Yes, 9 APs is enough to get into Columbia University. And you are correct, as long as you have all the other preferred attributes in your application, you will be a strong candidate.
There is a big misconception here with CV members and various other sites, that you need 12-15 APs or a majority of the APs offered to get into the Ivy League. There are different ways to show your admissions team that you challenged yourself in high school academically, regardless of the AP count. And keep in mind that during senior year, APs are less important than in 10th and 11th grade because a.) you grades may not be reported if you apply ED/EA/REA and b.) if you apply RD, your half year report only will reflect 50% of your full year's grades and c.) all your admissions decisions will come out before the middle of May when you are supposed to take your AP exams. So if you load up on a 6 APs senior year that's indeed a full plate of course rigor. If you haven't demonstrated in 10th and 11th grade that you can gets As and 5s on your AP exams, over-extending yourself doesn't look as impressive as it sounds because some of the AOs, will regard it as a last ditch attempt to impress them. They may in fact feel the train has already left the AP station and prefer to admit those who had completed most of their APs in 10th and 11th grade.
Other ways to show course rigor:
-If your HS doesn't offer APs, you can always opt to take online college courses either at accredited colleges that offer them or through highly reputable MOOCs like outlier.org, eDx.org
-If your high schools only offers the IB program, that is a perfectly good surrogate for AP course rigor.
-And if you are resourceful and intellectually curious, you can always use your summers and breaks to participate in academic programs, a research gig or internship that teaches you something of value.
-If you attend a Private Day or Boarding School that is prestigious and a feeder in to the Ivy League, then there will be ZERO APs or IBs in the course catalog. Top private schools have their own academic standard for how they teach. At most of these schools, they offer 500 or 600 level classes, sometimes 700 level. These are all college level either freshman or sophom*ore level courses. In theory, you could be a perfect candidate at a boarding school without ever having taken a single AP or IB class.
I was accepted to Columbia with 9 APs. I also had 5 years of math through Calculus & Stats, 6 years of English including Honors 9th/10th, AP Lang, AP Lit, journalism, editor of newspaper, 5 years of French, 4 years of Science, and 4 years of history. Outside of HS, I earned 6 college credits from UPitt, and 24 DE credits from my local CC. I was captain of the girls waterpolo team, 3 yrs student leadership, Chairperson of our School District DEIA board (which is an elected adult position), student board member of our city's parks and recs advisory board, board member of the SITE council, board member of respond to racism, steering committee member of our public library, director of LO for Love another anti-racism community board, scored a 35+ on my ACT, scored 4.5 avg on my 9 AP exams, and was a US Presidential Scholar semi-finalist and wrote for the town newspaper on the side. Columbia was like a 43% CV chancing for me when I applied but now it's more competitive my CV chances are down to 39%.
I'm sharing this to say that in spite of the pandemic I was still able to do all these ECs because they were 100% on zoom calls versus public meetings at city hall or the school auditorium. The most important thing I think to get into an Ivy league schools is that your narrative about being a compassionate human being that wants to make the world a better places has to be believable and evidenced by how you use your time in HS efficiently to make an impact. If you just want a get an excellent education and make money or be the best programmer, then don't apply to an Ivy league school because you can easily get to your goal by applying to 25-50 colleges that specialize in that sort of thing. My dad went to CMU and if he would tell me that it's the best CS school in the country even better than any Ivy league school so I believe him. Other great CS schools are Rice, MIT, GTech, UI, UCLA, UC Berkeley, UT Austin, UWash. And if your goal is to land an investment banking job a GS, MS, or JP Morgan, you can get there by attending Baruch College, UCBerkeley Haas, NYU, UMich, MIT, UTAustin, Rutgers U.,
I hope this answer was helpful to you and any other CV member reading this.
FAQs
Yes, 9 APs is enough to get into Columbia University. And you are correct, as long as you have all the other preferred attributes in your application, you will be a strong candidate.
How many AP classes should I take to get into Columbia? ›
You do not need to take every AP class that might be available, however. Try to take four or five AP courses in the subjects that you perform the best in or that correspond to the major you think that you want to pursue at Columbia. If your school does not offer AP classes, follow your school's honors curriculum.
