Again, your argument is flawed because of AP Chinese being skewed, Physics only being a matter of adapting formulas, and psychology and human geography being pure memorization and comprehension. And if you seriously believe that skieurope is “dead right” about the number that you self- study being not as relevant as the class itself, it is moreover that he is “dead wrong” about this. Put simply, cheating in the United States is rampant and plagues nearly every class ever taken in high school. From Art 1 to Calculus BC, it is ubiquitous and never- ending in its search to corrupt and deceive.
Now, taking into the fact that most colleges know about this, I’m fairly certain that even you can depict that they have realized this failure in high school education and will more greatly value a high AP score as opposed to a solid A throughout the year and only a 3 in an exam. (This has actually happened to someone I knew in my school and BECAUSE of it, I repeat, BECAUSE of it, he was denied into Boston University)
Onto the last portion…
“1) it is always in the context of what is typical at your school and 2) they are not interested in an AP arms race- more does not equal better.”
So you’re saying that if Studio Art, Seminar, and Chinese, were all the most taken, then I should take it, right? Because obviously taking the “easiest” APs (in accordance to you and Europe’s false arguments) in a given school would be better than taking more difficult AP courses that aren’t as “typical” and more valuable to life–also given that those courses are relevant to one’s future profession. (And before you even try to use this sentence, please realize that it was an attempt at sarcasm.) As to Point 2), I never said an “AP arms race.” If you re- read the quote that you clearly only blindly copied, it states, “provided that the APs you take are related to it.” And since you were unable to determine its meaning, let me simplify it for you. If one chooses to pursue a history major in college, then it would be preferable to take AP US History, Humans Geography, and European History. (I’m assuming this, as this is not my desired profession.) If one were to advance in genetics, AP Biology would most likely be preferable. Because as I am sure you now clearly realize, I never stated overloading on APs that are irrelevant to a desired topic (such as taking APs in Arts when majoring in English). I simply stated taking those that are RELEVANT to future desires and aspirations.