s administered in 7th grade - you just get one shot). Because of this, I was worried that I would be considered lazy or unintelligent because I’ve taken only a small fraction of the APs my school offers. From what I’ve heard, the guidance counselor may mention the situation in his/her recommendation letter - but you have a better shot at him/her mentioning this if you actually tell him/her to. At my high school, the seniors fill out a questionnaire for their guidance counselors, in which they can mention any issues they’re concerned about or things that they want considered for placement on their recommendation letters. I’m going to ask my counselor to mention that I’ve tried to take the hardest classes possible (at my school, honors classes are almost as hard, sometimes as hard, as APs) but that, due to the curriculum’s structure, I haven’t been able to take a lot of APs. I’m not sure how the counselor system works in Canada (in fact, I don’t know if you even have them there), but it’s worth checking out.