how many high school AP courses are needed to have a very high probability of getting into UC Berkeley?
398450
to refute some of the people who have already answered...\n\nAP scores are only necessary if your school offers them. Not all schools offer AP classes. If yours doesn't, then Cal will understand.\n\nBut if your school does, take as many of those classes as you can!!!\n\nMy school offered AP: US hist, English lit., US gov't., econ (micro/macro), biology. And independently they offered Spanish, studio art and computer science. I took only the classes, none of the independent exams. But I aced those classes and passed every test except macroeconomics.\n\nOf course, my school was small, rural and had a high population of poor people. UC Berkeley took that into account when they admitted me. My high school didn't have a lot of the advantages or competition that other schools have.\n\nCal Berkeley looks at each applicant in context of their class and other applicants. A 1280 from po-dunk San Joaquin Valley looks better than a 1350 from Monte Vista HS (Cupertino, Silicon Valley). Getting 5's on 3 AP exams when 12 were offered doesn't look as good as 2 5's when 4 exams were offered.\n\nAnd the applicant pool is getting more competitive. Median scores are rising. I got in with a 4.3 GPA (top of my HS class) and 1350 SAT. I had a 5 in AP bio, 4 in US history and Eng. lit., 3 in US gov't. and 2 in macroecon. I came from a poor part of California, but even considering that, I don't know if those scores would get me in today (luckily, it was enough in 1998).\n\nAnyway, good luck in getting into Cal. I admire anyone who aspires to join the ranks of Cal alumni. GO BEARS!
1180861
If you take AP chemistry (or other science) that will knock out part of your pre-reqs, but to get into med school you will need more than just one biology and one chemistry. Even if you AP all possible course that meet pre-med requirements, you will still have to take higher levels of the same course.\nBut if you don't AP those course, you will have to take those basic course PLUS the higher levels. So either way getting credit for AP classes will help you out.
654438
I found several sites that seem to indicate you can re-take AP exams the following year (if you are still in high school). You might want to check with your school or A.P. teachers to make sure. There may be a higher charge on a retake. I knew a few people in high school who only got a 2 or 3 and retook them to get a high score the next year.
313172
Well, AP courses, while given in high school, are at college level. Your record certainly impresses me.
418031
I went to Berkeley. I got a top-notch education for a fraction of what the Ivies cost. What do you want to know about Berkeley in specific?
1150211
Harvard, Yale and Princeton rejected 91% of applicants, Stanford and Columbia 89%, Brown 86%, Dartmouth 85%, Penn 82%. MIT, Amherst, Williams and Swarthmore all rejected 80% or more of their applicants. Among the top state schools, Berkeley rejected 76%, and UCLA 73% of applicants.\n\nHope this helps! Just reverse the numbers.
760828
Apply to Stanford, Berkeley, CalTech, and MIT.\nThese might be reaches but based on the info you've provided, you have a good fighting chance.  If you have the opportunity, try to boost you SAT IIs to 700s; it should increase your chances.  USC won't be easy to get into but it shouldn't be as hard as Stanford.\n\nAt most of those schools with your scores/GPA, you'd count as an average freshman who's attending the school (and it's not bad to be average, since they obviously got in last year).\n\nApply to 2-4 other decent to good schools as an assurance you'll get in somewhere.  These might be ones that are near you geographically.\n\nFor you, I'd suggest a big university, if only in part because of your major.  Small private colleges work best for liberal arts majors and not for math and science people.  Whatever benefit you'd get out of a small school is outweighed by the greater resources of a big university.  If you graduate from the four top schools I mentioned, you should also have employers begging you to work for them after graduation.\n\nHope this helps.  Best of luck.
268550
Yes. At some universities AP scores will give you credit, but the colleges are raising the standard for accepting them. For example, at UT a 4 is needed for most AP exam scores, but at University of North Texas, only a 3 is needed. They want more intelligence.
188550
depends on what courses you like and dislike, the best to take is the hardest courses that you can, such as honors and A.P., particularly in the subjects that you like and are strong in, as well as a few intersting extracurricular courses that you do or might enjoy...\nfor me, the best are all my AP courses this year and last: english, us history, government, chem, spanish, calculus and physics; the hardest by far is calculus, followed by physics\nhope that helps...
808051
hell no. for highschool theres the a-g requirements(to get into college) and the graduation requirements(to grduate). all requiring dedication. fails are not accepted, and therefore you have to take it over. do not take it lightly.
597974
If you plan on going to a major university, take the AP courses.  The admissions people are going to look at what courses you took in high school and if it comes down to you and some other applicant, and the other person took more challenging course in H.S. (figuring you both had the same grades and had similar ACT or SAT scores), they're going to pick the student who was more motivated and wanted to be challenged.  Take the challenging courses or the easy way.
791855
I WOULD SAY 15%. IM JUST GUESSING BASED ON THE HIGHSCHOOL I ATTENDED, NOT MANY OF US MADE IT TO COLLEGE. FORTUNATELY I DID. BUT THEN AGAIN REMEMBER IT MAY VARY.  THERE ARE ADVANCED SCHOOLS (FOR SMART PPL) WHERE 100$ OF THEIR STUDENTS MAKE IT TO COLLEGE
347096
if you're in high school u must have four maths, three sciences, four language arts, 3 social studies, and a foreign language, but check the web site for a better answer at Tuskegee university.edu then click on prospective students.
852317
Don't count yourself out - in retrospect my SATs were crap - 1250 - but I got into UC Berkeley in nuclear engineering.  I think my GPA was around 3.8 unadjusted, over 4.0 including the AP, etc.  Point being that your SAT, your essays, any letter of recommendation or whatever will all help.  \n\nBut raise your grades.  You don't have good study habits with grades like that.  You better learn them, otherwise your concern won't be getting in - it'll be how to compete against the other kids once you've made it.  Good universities are killer, and they won't cut you any quarter.  If you don't learn good study habits in high school, you'll die in college.\n\nSo cut the sh*t out and buckle down now.
199264
Apply for as many as you can. The more you apply for, the more chances you have!
792890
That's excellent just as long as you get ALL A's next semester it will continue to rise. Try to aim for a 3.5. Most colleges like a 3.0 or better. Highly selective like a 3.5 close to a 4.0. The maximum is over a 4.0 because AP classes are weighed more. A friend of mine currently as a 4.5 w/ all A's and some AP classes.
818657
If you want to be admitted in one of undergraduate schools in u.s from high school, you need at least 80% + high TOEFL (and/or SAT/CAT) test score.  If your test score is high, your requirement for G.P.A gets lower. However, schools always set thier basic criteria.\n\nyou will need about 3.5 G.P.A and 550 in the old TOEFL test for being admitted to a good college.