‘Colleges would prefer to see AP Maths and Core sciences, over things that they would give Humanities elective credits for’
utterly false.
MANY COLLEGE dont admit by major and state clearly that they prefer students to have a well rounded HS education. And They KNOW that students often change their minds about majors in college.
Read this from Stanford’s admissions page if you want to get a true picture of what colleges WANT to see.
What you WONT find is any preference of math and science courses over humanities, because there IS none.
"Recommended High School Curriculum
We respect the responsibility that high schools, principals and teachers should have in the development of courses and curricula for their students. For that reason, we do not have a set of required courses for admission to Stanford. We have found, though, that a curriculum emphasizing depth and breadth across the core academic subjects is the best preparation for the academic rigors at Stanford. Our experience has suggested that students who excel in a curriculum like the one below are well-suited for the demands of college academics:
English: four years, with significant emphasis on writing and literature.
Mathematics: four years, with significant emphasis on fundamental mathematical skills (algebra; trigonometry; plane, solid, and analytic geometry).
History/Social Studies: three or more years. Such courses should include the writing of essays.
Science: three or more years of laboratory science (including biology, chemistry and physics).
Foreign Language: three or more years of the same foreign language. Your study of a foreign language ought to include the development of four basic skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening comprehension."
"We want to be clear that this is not a case of “whoever has the most APs wins.”