How much emphasis do great universities (cornell, northwestern) put on participation in the honors/AP program?

Question

Like, if you get fantastic grades but are in say 2 or 3 AP classes when you could be in 6, would a great college be like "this person should've challenged themselves more," or does that really not matter that much to them? Like, I know you should be in at least 2 if you really are serious about going to a great school.

Answer 1

There is a good amount of emphasis on both honors and AP. They want bright students who push themselves and want to compete with other bright students. Average isn't good enough for them.

Answer 2

Yes, if you had the opportunity to pursue a more rigorous curriculum, colleges will take note.  Your counselor is responsible for indicating on a form how difficult your courses were, and if he or she doesn't select "the most rigorous couse load available," that's definitely a checkmark against you in the admissions process.  Sometimes, getting fantastic grades in two or three AP classes isn't enough because there's always students out there with many more AP classes who still get fantastic grades.  Top schools say over and over again that the single most important factor in admissions is the transcript--not only the numerical grades but how much the student was willing to challenge himself or herself.