Is 9 aps enough for Ivy League? ›
Ivy League
To be a competitive candidate for admission, you will need to take at least 8 AP® classes, more if you can. It is a good idea to take 1 AP® course in each of the following core disciplines: English, Foreign Language, History, Math, and Science to impress the admissions officers.
Is 9 AP courses enough? ›
College counselors recommend that students strive to take 5-8 AP classes throughout their high school career, especially if they are interested in attending a highly-selective institution such as an Ivy League college. That said, you shouldn't feel pressured to take more AP classes than you can comfortably manage.
How many AP classes do you need to get into Ivy? ›
How Many AP Classes to Take for Ivy Leagues and Other Top Schools in the US. For students aiming for the Ivy League and Top 20 schools in the United States, a good target is to take (and pass) 10-14 AP classes throughout your high school career — or 3-4 each year.
Is 10 aps enough for Ivy League? ›
Aim for four to eight AP exams in your junior and senior years. For competitive Ivy League schools, admission officers also want to see AP courses for core subject areas and additional courses. If possible, aim to pass about seven to 12 AP exams if applying to these highly selective schools.
Is 8 AP classes enough for Ivy League? ›
Most students who attend extremely selective schools have taken anywhere from 7 to 12 AP courses in high school, although there are exceptions to this rule. If a high school offers only a limited number of AP courses or none at all, colleges will not fault students for taking fewer of these classes.
Does Columbia care about AP test scores? ›
Columbia accepts AP® scores of 5 (and rarely 4) for course credit. These requirements vary by department. Columbia has certain classes that everyone has to take called the Core Curriculum. You can't use AP® credits in place of these required classes – except for the language requirement.
Does Ivy prefer AP or IB? ›
Students who take IB classes in high school have higher acceptance rates into Ivy League schools, but this doesn't necessarily mean a higher acceptance rate than AP students; it just means that IB students have a higher acceptance rate than the general application pool.
Does Columbia consider AP scores? ›
As determined by Columbia, students who have achieved satisfactory scores on the College Board AP Exams may be granted credit or exempted from certain required courses. Any credit will be considered part of the 60-transfer credit maximum.
To be competitive at some of the most highly selective colleges in the country, 8-12 AP courses may be the sweet spot amount, assuming the student can handle that level of rigor. There are no colleges out there that require you to take 14, 17, or some other obscene number of Advanced Placement offerings.
What is the hardest AP class? ›
Calculus AB
This college-level calculus course is considered the hardest AP class by many students. You'll study differential equations, integral calculus, and mathematical theorems in AP Calculus AB. The exam consists of 45 MCQs and six free-response questions.
Is 4 AP classes too much junior year? ›
An Ivy League hopeful might take 3 to 5 AP classes, while if you're aiming for less-selective schools, 2 to 4 would be enough. Senior Year: Take more APs in core subjects and additional subjects, again being careful not to overburden your schedule and to leave time for college applications.
Is 7 AP classes enough for Ivy League? ›
To get into Ivy League Colleges
You must enroll in at least 8 AP courses, and more if possible, to get into Ivy League Colleges. To convince the admissions officials, taking one AP course in each core subject, such as English, Foreign Language, History, Maths, and Science, is an excellent idea.
Do Ivy Leagues look at AP classes? ›
What Ivy League schools value the most are your transcript, extracurricular activities, essays, and recommendations. However, strong AP scores can indeed be a positive addition to your application, as they show your commitment and ability to handle college-level courses.
Is 5 AP classes too much junior year? ›
Applicants aiming for highly selective colleges usually take 5-6 AP classes this year, but keep your limits and schedule in mind. At this point, adding one more AP class might not have a huge impact on your college chances, but it could reduce the time spent on applications to a great extent.
Does Columbia care about AP classes? ›
Columbia accepts AP® scores of 5 (and rarely 4) for course credit. These requirements vary by department. Columbia has certain classes that everyone has to take called the Core Curriculum. You can't use AP® credits in place of these required classes – except for the language requirement.
How many AP credits does Columbia accept? ›
Students can earn a maximum of 16 points of credit earned through college-level coursework taken as part of a high school curriculum prior to matriculation at Columbia.
Does Columbia care about AP scores? ›
Advanced Placement (AP) and other optional standardized exam scores are not required by Columbia, but we will accept your results if you choose to submit them in the testing section of your Common Application or Coalition Application.
