WAG College Recruiting - What' s better?

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Traci

Proud Parent
This may sound silly - but are colleges more concerned with a high GPA or the AP classes taken? Just wondering...
 
Low grades in AP classes won't impress anyone. As for AP versus regular track, it will depend on the selectivity of the college to which your child is applying.
 
Low grades in AP classes won't impress anyone. As for AP versus regular track, it will depend on the selectivity of the college to which your child is applying.

I agree it will depend on the college. I have a friend who works in admissions, public university, and is adamant that this college cares about grade point, it's the first consideration for acceptance. AP is not considered until way down the criteria.
 
Hi. What I have heard is it depends on the school that you are attending and the school you are applying to. If the student is applying to a highly academic school but the student attends a school with limited AP class offering, it won't hurt the student's chances for not having taken many AP courses. However, if the student attends a school with rigorous course curriculum then a highly academic school will expect the student to have taken advantage of the availability of AP classes. On top of that, our school counselor said that students are compared to the applicants from their own school, so if all her peers take AP classes she will be expected to have taken AP classes as well. I think taking AP classes in the area of the intended major makes sense. However, at the end of the day, I heard it is better to get an A in Honors then a B in AP. This is a highly confusing subject, I learn something everyday.... like college gymnastics recruiting...LOL. Now, if the student gets recruited for gymnastics, then she's in, except for Stanford, Ivies and maybe a couple others. You should probably talk to the school counselor. Good Luck.
 
I think the best approach is to speak to the college of choice. I hate to be a hater, but high schools love to brag about their curriculum and how many students are getting college credit etc. In my case taking the AP courses was a waste of my time. The college I attended was insistent that courses in my major had to be taken at that school. Of course, this was many moons ago and I was not at an Ivy league school.
 
From what i have been told, it is gpa. AP does not come in until much later. I have had many parents tell me that they wish their kiddos had not done the stress of AP. I have one kiddo that opted no AP, one that wants to do AP but only in his intended major area.
 
I agree. It is best to talk to high school counselor and the colleges of interest. This is much too important of a subject to go by third party hearsay. I imagine every college is a bit different in their approach. We have been on a couple of prospective student tours. They give a lot of information specific to their admissions process and financial aid.

I do want add a big component is SAT and ACT. I think that is REALLY important.

On another note, the days of opting out classes in college with APs credit are long gone. You may still get the credit towards graduation (but that's never a problem really) but you are still required to take the classes again. There may still be a few general ed type classes some colleges let you opt out, but likely not any math or science or as mentioned, classes in your declared major.
 
Stupid question; what are AP classes?

AP is Advanced Placement. Courses with a set curriculum across the US and a standardized test at the end. Can get you college credit.

On another note, the days of opting out classes in college with APs credit are long gone. You may still get the credit towards graduation (but that's never a problem really) but you are still required to take the classes again. There may still be a few general ed type classes some colleges let you opt out, but likely not any math or science or as mentioned, classes in your declared major.

This is incorrect. My dd took several AP courses in HS and they all transferred to college to include both the credit and the course. She is Pre-Med and AP'd out of math, science and language courses 2 years ago. It is dependent on the specific college; some give different credit for different AP scores. The specific program will then determine whether a student has to "retake" the course. You cannot make the blanket statement you did.

To the OP, most colleges are interested in seeing that the prospective student has applied themselves in a rigorous course of study in HS that has prepared them for a successful college career. If AP courses enter into that, obviously they would want to see success in those courses. GPA is the overall indicator, numerically, of a student's success, but it is tempered by looking at their course of study.

Good Luck.
 
The admission requirements of each college is set to determine which students will be successful at their school. Like everyone has said above, each school is different but without a specific school(s) in mind, my suggestion would be to take the most rigorous curriculum one can comfortably handle at your school and maintain the highest GPA you can master. That way, the student will have a broad-spectrum of schools to choose from. Academic colleges need both high GPA with the most difficult classes offered at your school and of course high SAT or ACT.
 
Doesn't taking AP courses lead to 4.0+ GPAs?

Not at all! It can drive your GPA down if you don't do well, just like any other class. While AP courses are weighted differently when computing your GPA, some colleges don't like weighted GPAs. So if you get an 85 in an AP class and the college you go to does not accept or like weighted GPA's, that class will count as an 85 as oppose to a potential 93. AP classes are a lot harder than honors classes. By the time my two college kids reached their senior year in high school, they had 7 AP classes. They did not get credit for some AP classes, but my senior in college this year is graduating a semester early because of the AP classes he got credit for. It saved us a semester of out of state tuition!
 
This is incorrect. My dd took several AP courses in HS and they all transferred to college to include both the credit and the course. She is Pre-Med and AP'd out of math, science and language courses 2 years ago. It is dependent on the specific college; some give different credit for different AP scores. The specific program will then determine whether a student has to "retake" the course. You cannot make the blanket statement you did.

Hi. It is very impressive your daughter is in pre med! I was relating what we learned at college tours we attended and a few other schools we researched on college forums. It seems more times than not, calculus and organic chemistry have to be taken at these schools even with a 5. Those are the classes we specifically care about. But I understand obviously not every school operates the same way and there must be many others that still allow the opt out. See, I learn something everyday. :)
 
But if you are talking about athlete recruiting, if you are a top athlete, coaches are more than likely to pull strings to get you in (except of course the academic colleges).
 
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AP is Advanced Placement. Courses with a set curriculum across the US and a standardized test at the end. Can get you college credit.
This is incorrect. My dd took several AP courses in HS and they all transferred to college to include both the credit and the course. She is Pre-Med and AP'd out of math, science and language courses 2 years ago. It is dependent on the specific college; some give different credit for different AP scores. The specific program will then determine whether a student has to "retake" the course. You cannot make the blanket statement you did.

Also, just want to be totally clear about my previous comment on the AP classes and how a school might look at it for admissions as that is also just what I heard from the limited two college tours we went on and from college forums so please take it as what it is and not assume it applies to all schools. I just wanted to share what I learned but definitely don't want to mislead in any way. ;)
 
Ok. I don't know why my replies look like that... I guess I just can't seem to figure out how to include quotes in my reply...HAHA...I give up
 
We have been on many college tours. The colleges will often put up a slide of what is important in admissions and GPA is a big one. They also include rigor of courses (so honors or AP) and SAT scores. Ultimately, I think each child needs to choose the high school courses that fit them academically and timewise. Agree with previous poster who commented that doing poorly in AP will not help you. If you have a specific college in mind, you can call the admissions department and speak to an admissions counselor at that college. Our oldest DD took several AP courses and was able to get college credit that amounted to one semester. This allowed her to double major and still be on track to graduate in 4 years, so definitely some benefits to AP beyond admission.
 
Doesn't taking AP courses lead to 4.0+ GPAs?
Yes, if GPA is weighted. From my understanding from speaking to admissions counselors, schools will un-weight or reweight GPAs as they see fit. We were told to take honors/AP/dual enrollment as available and feasible, but only if you can expect to get a B or above. The whole weighted GPA thing is weird. My ODD currently has a 4.6 because most of her high school courses have been dual enrollment (all As) and her high school counts them as a 5.0 on a 4 point scale. Schools will do what they want with those numbers.
 
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Having been down this road 3 times, GPA is the first thing looked at...and if it is lower because you took AP classes, too bad for you. Maximize what you will do well in. Ivies and Stanford will of course want APs but if you are applying there, I would guess you'd do well in the AP course to begin with.
 

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