4 Year Plan

Pre-College Topics High School Life
1

I know my likes and dislikes will change, but this is just a foundation. My schedule will definitely change during all these years, but this is just a foundation. What do you guys think?

High School classes on 8th grade:
Algebra 1
Computing for college careers (CCC)
Physical Science Honors

Summer:
Hope ( Health/PE class required by Florida to graduate)
Spanish 1 (My native language is Portuguese, which is very familiar to Spanish)
Geometry Honors

Freshman;
Science: AP Biology
Math: Algebra 2 Honors
Social Studies: AP Human Geography
English: English 1
Language: German 1
Electives- PLTW, Intro to IT

Summer: Spanish 2, and maybe something else.

Sophomore:
Science: AP Chemistry
Math: Precalculus Honors
Social Studies: AP World History
English: English 2 honors
Language: German 2
Electives: I am not sure. I might double up in science, or keep doing PLTW, and IT

Summer: Spanish 3 Honors, and maybe something else.

Junior:
Science: AP Physics 1
Math: Calculus BC
Social Studies AP USH
English: An AP English Course
Language: German 3 honors
Electives: Not sure, maybe AP PSYCH, AP Computer Science A, Astronomy honors…

Summer: AP Spanish Language and Culture, and maybe something else like AP Microeconomics.

Senior:
Science: AP Physics 2
Math: AP Statistics
Social Studies: 1st Semester: AP US Government, 2nd Semester: AP Macroeconomics
English: An AP English Course
Language: AP German Language and Culture
Electives: Not sure, I am thinking about AP Seminar, AP Research, Physics Course…

2

I am going to be honest: this hard of a schedule will not be possible for many reasons.

  1. You are taking AP Chemistry with no prior Chemistry class. The College Board suggests that you have taken an introductory Chemistry course first.
  2. It will not possible to take three courses during the summer of your freshman year. Most states have end-of-course examinations which you will not be prepared for. You would need to attend school for several hours to learn and receive credit for these courses.
  3. More on the Geometry: you are trying to take a double-advanced math route, which is good, but you should not just do this so that you can take AP Statistics senior year because this course is actually more algebra based than calculus.
  4. I would not see the use of taking AP Micro over the summer. This would mean finishing the course around 9 months before APs. You will need to relearn all of this information in May for the exam.
  5. Like AP Chemistry, you really need to take an introductory biology course before you take AP Biology.

Anyways, good luck with whatever you decide.

3

At my high school many freshmans take AP Biology without previous experience. Same goes with Chemistry. That is probably because of the Physical Science honors course which is an introduction to high school level physics, chemistry, and biology. I was just thinking about taking AP Micro because you pay one fee for both tests and my school requires one course of economy, but you are right it is not worth taking it. I am also going to check with my counselor about the EOCs for the online courses. Thank you.

4

Bump

5

You will learn soon enough that the College Board will take as much money as possible from you. You pay a separate fee for each econ test.

I’d also suggest finding something else to do with your summers. Colleges are not looking for students who are simple academic drones.

6

Freshman:
AP Bio-- consider taking Honors Bio instead. AP Bio without previous bio experience would be hard
Algebra 2 Honors
AP Human Geography
English 1
German 1-- I would take Spanish 2 here to be consistent
Intro to IT

Sophomore:
AP Chem-same situation as Bio. I would do Honoes Chem or AP Bio instead
Precalc Honors
AP World History
English 2 honors
German 2-- why not Spanish 3?
I wouldn’t add an AP class, art maybe?

Junior:
AP Physics 1–this is okay but you might want to replace with AP Bio or AP Chem if you took my previous suggestion
AP Calc BC
APUSH
AP English Lang–more common for juniors
Spanish 4 or AP Spanish depending on how your school does things
Again, you have enough APs, maybe here you could take German

Senior:
AP Physics 2
AP Stat-- Dual enroll at CC instead to continue with calc
AP Gov/ AP Macro
AP English Lit
German 2 or 3
AP Psych

7

Like many above here, I would highly discourage taking AP Bio or Chem without prior experience. You should check with your high school or the AP teachers there if they recommend the honors version before the AP class.

8

I’m assuming you’re an incoming freshman.
Summers: I absolutely 100% agree with skieurope. Take the health class to get it out of the way, it’s a waste of time during the year. Also AP micro over the summer might be good, it will help you with macro. 2 languages isn’t necessary unless you want to be a linguist, and since you aren’t doing MVC senior year, it would be better to do geometry in the school year
take geometry freshman year and pick between German and Spanish. AP bio is probably fine, I took the course and did well with my knowledge from middle school. As long as you’re good at science and willing to work, you’ll be fine. Same goes for chem.

9

Find a way to get your knowledge of Portuguese certified. If you manage to have a high level of proficiency in Spanish AND Portuguese, it’d be terrific. Adding a third language seems excessive but it depends on your talents.

