Learn whatever you like other than AP. I mean that learn skill at senior year is much more important and useful for the future college life. Keep these AP contents in college, or just choose up to two AP courses, that is good enough. Life is good, just follow your heart.
If your math skills are sufficient for BC calculus, I don’t think you would find AP computer science that hard.
I think you are going about seeking to appeal to elite schools in the wrong way. Take a lighter course load and do something interesting outside of school, if that is your goal- and not saying that is a worthwhile goal 
I’ll PM you.
The only legit concern here would be if you are aiming for, say, a scholarship available to the top two in the class, from your state U. That said, I saw kids climb all over each other for that and it wasn’t pretty.
MYOS1634: I have taken APUSH (currently am), and Honors Latin would be the 4th level. I’ve also met the government requirement - no worries! Also, thanks for your input!
roycroftmom:is that so? What is it about excellent math skills that would better qualify someone for APCS?
math skills are very highly correlated to computer skills. At some high schools, AP computer science is considered a math, not science, class.
If an tiny GPA boost is not critical (e.g., you don’t live in Texas and want to go to UT), then take something fun! Use HS to explore an interest.
My last kiddo had the option of taking an additional AP course…or taking culinary arts for the full year. She chose culinary arts…loved it…and still got accepted to the colleges of her choice.
^Culinary Arts is a great class to take - fun, useful, helps you meet new students, and different from what all the “all AP but the kitchen sink” kids take.
Indeed. My kid is almost 30.she has tossed just about everything g from high school…except her culinary arts binders. Two huge ones. She says…they are THE most important things for. HS with real, practical things in them.
And boy did we ever get some good food! She made just about everything they learned for us at home too!
Way better than AP whatever!
Do not plan your schedule for the resume, plan it for you.
Schools often look at unweighted gpa’s, not all schools give points for honors, AP et al. Looks like you have a rigorous course list so no need to try for that. Your senior grades won’t be available when schools first look at your application either. Why not go for the more challenging computer class- IF it interests you? Don’t worry about a B instead of that miniscule gpa change.
See above posts for totally different ideas than ones you propose. Actually, as a final HS year plan I would look for classes that sound interesting and I wouldn’t have the chance to take later in life. Do some fun classes. There is plenty of time for taking college courses (AP) in college.
Son had an honors math major and added (finished reqs for) the CS one- was weak in programming skills after college grad but his first job cured that and he landed a top software job. No need to get low end skills in HS when CS is more about thinking than just programming.
Look at fun classes offered by your HS. Gifted son finally had a study hall his final semester of HS as he ran out of classes he wanted to take. He had music and running as stress relievers in HS.
Enjoy life. It is meant to be lived, not just preparing for a future.
Personally, I prefer my kids to take academic courses in high school and college. It will be harder to do so thereafter, and it is a good time to engage in academic exploration of intellectual topics. Classes in non-academic subjects are so easy to pick up as an adult at a local school or community center that I wouldn’t want to spend the limited time I have on campus taking those.
re the above. No, it is not always easy to pick up those “nonacademic” classes. Something always seems to get in the way, such as doing more schooling or being too busy, spending time preparing for a job advancement… Having to take time to get in the car to go to a night class after a long day at work- yuck.
I was a college chemistry major who took fun classes such as art history, symphony and an elective fantasy and science fiction lit class as an undergrad. None were needed to meet breadth reqs (already had those) but they enriched my knowledge base. Never time later for them with medical school, residency, private practice, family…
High school is for a well rounded education, not just high power academics. Some of the fun/fluff courses can be stress relievers, expose one to other worlds (and people) plus give knowledge that is useful (as in above culinary).
We are all multifaceted and lead a richer, fuller life with varied experiences. There will be enough time to develop computer science knowledge and skills if desired but not likely opportunities to take some classes offered in HS. The intensity of a college culinary class will be much greater in college as most will be using it for their major…
Literature, art history and music are all university classes, in which universities can, and usually do, offer great expertise. I am not familiar with any university which has special culinary expertise to impart (other than devoted culinary institutes, and those are special cases usually accessed separate from university admissions), or in which faculty were hired for their cooking skills. Similarly, scrapbooking is an enjoyable activity for millions, but really, even Ivy League colleges have little unique knowledge to impart, and there are probably better teachers of that in your town at the community center. Many professionals well out of college enjoy taking classes in wine, cooking, scrapbooking if they wish-it can be a nice way to meet singles, or other young moms, or whatever peer group one wishes. Stress relief is important, as is well-roundedness, but I personally would not want to waste time or tuition money of a university education on that. At close to $2000/week, tuition money should be carefully spent.
^most state flagships have culinary classes for their Hotel Management majors. However the class isn’t dedicated to learning how to cook for yourself when you’re an independent adult, the way it is in high school, but rather how to cook for large numbers of people as a professional.
It’s better to take culinary arts in High school than in college. As mentioned previously, it typically allows the high powered AP kid to meet other classmates, to learn a useful skill, to get a break from a stressful schedule, and to stand out to colleges.
that useful skill I acquired, along with all of my female classmates, in the mandatory 7th grade home economics class. On the positive side, I was employed throughout 11th and 12 grade as a cook for a family, so it is a marketable skill.
Yeah, but… how many middle schools teach cooking nowadays?
(all kids had to take cooking at my middle school, I gagged when I saw a full, dead, plucked chicken for the first time. 
But it’s been years since that middle school hasn’t even had the cooking room.)
Sometimes we resisted our kids’ choices, sometimes we rode with them. My son didn’t want to load up on all AP’s his entire senior year b/c he had so much else on his plate: debate team, opinion editor of the school newspaper. So he took non-AP American Government – then he didn’t like the teacher and got a B! A double hit! He tended to focus intensely on his EC’s (for which he won state-level awards, both in debate and journalism). Or he didn’t take to a particular teacher and didn’t perform for them, carry out his chores, homework, etc.
Sometimes you have to figure out what’s motivating your kids’ choices and performance. I knew my son’s true abilities, interests, hobbies, and how he spent his spare time. But in the end there are only 24 hours in a day and there are trade-offs between school and life, and between the curriculum in school and the EC’s the kid may be involved in.
Both my son and daughter have done well in life, despite not being perfect (!!!) (unlike their know-it-all parents). I’d say the kind of issue being addressed in this thread is not career- or life-threatening.
So I’m considering to go ahead with AP Computer Science A after all ~ yay! After reading course details and talking a bit more with my own parents, I’m actually pretty excited to learn and see what the field is about. It’s so different from the rest of my schedule, and I feel like it truly would provide some of the diversity in curriculum which seems to be so highly esteemed in this thread. I personally view the course as a “breath of fresh air,” if you will.
Just one thing – I have no computer science experience whatsoever. I’ve done a couple of khan academy’s hours of code, but that’s really it. However, my parents both work in IT / data analysis and have offered to provide some basic programming help if I were ever to need it, which could make coursework easier (though I can’t imagine by too grand an amount). So, would you recommend taking a programming class over the summer to prepare for APCS-A, or do you think I could just jump in and be fine, considering my math ability and home-help situation? Thanks ~
I think you will be just fine. Most take the course with no background and often less aptitude and home help than you have.