4-year course plan??

Applying to College
1

<p>Is this rigorous enough? Do you think someone with a good work ethic and decent intelligence could get all A's in these courses? (i want to go either Duke, John Hopkins, Yale or Harvard)</p>

<p>Freshman: (i'm a freshman now)
English 1 Pre-AP
Spanish 2 Pre-AP
World Geography Pre-AP
Algebra 2 Pre-AP
Chemistry Pre-AP
Biology Pre-AP
Orchestra</p>

<p>Sophomore:
English 2 Pre-AP
Spanish 3 Pre-AP
AP US History
Precalculus Pre-AP
AP Chemistry
Physics Pre-AP
Health Science 1
self-study AP Biology</p>

<p>Junior:
AP English Language
AP Spanish Language
AP World History
AP Calculus BC
AP Physics
Health Science 2 (get to go to the hospital for two periods)</p>

<p>Senior:
AP English Literature
AP Spanish Literature
AP Government/ Economics
AP Statistics
Independent Study- Organic Chemistry
AP Psychology</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>1) Of course it’s rigorous enough for top schools
2) I’m sure it’s been done (A’s in all the classes; 5’s on the AP exams)</p>

<p>Do keep in mind, though, that twelve APs will be extremely challenging to balance with extra curricular activities, volunteer work, test preparation, and you know…life. I’ve known many kids in the top 5 of their class who’ve burned themselves out before junior year taking on an excessively intense course load. The courses might be manageable on an individual basis, but the combination could be daunting…think about the daily readings, the problem sets, the projects, the finals, the papers, and the AP exams. Hard work and smarts will carry you a long way, but don’t bite off more than you can chew and be sure to consult your teachers, parents, and guidance counselor along the way.</p>

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<p>I hope i can balance this out with my other commitments. i like all those subjects i plan to take, except for english. thanks for the advice!</p>

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<p>I personally think you are taking too many AP exams – honestly, it has been shown that students taking more than 8 AP courses in high school don’t really have a higher acceptance rate at schools. Plus, you are combining in the same year several APs that are notoriously heavy-reading classes. Example, trying to take both AP Engl Lit and AP Span Lit in the same year, especially your senior year when you will be doing college apps, is positively NUTS. Also, junior year – to take 5 APs while World History (tons of reading) and AP Calc BC and AP Physics are two others (very difficult courses) is again asking a lot of yourself. You are far better off focusing on fewer APs that fall within a coherent “story” of yourself for which you can then get stronger grades. My D was in a similar position her senior year – she had 4 APs and with her strength in humanities, it would have normally been a natural to also take AP Engl Lit as her 5th AP. Her school restricts seniors to 4 APs, so she had to choose between AP Span Lit and AP Engl Lit. She wrote a brief note about this in her “Addtl Comments” section of the Common App. She chose AP Span Lit because being bilingual is part of her “story”. The choice made more sense and made her application stronger and more coherent.</p>

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<p>How much on average did your daughter spend on her coursework per day the year when she was taking the most APs? </p>

<p>Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk</p>

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<p>Hi there!</p>

<p>What you put down seems solid, albeit a tad ambitious. Are you going to have time to put in the work and do well in all these classes, as well as have time left over for extracurriculars? Because you’re more than just your transcript! </p>

<p>Your schedule actually looks okay, but your sophomore year is going to kill you. If you’ve done physics in middle school, then I don’t think you need to take another introductory physics course in high school. Just take the AP class your junior year. And is health science a required course? If you’re interested in the sciences (it seems like you are) I’d see if your school offers an independent research elective. Finally, is there a way you could take AP Bio your senior year instead of self-studying for it? I mean, you could, but you already look like you’d be pretty busy.</p>

<p>To be honest, I’d see how well you do your first and second semester of high school before plotting anything out. But props for planning ahead! :)</p>

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<p>Can it be done - Yes. Will you regret it - Probably.</p>

<p>There are also no gym or practical arts classes in that schedule, which most states require for you to graduate.</p>

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<p>If California or South Dakota public universities are a possibility, be aware that they want you to have a year-long visual or performing art course. There may be other schools that also want to see an art course.</p>

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<p>^^Orchestra, freshman year. But yes, there seems to be a lack of “creative” courses.</p>