High School classes on 8th grade:
Algebra 1
Computing for college careers (CCC)
Physical Science Honors

Summer:
Hope ( Health/PE class required by Florida to graduate)
Spanish 1 (My native language is Portuguese, which is very familiar to Spanish)

Freshman;
Science: AP Biology (check with your Biology teacher, as this is typically a junior-senior class; Honors Bio?)
Math: Geometry Honors => no need to accelerate further than that if… it’s to take AP Stats senior year!!!
Social Studies: AP Human Geography
English: English 1
Language: German 1 <- consider taking Spanish 2 ?
Electives- PLTW, Intro to IT

Summer: Spanish 2 (? or 3?)

Sophomore:
Science: AP Chemistry (or Honors Chem)
Math: Algebra 2 Honors
Social Studies: AP World History or AP Euro
English: English 2 honors
Language: German 2 (or Spanish 4?)
Electives: AP CS Principles

Summer: Spanish 4 or German 3

Junior:
Science: AP Physics 1
Math: Precalculus Honors
Social Studies AP USH
English: AP English Language
Language: AP Spanish Language
Electives: Art (3D art, digital media, etc)

Summer: AP Spanish Language and Culture => can’t be taken over the summer, test in May: take during 11th grade; instead, take German 4

Senior:
Science: Another AP Science (AP Bio or Chem if you didn’t take them in 9th or 10th, or AP Physics C or AP CS A)
Math: Calculus BC
Social Studies: 1st Semester: AP US Government, 2nd Semester: AP Macroeconomics
English: Honors English seminar
Language: AP German Language and Culture
Electives: the second level of an art course that could combine CS and art, OR a “fun” class that won’t require much hw. By that point, you’ll be on AP overload so do NOT add one more or you’ll look like an AP junkie. Choose something cool, unusual, fun… Shop, Culinary Arts, Current Events, Theater Tech…

A lot of the AP’s could be cut - right now, you have 13, and 6-8 TOTAL in HS is sufficient for even the most selective universities.
DO NOT use your summer to study. Get a job, volunteer in your community (not in some exotic locale), rinse beakers in a nearby lab and observe what the PI does, have fun at the beach, enjoy your friends’ and your grandparents’ company. READ BOOKS. Watch TV, listen to music, go to the theater and to concerts. Expand your horizons. IF you can, travel. :slight_smile:

10

High School classes on 8th grade:
Algebra 1
Computing for college careers (CCC)
Physical Science Honors - Definitely not equivalent to high school Biology, Physics, or Chemistry. Don’t even think about doing AP Biology AND AP Chemistry without taking a prior chemistry or biology class. Meanwhile, AP Physics 1 is meant to be a first-year science class.

Summer:
Hope ( Health/PE class required by Florida to graduate)
Spanish 1 (My native language is Portuguese, which is very familiar to Spanish)

Freshman;
Science: Biology Honors
Math: Geometry Honors
Social Studies: AP Human Geography
English: English 1
Language: Spanish 2
Electives- PLTW, and Visual/Performing Arts

Summer: Do something fun.

Sophomore:
Science: Chemistry Honors
Math: Algebra 2 Honors
Social Studies: AP World History
English: English 2 Honors
Language: Spanish 3
Electives: AP Computer Science A or Visual/Performing Arts (I would highly recommend VAPA rather than an additional AP class unless you seriously love computer science)

Summer: Look at summer enrichment or research camps, or get a summer job.

Junior:
Science: AP Biology
Math: Precalculus Honors
Social Studies: APUSH
English: AP English Language and Comp
Language: AP Spanish Language
Electives: AP Physics 1 or Visual/Performing Arts

Summer: Do something fun like research or a summer camp.

Senior:
Science: AP Chemistry
Math: AP Calculus BC
Social Studies: 1st Semester: AP US Government, 2nd Semester: AP Macroeconomics
English: AP English Literature and Comp
Language: AP Spanish Literature, or don’t do a language senior year (as you already reached AP level).
Electives: Visual or Performing Arts

  1. 3 many AP classes 5 me. Don't overload yourself <3
  2. Where are your arts courses? Let me tell you that taking an music course was probably the best decision I've ever made. Don't neglect the arts for course rigor.
  3. Two languages? Why?
  4. I would like to see the pass rate that your school has for freshmen/sophomores taking AP Biology and AP Chemistry (the latter being one of the hardest science classes offered in high school other than AP Physics C:Mech and EM).
11

Here are some things to think about.

I’m wondering why so much summer school. Is that what you really want to be doing or are you hoping to impress colleges? Because you won’t impress colleges with that. Also, I doubt your middle school “physical science” class can be very rigorous or equivalent to a high school level class in physics or chemistry since it apparently doesn’t even require algebra1 as a pre-requisite. Agree with the poster who said to ask about AP scores for kids jumping into those AP science classes.

