Second Opinion - loading up on AP's is not the winning ticket

ExieMITAlum
Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:19:06 +0000

This topic came up on the thread about whether to allow a student to go to SYA. In fact I got a lot of pushback from parents when I decided to support my D’s decision to go. “She won’t be able to get those all important AP courses her Jr. year.” Yep - as a college interviewer I knew that. As a Med School Adcom my husband knew that. But it doesn’t matter how often I say it’s not going to hurt her, some worried parent or student will still insist that this is the golden ticket to college admissions. It’s not. In the words of the MIT admissions Director (and a pretty straight shooting friend):

[Essay questions obsession over AP courses | Inside Higher Ed](http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2012/02/21/essay-questions-obsession-over-ap-courses)

For the record, a lot of kids who load up on AP courses get declined. A lot of kids with broad experiences get accepted. Make the right decision for your family. Don’t second guess what an Adcom wants. You might guess wrong. So I decided to post the opinion directly directly written by a “source” of those decisions.