<p>FWIW, this sort of schedule bores most admissions officers. Typical Asian drone schedule. There is nothing original or compelling about it. It might get you in Johns Hopkins, it likely won’t get you in Harvard, Yale, or Duke, no matter how well you do, without some compelling ECs.</p>

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<p>@ucbalumnus and MrMom</p>

<p>I’m doing off-campus PE for physical education credit
Also for fine arts the instrument i play (classical guitar) is not offered in any course at school so i have to take a year of orchestra. </p>

<p>I have a good list (or so I’ve been told) of ECs: I will be an Eagle Scout in a couple of years, Academic Decathlon, HOSA State for Pathophysiology, UIL Science.I’ll start to study for the Chem/Bio Olympiads (which i think will be good to do alongside AP Chem and Biology)</p>

<p>I want to be a surgeon so I like doing alot of things related to science and academics outside of school. I know the courses alone won’t impress anyone, but that alongside with my ECs plus test scores at least put me in the running?</p>

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<p>While it may not seem original, college admissions people want to see A grades in the most rigorous course selections, which this presumably is. Why would it be an “Asian drone” schedule when all students aiming for super-selective colleges will try to make a schedule like this and get A grades in it?</p>

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<p>A schedule of the most rigorous course choices with A grades is close to a necessary component of getting admitted to a super-selective schools, but is not sufficient by itself. Other close to necessary components include top end test scores and high level awards or extracurricular achievements.</p>

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<p>That schedule looks ridiculous. You are taking algebra 2 right now, you are going to skip trig for pre-calc, then skip calc ab for calc bc. And your Junior Yr course load looks brutal, sophomore year as well. IMO the risk to reward is far too high. High chance of burning out, high chance of a B and high chance of a 3-4s on the AP test.</p>

<p>Shoving every AP your school offers into a schedule isn’t a good idea. MrMom62 is right, you don’t have a diverse enough schedule of classes. Prioritize. figure out what classes you want and then take those. If it was me I would prioritize Calc BC along a AP biology and AP chemistry and maybe a few other AP classes.Fill the rest of the schedule with a wide array of classes. Poli Sci, Econ, Art, etc. As-is your schedule is too one-dimensional.</p>

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<p>It’s not necessary to take Calc AB before taking BC, in fact, I thought that was how it was supposed to be done, since our HS has done it that way for years. But taking either one with AP Physics is a really good idea, since they reinforce each other. And trig is included in either Alg 2 or Pre-Calc in many schools.</p>

<p>If I were going to modify this schedule, I’d suggest first trying to get down to about 10 APs. You essentially have 13 now. That’s still plenty rigorous, plus it makes for a more do-able schedule and time for ECs. No school is going to sniff at 10 APs, particularly if you get 4s and 5s.</p>

<p>To get specific, I’d drop both Lit courses, and AP Stat. Do AP Bio senior year. If your school offers Spanish IV, take that junior year, and move AP Spanish to senior year, or consider dropping it for either AP Stat or AP Eng Lit. Reevaluate as you go along, and make adjustments, but try not to take more than 4 APs a year. And add in something fun like an art or shop class. If your school offers a writing class senior year that deals with college essays, add that in too.</p>

<p>That schedule is do-able by mere humans, and you won’t go insane. And it’s still plenty impressive, plus, you can have a life outside your books.</p>

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<p>A person can’t pass Calc BC if they don’t already know Calculus 1 / AB. It’s doable to skip trig and go into pre-calc because pre-calc covers some trig stuff but skipping Calc 1 is insane. It’s a recipe for disaster. I’ve also taken Physics in HS and it’s basically just applied math. Unless a person wants to be an engineer I would say Physics is redundant with Calc in terms of quantitate reasoning. A well-rounded schedule with AP Art History or AP Economics or Political Science or AP Philosophy is better. The reading, memorization and dedication required for his world history, spanish, calculus bc, and physics his junior year course load is very high. High-risk of low marks (Bs in Class / 4s on AP tests) and return on effort is low. It doesn’t make sense to do that work when he’d be a better applicant with a diversified course-load.</p>

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<p>“A person can’t pass Calc BC…”</p>

