<p>i would say for junior year take as few ap <em>classes</em> and as many <em>exams</em> as you can, and do the reverse for senior year. ap classes are often needlessly hard when the exams themselves can, in most cases, be prepared for with a month or two of intensive study. take as few in school as you can while still being competitive (i.e. so your counselor will still check off “most rigorous courseload”), and self-study others that you’re interested in. on the flip side, for senior year, you really won’t want to take exams in may unless you’re getting credit from your college. so enroll in as many ap classes as you can so that - at risk of oversimplification - it looks good on your transcript.</p>