Before you ask for advice, you really should step back and think about what actually interests you and what you want to get out of high school. This schedule looks like you designed it to pack in the maximum possible number of AP classes, but I can’t figure out what you are actually interested in. If you like science, great, but why do you then spend all your summers learning Spanish when you already have German? If you are interested in languages, fantastic, but why then pack so much science into your schedule? You could take the languages during the year and do something interesting to use your Spanish or German over the summer.

You also haven’t told us what kind of student you are. That schedule is pretty tough and while some students could handle it, many could not. It’s also evident that you are not a native English speaker and I am wondering whether it’s wise to take AP English classes.

Also, you don’t have any arts electives.

Taking PE over the summer may be a good idea if you are academically ambitious and want to get it out of the way. However, PE does provide a nice break during the year and a time to meet other freshmen and socialize a bit.

Is the summer geometry class really at an honors level? Many summer classes are at regular level, intended more to help kids graduate than to help honors students accelerate. Look carefully to make sure you are getting the preparation you need.

12

Here is some slightly different advice

  1. Don’t do so much during your summers… I know you want to get some classes over with so you can take what you want for fun, but I promise, you will love having those blissful summers when you have a ton of AP classes.
  2. I personally think taking Spanish 1 and 2 9 months apart is really stupid. Just take 2 years of German or a 2nd year of Spanish. (No one learns a foreign language in 1 year. Normally 3-4)
  3. If you speak Spanish fluently, why don’t you test out of Spanish 1 and 2?
  4. Since your school may not have one pre - AP, I recommend going to your counselor and asking to be a teacher Aid for a subject. Your counselor should be fine with it as long as you are meeting graduation requirements.
  5. its best to only take 1 language for 3 - 4 years and know it really well.

Here Is what I reccomend

High School classes on 8th grade:
Algebra 1
Computing for college careers (CCC)
Physical Science Honors

Summer:
Hope ( Health/PE class required by Florida to graduate)
Spanish 1 (My native language is Portuguese, which is very familiar to Spanish)

Freshman;
Science: Chemistry Honors (If you don’t have a real chem Pre-Ap class, be a teacher assistant for Chemistry or take regulars Chemistry)
Math: Geometry (if you don’t have a real geometry class, be a teacher assistant for Pre Calculus)
Social Studies: AP Human Geography
English: English 1 (H)
Language: Spanish 2
Electives- PLTW, Intro to IT

Summer: *Self Study geometry i guess and Spanish 3

Sophomore:
Science: AP Chemistry
Math: Algebra 2 Honors
Social Studies: AP World History or AP Euro
English: English 2 honors
Language: Aid for Biology
Electives: AP CS Principles

Summer: Art 1

Junior:
Science: AP Physics 1
Math: Precalculus Honors
Social Studies AP USH
English: AP English Language
Language: AP Spanish Language
Electives: AP Bio

Summer: Art 2

Senior:
Science: AP Stats or AP Science
Math: Calculus BC (It is WAY BETTER to end high school with Calc then Stat becuase in college (most of the time) you need to take some kind of calc)
Social Studies: 1st Semester: AP US Government, 2nd Semester: AP Macroeconomics
English: Honors English seminar
Language: Art (3D art, digital media, etc)
Electives: What ever the heck you want

13

Which language do you guys think would be better to take Spanish or German?

14

Unless you REALLY love the German language and culture, live in a predominantly German area, or have German heritage, I would recommend taking Spanish. First of all, you’re Portuguese, so it should be very easy as the two languages are very similar. Also, Spanish is used more frequently, and knowledge in the Spanish language and culture is crucial in the United States, especially in places like California.

Which one would you rather learn?

15

Am I the only one here who finds it utterly depressing that the OP is pre-programing every course in his/her life starting in the 8th grade?

16

Sounds a little dramatic, if you ask me. ^

17

Not really. Many HS’s suggest planning out as much of the 4 year plan as possible. The challenge is to do it in pencil. :slight_smile: Students’ interests evolve, schedule conflicts arise, courses are added/deleted, etc.

18

^ the challenge for most adolescents is to do both: plan carefully AND be flexible /adapt. They typically want want to do one or the other - follow the plan like a train on rails or 'wing it’s because they’re ‘better when they have to perform under stress’.

19

@GMTplus7, why is this “depressing”? (and high school is not all the coursework for the rest of their lives, cut the melodrama).

Our school requires 8th graders to submit a 4 year high school course plan and the GC meets with every 8th grader and their parents to go over it and make sure it’s appropriate for the student. It’s common sense. It requires the kids to learn about the options, which are far greater than what they’ve had so far. It makes sure that every kid has a plan which will meet graduation requirements, understands pre-requisites for courses they want to take, understands the implications of choices made in freshman year, and thinks about personal educational goals.

So why is that depressing? I find it depressing that a parent or student would have so little interest in their education that they wouldn’t be willing to sit down for an hour or two upon transitioning schools, look at the options, and come up with a plan.

20

Definitely don’t take an AP science course without prior knowledge. You will definitely get a C or below in AP Chem without prior knowledge of chemistry. Not sure about bio, but I’m taking that nest year.