<p>Anyone at my high school who made an A- or higher in Precal automatically went to BC; the average AP score was a 4 BC, 5 AB. It can be done.</p>

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<p>The schedule’s doable, but I wouldn’t recommend it as is. </p>

<p>Alright, my name’s Chas, and I’m a high school senior. I’ll have taken 15 AP tests by the end of this year, with 15 AP classes (so no self study). We both go to schools that offer a ton of courses, and you’ll probably do what I did, which is choosing too many courses because you have too many interests (or, if you’re doing it for college admissions reasons, then I definitely don’t recommend the schedule). Let’s go through the schedule, and I’ll give you opinions and recommendations based on both my own schedule and from what I’ve learned about certain AP classes. (Now, due to the fact that we go to different schools, many of my experiences will differ from what goes on in those same classes at your school.)</p>

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<p>No problems here; it looks like a typical freshman schedule. Some kids take AP Human Geography their freshman year, but that option’s not offered at most schools (the people I know that did it are from PA, FL, CA, and NY; I’m from MD). It’s good to see orchestra in the mix, having a passion–especially a musical passion–is a good thing for many schools. They need to get their ensemble from somewhere, right? </p>

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<p>The first thing I notice here is APUSH, which was an hour or two a night of homework for me (in readings and studying). If you learn from lectures, then I definitely recommend listening to John Green crashcourse videos for US History; I attribute my 5 to him and to Ethel Wood’s study guide (which isn’t the best for US History, seemed suitable). Go for the class. All of the Pre-AP’s seem logical and fine. However, AP Chem and AP Bio aren’t exactly the easiest classes; they’re actually regarded as two of the most prestigious AP’s. With that prestige comes difficulty. My advice? Swap out AP Chem for something easy (still AP, maybe Psych or APES), and self-study AP US Gov’t (you can literally get a 5 on the exam by reading REA Crash Course a week before the test) or APES (if you’re a science guy/gal). </p>

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<p>Definitely an interesting course load. AP Physics B or C? With Pre-AP Physics, I’d recommend B. Straight into AP Calculus BC? It’s doable, but unless you want to be an engineer, I’d recommend against it. AP World History (John Green has more videos for World History too, so you’re in luck) is an extremely demanding class (three hours of homework per night for me, readings and busywork). AP English Lang? Easy if you read. AP Spanish Lang? I have a friend who took 9 AP’s and 5’d every single one but AP Spanish Lang (2). Now, he hated the class, but still. If you’re interested in all of these classes, then definitely go for it. If you decided not to take AP Bio last year, then definitely take it this year (HS 2 should prepare you, somewhat, for the class, or at least give you a RW application for the content). Overall, your choice in difficulty of classes is admirable, but your choice in the content seems a bit bold. These courses all have extremely difficult coursework. </p>

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<p>Well, we can safely assume you want to go into medicine. AP English Lit? Eh, nothing different than Lang, just more books. AP Spanish Lit? Not well enough informed on the class. AP Gov’t/Econ? If you’re taking 3 AP exams for this course, then yes; otherwise, no. Self study the non-taught class and take that as another exam (the two Economics are closely related and quite easy). AP Stat? Not too difficult; it’s like a social sciences math for a little while. Still somewhat challenging, however. OChem? You know that this is the main reason pre-meds switch to Bio, right? AP Psych? Finally, an easy AP. </p>

<p>After going through the schedule, I’ll say that it’s doable and that the difficulty in class type is admirable, but your content choices are unwise. Simply put, you’re taking the hardest AP’s out there. Where’s AP HuG? Where’s APES? Why didn’t you pursue orchestra? Are you fluent in Spanish? These classes put you in a great position for an internship at Johns Hopkins, but you wouldn’t have any time to work there. </p>

<p>My recommendations: look at the course difficulties for each class. If you’re doing this for rigor, then take the schedule with easier AP’s. If you’re doing it because you’re truly interested in the content, then take the schedule you proposed, while reevaluating your interests annually. </p>

<p>Coming from someone as crazy as I am in course rigor, the difficulty of some classes in the same year is unwise. </p>

