Six or seven APs?

Andromeda

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Next year I can take six AP courses, and have the potential senior year to take seven. Should I do it? I'll do it either way, so don't try to dissuade me. I just want facts. If you want to know about my academic background, just ask.
 
If you can pull it off do it, if you want s little bit easier senior year that you can focus on applying that might work better also.
 
Next year I can take six AP courses, and have the potential senior year to take seven. Should I do it? I'll do it either way, so don't try to dissuade me. I just want facts. If you want to know about my academic background, just ask.

If I were you, I would take six or less. Senior 1st semester is quite intense given the fact you have to apply for academies, private colleges/universities, rotc scholarships, financial aid, and on top of that you have grades to maintain and practice to attend. BUT, if you can handle seven AP's and at the same time do college apps and attend practice, GO FOR IT! :)
 
Here are my thoughts on your issue.
SA don't take into consideration AP/IB college level class, because not every high school offers these opportunities. So you "weighted" GPA will be much different than your "un-weighted" GPA. Here is the twist, your class ranking is much more important than you GPA through the eyes of SA admissions and will only consider your "un-weighted" GPA. However to improve your class ranking which considers your "weighted" GPA. Odd isn't it? When you think about your Plan B and C this can be a huge factor. During your 47 month stay at WP your academic work load will be between 20 -22 college credits. If you are accustomed to this work load and have a solid foundation about math, chem and physics you will be fine. But sitting a lot at your desk reading, studying, research on the inter-web then your athletic ability will decrease.

Stay active!

Work your plan, plan your work and keep your eye on your goals!

Push Hard, Press Forward

I like where your heads at kid.......striving for your best!!
 
My kids struck a balance between life, academics and ECA's. They took the two English (LIT and Comp), Calc, Chemistry, GOV, US History, World History were the main ones. These also are the ones that help with validation and are "core" type class. They had one or two beyond this like Human Geo and physics. I think the balance allowed them to do well on their AP test (4 and/or 5's). Rest of their classes they took honors or regular. My son even took a PE class his last two years. Each had four years of English, math, history, science and foreign language. Both are at SA's.

I've seen students loaded with AP classes and make good grades in those classes only to make a 3 or below on the AP test. Every student is different and you have to do what you feel works best for you, but the point is you can get in without a full load of nothing but AP classes.
 
Next year I can take six AP courses, and have the potential senior year to take seven. Should I do it? I'll do it either way, so don't try to dissuade me. I just want facts. If you want to know about my academic background, just ask.

Why bother asking the question if "I'll do it either way, so don't try to dissuade me."

You are not asking the right question, in my opinion. Better questions might be what are the benefits for taking AP classes or will taking AP classes help me get into West Point.

As Tub_Boat pointed out, unless taking AP classes help you with increasing your class rank, they won't help with West Point.

My nephew took bunch of AP classes, got bunch of college credits and will be graduating in 3 years. However, most colleges accept limited AP credits. For example, Stanford will only accept AP credits for selected languages, Physics, and Calculus ( https://registrar.stanford.edu/students/transfer-credit/advanced-placement/ap-credit-chart)
 
The only reason I can think of not to take 7 AP classes would be because of the time commitment. Will you be able to live a balanced life? When it comes to overall college admissions, not just SA admissions, some universities(especially large State universities) look at the ratio of AP courses taken/AP courses offered. If your school only offers 10 AP courses, taking 7 would certainly look good. For example, my transcript only shows that I take 2 AP classes(Calc BC and Spanish), however my school only offers 7(and 4 are in foreign languages). Ultimately, I think an SA would look at the actual course rigor. For example, I take a Differential/Integral Calculus based Physics course that prepares student for both AP physics exams, yet the course is not classified as AP. The senior English electives at my school are not considered AP because they focus on very specific aspects of literature(eg Classical Prose, Shakespeare, Renaissance literature), however the level of rigor is easily that of an AP Lit course. When my GC send in the academic information, she highlighted that these courses were essentially at the AP level.
 
Here's another thing: sports. I don't play sports, but I need to. So what sport do you suggest I pick up? I am a sophomore.
 
