6 AP courses Junior Year?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

Hi, I’m faced with a huge dilemma. I plan on taking 6 AP courses junior year which is a huge step up from sophomore year (I’m only taking 2). I’m taking some easier ones though but I’m also very nervous. Here are the classes I took/will take

10:
AP Calc BC
AP U.S History

11:
AP Lang
AP Euro
AP Bio
AP Chem
AP Comp Sci
AP Human Geography (self studying)

I’m NOT taking multivariable calculus, instead I’m taking AP comp sci as a math credit because I’m doing really bad in calculus and would only do worse in multivariable calculus. I’m thinking of taking so many AP courses to compensate for not taking multivariable calculus and for my horrible grades in calc. All other classes, I’m getting A’s in. I know AP Bio and AP Chem are going to be hard but I want to take them so I’ll take 8 AP courses before senior year ends and will thus get “National AP Scholar” title which I heard is very good for colleges.

So essentially here are my questions:

  1. How much homework should I expect each night?
  2. Which classes are going to be the hardest?
  3. Is it worth it to get “National AP Scholar”?
  4. Will colleges think I’m incapable for not taking multivariable calculus?

Thank you SO MUCH to those who answer. I have so many questions and am a deranged sophomore. Very much appreciate all the advice :slight_smile:

2

• drop AP Human Geography unless you are really interested in the content. It’s an easy AP and unless the colleges you want to go to take it, it’s just wasted time

•unless you are super motivated, 2 to 8 APs is a huge jump, if you take this schedule be aware of the consequences

• two AP sciences is going to be a lot for someone who didn’t take one before. Have you had one of bio, Chem, and physics (ap or not)?

• what do you want to major in at college? Taking APs is great for rigor, but have classes that you’re sure you are going to enjoy and contribute towards your passion

  1. expect a pretty good amount of homework each night if you take this schedule

  2. hardest classes: AP Chem and Bio together is somewhat suicidal and Euro is writing intensive

  3. Screw the AP National scholar, they don’t mean much

  4. can’t you take AP stat at your school? AP comp sci doesn’t really deal with a crazy amount of math honestly

3

For starters, it’s 5 AP classes. Nobody, especially colleges, will care about self studying. Do it if you have a burning interest; otherwise skip.

I would not recommend taking both AP Bio and AP Chem concurrently. In addition to the time commitment required by virtue of being AP’s, each requires a lot of time for labs and lab reports. For many schools, these classes are either double-periods, or require additional time before/after school. . Save one for Senior Year.

Don’t believe everything you hear. The credits might be nice, but the piece of paper is a step up from a Good Citizenship Award (slightly tongue in cheek). But it’s certainly not something that will make AOs go “Oooooh.”

Define “horrible.” If you’re getting at least a B, I’d suggest MVC. If you’re getting a C or worse, then you might need to rethink the strategy of overwhelming yourself with APs.

4

Calc BC as a sophomore? Poor thing. Could you get a tutor? You could be missing some of the fundamentals from accelerating too fast.
Could you do an honors option for one of the sciences? Taking 2 AP sciences is a lot.

5

“AP Bio AP Chem”
Alternative: DE Intro Chem/Organic Chem I
“AP Comp Sci”
Alternative: self-study, create a porfolio
AP Human Geography (self studying)
Alternative: CLEP Intro to Psychology (self-study/ Class at C.C.
“AP Lang”
English Comp I & II

Cut AP Euro. If a graduation requirement, take the easiest class possible online that fills it.

6

I’m now rethinking of self studying, thank you very nuch for your suggestion. As for the grades, they are C’s. I can’t keep up with the class so I’m not going to take multivariable.
So to clarify:
-Colleges don’t care about self studying, especially easy AP’s such as human geography
-“National AP Scholar” isn’t a really prestigous title after all

7

College do not care about self studying at all, regardless of subject. Now if the self study is an extension of another passion, that might come through elsewhere.

IMO, correct.

8

^ correct.
So, cut AP human geography and choose one between AP chem and AP Bio, save the other for senior year. Replace with a regular statistics class?

9

O O F

  1. Do not take Bio and Chem and the same time. That would be a very suicidal thing to do. I’m currently taking AP Chem right now and in the two and a half weeks we had gotten back from winter break, we were slammed with fifteen labs. It’s not a subjective thing either. Taking two lab sciences at once (with all those other APs) is overkill.

  2. I’m not sure how it compares with your school, but AP Chemistry is really, really hard. In comparison to our Honors Chem course, there really is no good bridge between the two courses. It’s a lot to handle. We usually have readings to do each week (you’re kind of screwed if you don’t) and depending on the intensity of the chapter, I usually have 1-6 hour WebAssigns PER WEEK.

  3. AP Human Geography should be a relatively easy course, at my school it’s the only AP that freshmen take. Again, homework is subjective but I usually spent 30-40 minutes on homework that we were given 1-3 days to complete. Even if it’s not completely relevant to your focus, it’s a really good class to take on opening up your global perspective, which is actually kinda important in this day and age. For me at least, it’s one of my most interesting AP classes I’ve taken to date.

  4. AP Lang is a similar situation to Chem. It’s really hard because there’s no good bridge between the BS-ability of our English 1 and 2 Honors classes (at my school at least) and AP Lang. AP Lang is like a legitimate college class. I think it would be a good class to take because you learn really important writing skills.

  5. Also DANG how were you allowed to take BC Calc as a sophomore?!?! It’s only allowed at our school for seniors (and one junior who is exceptionally gifted in math)

  6. Comp Sci is good to take for problem solving.

  7. If you’re going to decide between Bio and Chem, think about which one comes more naturally to you, especially bc your course load is already tough as is. Maybe go and talk to those teachers, they may be able to help you decide.