I’m a sophomore and I’m currently taking one AP class, AP World History. I’ve been thinking a lot more about college lately and was thinking of stepping up my game next year. So, I plan on taking possibly 5 AP’s next year and I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle it. I know this depends on my work ethics and whatnot, but I don’t know if this is too big of a jump. At my school, AP World History is pretty easy. Some people in my class don’t even read before the tests and still get A’s. The tests are almost always MC questions, and we rarely have essays and no quizzes. It’s more of a self-study class at my school because the teacher just gives lectures each class and we’re responsible for doing the rest of the work. Personally, I just read the chapter and underline important information from the book and can get an A on a test. I go to sleep late, but that’s because I’m usually a slow reader and take a while doing work from other classes. Anyways, the AP’s I want to take next year are: AP French, AP Psych, AP Lang, APUSH, and AP Bio. I’m not taking these AP’s just because like many other people do; I’m taking them because they either interest me and are related to my possible college majors or to show colleges that I’m challenging myself by taking AP’s in core courses. So, any advice? Has anyone made this jump, and what did you do to manage it? Should I take one of these AP’s Senior year, etc.?
If it takes you a while to read then you shouldn’t take those classes next year,
APUSH requires a lot of reading
AP Lang requires a lot of reading and/or writing
AP Psych requires a ton of memorization
and AP Bio is also very memorization oriented
From what you said about APWH being easy, I don’t think you would be well prepared for taking all 5 of those APs.
I would say no to taking ALL of the classes, but do have some things for you to consider.
If you are particularly attuned to historical events and connections between periods in history, AND if you feel you are exposed to debate and discourse around American history quite often at home, this would be the one course I would tell you to consider taking if you are going to do an AP regardless of what anyone else says. (Use this as a suggestion for how to consider jumping into any AP course, as you say you are interested to some degree in each of the content areas you listed.)
But please don’t forget the Honors courses designed to give you breadth and depth as well, and in the best scenario would prepare you for the massive amount of reading any language-based AP course is going to require of you.
You already go to sleep late, and are enrolled in just one AP course. That does not bode well for a full courseload. It is interesting that you are experiencing APWH as a lecture-based course with lots of self-study for the specific exam terms and content. That is a type of preparation which has its own benefits if you are doing well (as you say you are).
I would say take one AP course if you’re going to go that way anyway, don’t skimp on the Honors courses next year, and try to figure out how to improve your reading and retention skills. Are you doubting yourself when you read, actually reading laboriously and looking for the weight of every word, as opposed to the theme and focus of the paragraph? Maybe you have a tracking issue with your eyes, and should see a specialist to determine if there is more to be done than you are able to do on your own.
You truly do not need two pockets full of APs to get into college, though you will not necessarily walk away from this forum with that feeling. Some schools do not even offer APs earlier than 11th grade, and the colleges consider all of this in their review of your applications.
If your love of learning is pushing you forward more than anxiety about competition, start where you are and see what you can do about making sure you have all the tools you need to be a stronger student (i.e., not staying up so late at this juncture), and you’ll be a much stronger student as you go along.
Well just like everyone else says it’s all up to whether or not you are motivated enough. My sophomore year I took AP European History and AP Macroeconomics. This year (I’m a junior) I am taking APUSH, AP Bio, AP Lang, and AP Psychology. So all of yours except French. And while it is difficult I am doing just fine. I have A’s in them all but I do homework for about 4 hours every night. However it all depends on what the classes are like in your school. If you know any students who have taken those classes and know whether or not the teacher is good you should ask their opinion. But if you are really motivated and it’s what you want you can do it!
@megan42: Did you read that the OP already reads more slowly than others/than she would like/ thinks she should?