There are many advantages to taking AP courses. By taking college-level AP courses and scoring well on the exams, you may earn college credit and be able to skip intro classes once admitted at many colleges. For students aiming for highly selective colleges, taking AP classes will demonstrate your ability to handle a rigorous course load. AP credits can allow you to save on tuition and focus on higher-level content in college.

That all sounds good! But remember that AP classes require significantly more time outside of class than on-level courses. 

So how many AP classes should you take?

It really depends on you and what you feel you can successfully handle while still having time for your extracurricular activities (and a little downtime and sleep!). A good rule of thumb is that if you’re unsure about your ability to handle an AP course, you should ask your current teacher in the subject you’re considering if they think you can handle it. 

We recommend not taking an AP if you don’t feel confident you can earn an A or B.

While there's no magic number of AP classes that is right for every student, a course load of 1-3 AP classes in grades 9 and 10, and 4-6 AP classes in grades 11 and 12 is ideal if it challenges without overwhelming. Students thinking about AP courses should consider taking 2-3 AP classes directly related to their intended college major if they feel confident in their ability to do well.

For example, students interested in engineering should consider AP Physics and AP Calculus, while students thinking about a liberal arts major might want take AP U.S. History and AP English. Choosing courses aligned with your potential major signals passion and focus to admissions officers and gives you something to talk about in future "Why This Major?" essays.

When making your high school AP class selections, you’ll want to first make sure you are taking all of the classes required for graduation. Work with your school counselor to check that you are satisfying all graduation requirements as you choose what AP courses you want to take in the coming year.