What is the average amount of ap classes

At highly selective Kenyon College, the average admitted applicant took 4. University of Georgia students averaged six AP courses while in high school. Going up the selectivity chain, the average at Harvard is eight AP classes. To be competitive at some of the most highly selective colleges in the country, AP courses may be the sweet spot amount, assuming the student can handle that level of rigor.

There are no colleges out there that require you to take 14, 17, or some other obscene number of Advanced Placement offerings. Some schools such as UNC-Chapel Hill have stated publicly that they will not grant favor in the admissions process to students who took more than five AP courses. This proclamation came a year after over 60 percent of UNC applicants hit double-digits in the number of AP courses taken, leading to concern about high school burnout.

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Our Blog. Advanced Placement AP courses are entry-level college courses offered as high school classes that are standardized and administered by the CollegeBoard. AP courses are designed to prepare students for college-level work by offering a more accelerated approach to the traditional courses offered in high school. The standardization ensures that every student who passes the AP exam is actually able to keep up with college-level coursework!

For students aiming for the Ivy League and Top 20 schools in the United States, a good target is to take and pass AP classes throughout your high school career — or each year. It is more important for you to do well in fewer AP classes than to earn mediocre grades in many. If students do well in the course but not on the exam, not to worry! The transcript admissions officers see will still benefit from a rigorous course load.

That's without any AP english classes too. I would've taken 8 by the time I finish. All Rights Reserved. How many AP classes does the average student take? Please enter a valid email address. Thanks for subscribing! Adding one more AP class will not have a huge effect on your college chances at this point, but it could significantly reduce the time you spend on applications and therefore hurt your admission chances.

Be careful about burning yourself out, especially senior year. You will need to devote lots of time and energy to your college apps! Below is a chart summarizing the above information. And again, these rules aren't hard and fast, as there is no set formula for admission to the most selective schools. The bottom line is to take the most challenging cour se load you can handle while also doing very well academically.

Your target schedule could also look different if you spend a huge amount of time on one activity, like playing an instrument or doing a sport, speech and debate, or college-level research. This is especially true if you compete or participate at a national level. When choosing AP classes, prioritize subjects that are genuinely interesting to you and you would like to continue in college before you choose AP classes just for the sake of AP. Also, think about your grade level and experience with AP classes before signing up.

Don't jump into four AP classes your sophomore year if you've never taken them before. Learning how to study for the exams and pacing yourself is tough. This can be hard with just one or two exams, let alone a handful. Plus, in many subjects you won't be able to acquire the necessary pre-requisites for AP courses until your junior and senior year.

For example, AP English is usually taught junior or senior year, most students won't have the pre-requisites for AP Calculus until junior year at least, and for the sciences—Biology, Chemistry, and Physics—most high schools have a recommended sequence that doesn't have students taking the AP courses until sophomore year at the very earliest. This is why many students begin with courses like AP Human Geography or Psychology in freshman or sophomore year.

The exams are comparatively less difficult, and younger students are more likely to have completed prerequisite courses for them.

If you do well on the first exam or exams you take, you can consider taking on more in junior and senior year, but again, be careful about overloading. How do you know if you've overdone it? Don't give into peer pressure—just because you have a friend who has taken 10 AP exams doesn't mean you have to do the same. Again, one extra AP class won't make or break your admissions chances, but if it causes your GPA to fall or your performance in extracurriculars to suffer, it could be hurting you.

Your score on that will have a huge effect on your admissions chances— as well as scholarship eligibility at other schools. Finally, have back-up plans ready when you sign up for classes. For example, if you start BC Calculus but realize it's too tough, see if it's possible to transfer down to AB Calculus. Also be prepared to switch into an honors or regular classes if an AP class is eating up too much of your life and hurting your GPA.

Talk to your guidance counselor before signing up for AP classes to find out the protocol for changing your schedule mid-year. We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service.

We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools , from state colleges to the Ivy League.

We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. Is it possible to study for an AP exam on your own? Is it worth it?