If you haven't started playing sports by sophomore year, you would need to pick up a sport that is not way too technique based, and wouldn't require too much specialization. Does you school have a crew/rowing team? The majority of rowers at my school didn't start until high school, and several are going D1. This can be a great spring sport that doesn't require as much specialization/experience as Lacrosse and Baseball/Softball. Another great option is track, since the only techniques needed are basic running or jumping form and the will to work hard. If running is your thing you can always to cross country in the fall. Much like crew and track, it can be picked up easily, as long as you are willing to work hard.
 
If you haven't started playing sports by sophomore year, you would need to pick up a sport that is not way too technique based, and wouldn't require too much specialization. Does you school have a crew/rowing team? The majority of rowers at my school didn't start until high school, and several are going D1. This can be a great spring sport that doesn't require as much specialization/experience as Lacrosse and Baseball/Softball. Another great option is track, since the only techniques needed are basic running or jumping form and the will to work hard. If running is your thing you can always to cross country in the fall. Much like crew and track, it can be picked up easily, as long as you are willing to work hard.

I was considering joining track and cross country next year, but there's no crew team. No water. But if I do this, I will have to train until cross country try outs next year. I'm also kind of limited as to training (and will be much more next year). But I'll do my best, sees what happens, and go along with it, unless it is absolutely necessary that I play a varsity sport. I was viewing the class profile the other day and very few cadets had not previously played varsity sports. I suspect that these are minorities. Does not having a sport significantly reduce my chances of admission to the Academy?
 
I cant speak with any sort of certainty or authority, but IMO, looking at the mission of the academies, it seems that they want to at the very least participate in JV or club athletics if Varsity is not a viable option. Looking back through some of the older threads, you could certainly show USMA that you have decent physical ability by getting an excellent score on the CFA. This is more than doable, especially if you start training early. Although i'm pretty sure it wouldn't make up for not having Varsity or even JV/other team sports, you could demonstrate the ability to handle the physical rigors of the academy with top notch CFA scores.
 
Thanks for the answer. Does the Academy look upon not being a team captain negatively, or does thee admission board see it as something you just didn't do?
 
Thanks for the answer. Does the Academy look upon not being a team captain negatively, or does thee admission board see it as something you just didn't do?
It shouldn't hurt your application if you aren't the captain, but it will help it if you are the captain.
 
They want well rounded. Athletes have an easy way demonstrating that they know how to work as a team, dedicate themselves, follow and lead. Team captains especially show leadership. If you don't have a school sport you will need to knock your CFA out of the park. Some kids make up for no school sport with out of school sports such as martial arts, boxing, equestrian, club level sports for some elite athletes, etc. This is where the extra LORs can help fill in the gaps and talk specifically about things. If you don't have these then your extra curricular a will need to be well rounded to show teamwork, leadership, dedication, etc. Since you are a sophomore you have time to work on joining a sport, but make its something you want to do or you will be miserable.
 
I agree completely. Only join a sport if you think you will enjoy and get get something out of it. I tried playing basketball in the winter, for the sole purpose of trying to be a three sport athlete, however I truly hated it(sorry, @NavyHoops), and quit after freshman year. I just stuck with football and baseball, as these are the sports i'm actually passionate about. To be completely honest, I wouldn't "suffer" through 2 years of a sport you don't like solely for the purpose of getting into an SA. From what I've seen from people on this forum who have been appointed, you can find many other extracurricular and leadership position that you may get more satisfaction out of, and will help you get appointed to an SA(think Girls/Boys State, Community Service, Tutoring, Student Council positions, etc...)
 
Here's another thing: sports. I don't play sports, but I need to. So what sport do you suggest I pick up? I am a sophomore.
Have you considered joining Sea Cadets? (Or Civil Air Patrol or JROTC). Three of my kids are in Sea Cadets. It's a great program, will give you a glimpse into military life and has a lot of leadership opportunities.
 
Here's another thing: sports. I don't play sports, but I need to. So what sport do you suggest I pick up? I am a sophomore.

I think you need sports unless you have other activities that show you are organized, in great physical shape, and can work with others effectively. Others have recommended track or cross country. Both of those are good choices and can be done without years of experience as long as you are in good shape (I have coached both sports for several years). Track is usually in the Spring so you could start this year and get a good start towards cross country in the Fall. You will probably start on JV unless your school is very small, so an extra year of track and field will help you get to varsity quicker. Start running today, and run every day until the season starts so that you can get up to speed (pun intended) with the rest of the track athletes.

Stealth_81
 
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