<p>I think there’s another issue lurking. Classicalmama, you say,
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<p>The trouble is, the pool of applicants for the very top colleges contains many kids who take 5 APs without breaking a sweat, and manage to do other activities as well. If your high school offers APs, you should take them, if you want to a contender. (Sidenote: the admissions officers do take your school’s offerings into account, so if there’s only one or two of offer, you’re fine with one or two.) </p>
<p>It is stressful to try to compete with superstar kids.</p>