Are AP courses really necessary to get into college? Are colleges overlooking other attributes?

Question

My 17-year-old daughter will be applying to colleges next year, and she could not take AP classes because she lived abroad for a semester (on scholarships -- we are not rich), and the school said she could not take AP classes if she was not there the first semester. She has a high GPA, but no AP classes. Now, I'm hearing that colleges only want kids who have AP classes, and are overlooking those who don't. Anyone have any personal or professional information about this? Thanks.

Yes, she has extracurricular activities: Community Service, volunteered as a recreation leader during the summer, plays classical guitar (can read music very well), Band, and will be a mentoring a student in Spanish because he knows no English and is new at her school. She has also attended Computer Programming camp, Science programs, and we hosted a foreign exchange student. Hope this additional helps.

I noticed Matt said his son started AP classes in his Freshman year -- our high school doesn't offer them until the Junior Year....thus the big lag.

Answer 1

a. AP classes are not a requirement for admission.

b. GPA and SAT scores are the key factor in determining admission.

c. extra curriculars (sports, student gov't etc...) are big pluses as well as the fact that she studied abroad...

d. if she is applying to HIGHLY competetive schoools ie. the Ivy League then the APs would help, but she can not be denied admission because she didn't take them...if you are really concerned about it you can always attach a letter explaining the situation, but I doubt it will be needed...

Answer 2

I graduated from College of the Holy Cross in May and during my high school years, I took AP classes but also was involved in music and the community. I was a participant in school clubs, fundraising, and also volunteered.
While having good grades does impress the school itself, colleges now are also interested in how active a student is outside of the classroom. This means volunteering and having some leadership roles in school clubs. Does your daughter do any of that yet? She might consider running for class president or taking on a leadership role in something else. If she plays sports, that is also great. The point of being active outside of academics is to demonstrate to the college how motivated the potential student is, and to possibly be a great asset to their college.
The essay is also a great factor in helping colleges choose students. If a student's grades are so-so, the essay in and of itself might be a turning point. It could mean the extra oomph from being on the waiting list to actually getting accepted. She should be articulate and creative, and also include some personal experiences from her own life so that the readers see beyond a piece of paper and can actually detect a real person within the typed/written words. If she writes or draws or has musical talent, you could also include some sort of portfolio with her application. Since I was contemplating becoming an English major, I had actually included a written work that was in the process of being published. Although I had no thought of continuing my musical interests, I included a recording of my violin playing just to show how well I could contribute to the school in various ways.
An interview with the college is also a great thing, and here's a tip if she gets on a waiting list: Don't give up hope. You should write once more to the college and express how much you desire to be a part of their community and what a fine decision you would be.
I hope this helps and good luck with the stressful college picking and financing!

Answer 3

Many elite schools I have visited have said that they want students who can take the hardest courses their high school provides, and get A's. But for many of them (such as Princeton) they said that when a students transcript arrives from the highschool, they recalculate the GPA to throw out all the fluff courses and they do NOT weight the courses by whether they are AP or not.

If your daughter studied abroad and lost out on APs that way, then I think she could explain that in her essays. But I have to say, my youngest son started taking AP courses as a Freshman and did 12 of them, so I'm not sure that the colleges are going to be that impressed by someone who didnt take any until Senior year and then got shut out for the reason you mentioned.

This whole thing only really applies if she is expecting to get into one of the top 15 or 20 schools. If she is thinking about other top 100 schools below that level, I dont think it will make any difference that she didnt do APs.

Answer 4

As long as you did well in your other classes and have some good extracurricular involvements (and, of course, a good test score), this shouldn't be a problem. This is especially true if you went to a high school without too many honors or AP classes. I'm in college but I left high school early after tenth grade for early entrance into college. Before I left, I had 2 AP classes and 8 honors classes. Extrapolating (if I had stayed in high school), that would mean 4-6 AP classes and 10-14 honors classes. And, while I don't want to discourage you from Bard, it has a nasty reputation for its students constantly smoking pot (one of the worst in the US) and for being out in the middle of nowhere in NY (it's a good school in many other aspects but I'd consider these "defects" before attending). I don't have any opinion on Reed and definitely encourage Swarthmore (a small comfy campus that's close enough to a big city, Philadelphia).

Answer 5

They certainly help in college acceptance, but are by no means a requirement. It isn't a requirement to get into any college, but most students in the "top universities" probably have some AP or IB classes. However, there are plenty of great colleges that aren't Ivy league.

Colleges understand that not every school has advanced or AP classes, and do not make it a requirement. I got into a perfectly good college, got a parital scholarship and may get a full ride and I haven't taken any AP or advanced courses- my school doesn't have them. As long as her GPA, test scores, and extra cirriculars are ok, she should be fine.

Answer 6

AP courses are not a requirement for college admissions. They are designed to prepare the students for the type of work they will be doing in college, and if they score high enough on the exam, they get college credit for the high school course. While I am sure that colleges prefer these students, they cannot exclude a student just on the basis of them not taking AP courses. Besides, the experience she gained in studying abroad will be a huge plus for her when the college is reviewing her application.

Answer 7

oh stop. she will get in somwhere...maybe not an ivy league but she will get in AND the experience living abroad will help her tremendously.