Not taking APs

[synapsefire]

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I took an AP this year and it really has caused me a lot of stress. Now I am afraid to take one next year (for my junior year). I was thinking of just taking all honors courses. Will that hurt me if I want to get into a good UC college? (like UCLA?) Also, does it look better if I had an A in honors than a C in AP?

 

[mathlegend]

A in honors probably looks better, but you should try some more APs. Which did you take? What subjects are you good at?

 

[synapsefire]

I took AP world history with a B. I am hesitant to submit my AP form for AP bio for next year but I didn't do too well in Honors bio (got a C and then B). I wanted to take AP English but my counselor didn't recommend me taking it. ughh...I'm so stressed out and confused because tomorrow is my last day of school and so I have to decide today. =(

 

[itsalovestory]

I took an AP this year and it really has caused me a lot of stress. Now I am afraid to take one next year (for my junior year). I was thinking of just taking all honors courses. Will that hurt me if I want to get into a good UC college? (like UCLA?) Also, does it look better if I had an A in honors than a C in AP?

First of all, remember that not all AP classes are exactly the same. I had a terrible one, and then six or seven wonderful ones. You may have just had a tough time because of the subject or teacher- don't beat yourself up over it!

To tell you the truth, UCLA is intensely competitive, and you will be up against people who have taken AP classes and done well in them. It's one thing to take all honors classes if that's all that your school offers, but UCs (and most colleges) look at how you've done in the context of your school. Because of this, if your high school offers APs but you don't take them, you may not be as competitive at top colleges.

Also remember that it's always an uphill battle. Even if you do get into UCLA with only honors classes, suddenly you'll find yourself classmates with those who straggled with many APs and did well. Remember that you're trying to set yourself up with a strong foundation in high school so that you can come in and do well in college-- challenge yourself now and work hard. I'm sure it'll pay off. 🙂

 

[itsalovestory]

One more thing- yes it's better to get As than Cs, so don't take more than you can handle. At the same time however, remember that intelligence is sometimes overrated and it's about how hard you work and how well you study. You can do it, just set your mind to it.

 

[jvanewportnews]

A b in an AP class isn't too bad. I think you should take AP next year, at least one so that will show consistency and taking more in your snr year will show that you want a greater challenge and whatnot. If AP Bio is anything like History, then you should expect a lot of memorizing facts and putting things together to come up with conclusions. Work hard at it, and you should do well. At least take one AP class next year! You'll be glad you did. I also was not recommended for AP English, but guess what? I'm gonna take it. I don't do too well in Honors English 10 because we have to read and answer questions about it. I always do well on papers, and AP English is a writing-intensive course. Idk about where you are, but Biology seems to challenge many of us here (struggling to keep an A by .2 points or somethin). Don't forget to take AP US history also. If you are anything like the others in your class, you will most likely not do too bad in AP Biology because if the whole class fails, then it looks bad on the teacher...I should know because we got our teacher to go easier on us.
U know u can do it! Junior year should be your hardest year because it's your last full year of school before applying to college, so push your hardest!

 

[mathlegend]

I took AP world history with a B. I am hesitant to submit my AP form for AP bio for next year but I didn't do too well in Honors bio (got a C and then B). I wanted to take AP English but my counselor didn't recommend me taking it. ughh...I'm so stressed out and confused because tomorrow is my last day of school and so I have to decide today. =(

Hm...what math are you in? If you took alg 3-4 already, look into AP Stats. I head that's an easy AP, at least at my school. What about some other sciences?

 

[synapsefire]

I have already taken Chem but not too many signed up for it so they canceled it. I was going to take AP psych but I don't want to hassle with 7 classes.

For math, I am taking math analysis/trig.

 

[Gallix23]

I took an AP this year and it really has caused me a lot of stress. Now I am afraid to take one next year (for my junior year). I was thinking of just taking all honors courses. Will that hurt me if I want to get into a good UC college? (like UCLA?) Also, does it look better if I had an A in honors than a C in AP?

I did the SAME exact thing, and I ended up taking no APs junior year (all honors) and 1 AP senior year. I still ended up getting into my top choice school, and it is a pretty tough school to get into (they accept 6% of all applicants).

So my bottom line is, if you don't feel comfortable taking APs, just take all honors and get straight As. I would suggest at least 1 AP senior year though, because colleges look at senior year not so much for the grades, but for the effort put in.

EDIT: Just for reference, I had a friend who loaded up on APs, was an "AP scholar" according to AP tests, did mediocre in all of them due to difficulty, and virtually got into no colleges.

 

[mathlegend]

I have already taken Chem but not too many signed up for it so they canceled it. I was going to take AP psych but I don't want to hassle with 7 classes.

For math, I am taking math analysis/trig.

Eh up to you I guess

I did the SAME exact thing, and I ended up taking no APs junior year (all honors) and 1 AP senior year. I still ended up getting into my top choice school, and it is a pretty tough school to get into (they accept 6% of all applicants).

So my bottom line is, if you don't feel comfortable taking APs, just take all honors and get straight As. I would suggest at least 1 AP senior year though, because colleges look at senior year not so much for the grades, but for the effort put in.

EDIT: Just for reference, I had a friend who loaded up on APs, was an "AP scholar" according to AP tests, did mediocre in all of them due to difficulty, and virtually got into no colleges.

True, APs dont matter THAT much, but having well and doing well in them helps. Colleges look at everything, so perhaps you (Gallix) had something that your friend lacked

 

[xnfs93hy]

Take what you can handle.

I suggest taking a few before you graduate.

 

[Salvorix]

While a "C" in an AP course would be looked on unfavorably compared to an "A" in an honors course, I would argue that a college would rather see a "B" in two AP courses and an "A" in three honors courses versus an "A" in five honors courses. Even if you don't do as well in the AP classes, selective colleges like to see that you have challenged yourself. Getting all "A" grades in honors courses when there are AP alternatives might show that you aren't willing to step out of your comfort zone a bit.

And like others have said, all AP courses are different. If you are genuinely interested in a subject and have a good teacher you have the ability to excel in any course, be it AP or otherwise.