glw0192

Edit: I have been corrected. APs matter a little bit, but not nearly as much as other factors.

AP scores do not matter at all to the college during the application review. Some things they do care about are grades, course rigor, class rank, ACT/SAT scores, background, etc. If he didn’t take the AP test, the college would not care either.

If he can get high grades in the AP classes that is what matters to the admissions counselor. If your son will end up with the same grade in the honors as the AP, then he should take the AP if he is aiming for a top school. If he is not, then maybe take a few APs throughout high school, not all of them, as honors still look good on an application.

Also, don’t overwhelm him. Let him make his own decisions about classes, colleges, and study habits. No one needs that kind of pressure from a parent. (This is just a friendly reminder, as my parents do this to me, and I don’t want others to experience this.)

My biggest extracurricular has absolutely nothing to do with my intended major. I am really involved with DECA at my school, and I really enjoy it. However, I want to major in chemistry and be on the pre-pharmacy track. I’m also involved in other science-related extracurriculars, but they just aren’t as fun for me, so I don’t spend nearly as much time in them as I could.

Will this hurt my chances of admission?