<p>To everyone saying that OP/people who take more than 8 AP’s won’t/don’t have enough free time for EC’s/volunteering/work/friends/social life: Here’s me
EC’s–[li] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): National Honor Society (VP), Quiz Bowl (Team Captain), Student 2 Student (Executive Committee), Online Entertainment Organizations (Leader/Founder/Co-leader/Manager/–worked with advertisers; pulled together contracts; sought legal counsel; organized and recuirted content producers, editors, and graphics designers; served as primary liaison to other organizations; all content centered around video games/Call of Duty), Mock Trial Lawyer (Lead for Defense), Model UN Delegate, Tutor, Interact/KenyaVenture volunteer, Varsity swimmer (2 years).</p>[/li]
<p>Volunteer work–Through NHS/Interact, couldn’t list all of it on my Common App, but mainly tutoring 5 hrs/week all year, IS and OOS(chool), and then feeding the needy in Baltimore. </p>

<p>Work experience–Job/Work Experience: Lifeguard Summer (10th, 11th, 12th): 40 hrs/week, Lifeguard Fall/Winter (12th): 18 hrs/week, Online Organizations (it was like a job. I wrote about it in every essay asking for an EC)</p>

<p>Friends–No way to really measure this, but I’m a nice guy. I have my share of friends :)</p>

<p>Social life–I actually have one (shocking, I know), and it’s pretty nice. I have enough time for a girlfriend and friends. It just takes a lot of time management skills for it all to work. (And, OP, if you do decide to date during high school, try to find someone with similar interests/similar course rigor. Current girlfriend’s in 6 AP’s this year and 8 next [she’s a junior, I’m a senior; she also manages to find time to juggle EC’s, Volunteering, cheerleading, etc], so we have study dates quite often. It’s what we get for meeting in a review session lol. But with a course load as intensive as yours, you’re going to need an extremely understand, non-clingy SO.) </p>

<p>Sleep–0-7 hours a night, with an average of 3 hours per night. (7 hpn are on weekends. I’ll sleep when I’m dead, haha :p) </p>

<p>AP’s taken–
(Soph) AP World, AP HuG
(Junior) AP Calc AB, AP US History, AP European History, AP Lang, AP Comparative Governments
(Senior) AP Stat, AP Psych, AP Lit, AP Comp Sci, AP Macro, AP Micro, APES, AP US Gov’t</p>

<p>Straight A’s in HS (two middle school B’s are on my transcript, HS credit classes, giving me a 3.93 UW–grr :p). </p>

<p>So, OP, it’s possible, and people do do this sort of thing. A close friend of mine (school’s val) is taking 14 AP’s (11 AP’s, 3 dual-enrolled) and sleeps more than I do, but does less EC’s, goes to less parties (tbh, I hate parties). The val 3 years back was in the newspaper for doing 14 AP’s, and went to Yale; did a ton of EC work, volunteer work, but (according to a family friend’s mom) had a few mental breakdowns and little sleep. (On mental breakdowns: expect them). </p>

<p>As the phrase goes: School, social, sleep–pick two.</p>

<p>tl;dr: People do do this, revise your classes to make more sense with their difficulty, I do it, this type of schedule is possible.</p>

<p>Edit: Just now rereading this post. Oh my gosh, I didn’t mean to make it so long.</p>

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Good advice! Just wanted to remind the OP and other people that it is possible to have a life with a rigorous schedule. Takes time management skills, but it’s possible. (See the second half of my above post for details/example(s)).</p>

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<p>@ amp. I must have overestimated how hard AP Calc is compared to Calc 1.</p>

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<p>@bomerr: Most schools do 1st semester AB/2nd semester BC, just like a college workload. So, they don’t “skip” AB, they just call it BC. Hence the AB subscore on the BC exam :)</p>

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<p>NO guarantees getting into any of those schools even with all A’s.</p>

<p>Our son, HS valedictorian, 4.0 UWGPA, high ACT, 14 AP’s, leadership, etc… did not get into Harvard or JHU (didn’t apply to the other 2). Too many bright kids like him from Long Island applying? Didn’t leave the country to do something ambitious? No clue. Point being, take the AP’s you can handle, not based on college acceptances. Son had no problem taking many honors then AP classes and needed that level (his choice, not ours). There are many good schools out there you can do well, be happy and succeed.</p>