<p>Well as the school year is starting soon, I wanted to get some things done with what I have on my schedule. I'm taking 5 AP classes next year, but I'm doubting this mainly because of the workload I'll face. I didn't do so well sophomore year, so I have to do nearly as well junior year if I want to get into my targeted UC. My classes are as follows:</p>
<p>AP English
AP Chinese
AP U.S. History
AP Physics
AP Calculus AB</p>
<p>I'm pretty confident that I can handle the first three AP classes, but Physics and Calculus worries me. As I have heard from peers at my school, the teacher is very horrible. However, I have to take it in order to get a notable SAT II subject test done. As for Calculus, I think that the workload may be too much for me. I have jumped from Pre Calc regular, so I don't know if I can handle Calculus. </p>
<p>This is where my skepticism takes place though. I've heard that I need to take courses well related to my future major when I get to college. In this case, it would be Physics and Calculus. However, I hear other controversial articles on how that may not be the case. I plan to drop Calculus for a class I can handle with so that my junior year won't be just as bad. And with that I would like to ask some questions:</p>
<p>Is taking 5 AP classes worth it?
What are the requirements of computer programming pertaining to class courses? Do they really affect my chances of getting in?</p>
<p>Thank you for your time for reading this. I just hope that I can set some things straight before junior year starts for me.</p>
<p>Taking 5 AP classes in general is not worth it. Maybe 4 APs is worth it, just maybe. I took 5 junior year and 5 senior year, got a 4.0 unweighted GPA, but still felt that taking even 4 APs would have left me more time for extracurriculars.</p>
<p>However, science and math are fairly important if you are applying to the engineering schools within the UCs are you? (I’m referring to the fact that if you apply to UCLA, for example, you apply to the engineering school)</p>
<p>Which Physics? C or B? They are very different.
Which English? Lit or Language?</p>
<p>The most obvious choice would be to drop down from AP US History to regular US History (or whatever regular history class there is). Of all the APs I took, AP US Hist. was one of the least useful and most time-consuming.</p>
<p>I’m taking Physics B and English Lang. Although it may be an idea to take off AP US History, I wanted to use that as another SAT II test. I’m interested in history somewhat so I believe that I can get somewhere with that class. How stressful would taking 5 AP classes be for you terenc?</p>
<p>Physics B isn’t that bad (but then again, I don’t know how strong you are at science and math).</p>
<p>What SAT IIs are you taking / have taken?</p>
<p>The fact remains that engineering schools like to see 4 years of science and math. And, quite frankly, it makes sense, because you will need to apply that kind of quantitative thinking used in science/math in CS.</p>
<p>Given that I’m taught by a good teacher, I can do well in math and science. Last school year my grades sulked from chemistry and pre calc due to bad teachers. I ended up reading a lot alone in chemistry, making it out with a B. Pre Calculus did not end as well for me. I obtained a C in the first semester and a B in the second semester. I’m able to do the work if I were taught well enough, I guess.</p>
<p>I’m going to take the Physics, U.S. History, and possibly Chinese SAT II tests.</p>
<p>No, I’m not. I believe that I can so somewhat well on the test (I plan to take it November of next year so that I can have more knowledge of it from AP Chinese) though. So would taking regular U.S. History be fine then? Since you’ve taken 5 AP classes in your junior year, can I ask how difficult it was for you to handle your classes?</p>
<p>I might not be the best person to ask about handling classes - I was one of the top in my class, suffice to say.</p>
<p>I mean, if you are the type of person who struggles in sophomore year, I don’t know how you’re going to be able to handle 5 APs.</p>
<p>You only need two subject tests. Keep in mind that a ton of people taking the Chinese Subject Tests are native speakers… Is there a reason you don’t want to take the Math Level 2s?</p>
<p>Yes. I’ve taken a mock test of it already and did not do so well on the test. I believe because of the fact I did not do well in pre calculus last year, it affected much of what I could do on that test…</p>
<p>I didn’t struggle so much sophomore year; I did well overall except for pre calculus. On the side note, I did end up switching classes today because my schedule was changed. U.S. history is now regular (there’s no honors, sadly), leaving me to 4 AP classes. This was the only way to keep the classes I desired (even though I was supposed to have them in the first place) unless I took a zero period.</p>
<p>I’m thinking about finding ways to study for the Math Level 2 test (I didn’t realize that I needed it now for engineering schools) but I’m not sure what to do. As I do know that I only need two subject tests, I want to try for three just so that my college app would look better.</p>