5 ap junior year????

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

Hi,
I’m thinking of taking these classes for junior year:
APUSH (I have an A in AP world this year)
AP Calc AB (I have a high A in precalc)
AP Stats (High math grades overall)
AP Lang (Have an A+ in English)
AP music theory (have a strong musical background; have been playing violin for 10 years)

Is this too much considering that I run my own nationally recognized business and do other stuff outside of school? If applicable, is there one I should drop? BTW- my hs is competitive; most people are taking between 3-5 APs junior year. I am aiming for UVA (in state)

2

Honestly, we cannot answer without knowing you and how much time you are spending on ECs. If the EC load is 20 hours a week or less, some kids can do it. Most cannot. If the EC load is much higher, few can.

3

Why take stats & calc? I’d just pick one of those (probably calc), and sub something less intense for stats.

4

AP Stats is not bad at all, especially for someone with a strong background in math. Most people at my school double up and take Stats with either Precalc or Algebra II. Some people do it with AP Calc BC. At my school we don’t take Calc AB before BC so we finished up the AB stuff before the end of the first semester and Calc AB is not bad either. You have A’s in math, I don’t see you having trouble with either one of these. AP Lang is pretty easy (actually a pretty interesting/fun class), and since you have an A+ in English you should be fine. I’ve never taken APUSH. If you want to cut a class, I say cut music theory, not stats. Then again you have a strong music background, and I am not a musical person so I have no idea what the work load is and what the class entails. Are you taking a foreign language? Any science classes?

5

This is a lot. One daughter took AP music theory a few years back and it is a difficult course. She liked it a lot but definitely do not expect it to be easy, because it won’t be. No one in my family took APUSH, but AP Euro history was the most difficult A- that I have ever witnessed in my life.

AP Calc and AP stats at the same time is a lot. Are you leaving something for senior year? Mastering precalc is indeed the key to doing well in Calc.

6

you can do it, although I would switch stat for an easier AP.

7

Colleges don’t really care if you take tons of APs. An “easier AP” is no more necessary than anything else they might sub for it.

8

I took Music Theory 1 & 2 in college, and thought they were easy. I also have an extensive musical background. I think you’d be fine in that class.

9

Why take AP Stats? I would drop that.

10

I agree. AP Stats looks like padding at this point. If you want to study it, leave it as an elective for senior year. Having 4 AP’s is plenty, especially considering that AP Music Theory and APUSH are no picnic. AP Music Theory would make the most sense considering your violin background and the other three are staples for junior year.
What would the rest of your schedule look like?

11

What science are you taking and are you taking a foreign language? Continuing a foreign language would probably be better than AP Stats and an AP science would probably be better than music theory.