6 AP Courses -- too much?

Applying to College
1

<p>Hello,</p>

<p>My senior year I'll be taking 6 AP classes. At first, I wasn't really worried about it, considering most of the ones I'm taking don't seem like they'll be too difficult. But lately, as it's edging closer and closer to the end of summer, it seems more people are telling me I'm crazy and should drop some.</p>

<p>Last year, I took 3 Aps (psych, Lang and comp, USH) and 3 honors courses (pre-calc, amatomy and phys, chemistry) and though the work load was the heaviest I'd had, I managed to get through the year with only one breakdown (during exams) and I passed all of my Ap Exams and managed to get a 3.8 unweighted GPA.</p>

<p>I was wondering if anyone had any advice for these classes. The ones I'm taking are:</p>

<p>AP Stats (I heard this was an easy AP)
AP Lit and Comp (compared to language, I was told this was "ap kindergarten")
Ap Gov (heard this was easier than ApUSH which was pretty easy)
Ap Calc (ill have the same teacher who taught me per-Calc and she's pretty awesome)
Ap Bio (here's where it gets hard, but I love biology and its the one I'm looking most forward to.)
Ap Chem (this is the one I'm concerned about, but my teachers have all told me as a Biology major and as a pre-med, it's a pretty important class and I shouldn't drop it. I know it's nothing like honors chem, but I heard from some others who took it junior year that even if you fail the tests, you can still get an A if you do the labs and worksheets. I'm not too concerned with passing the AP exam for this one, but rather I want a basic idea of college level chemistry.)</p>

<p>Would really appreciate any advice you guys have to offer!</p>

2

<p>if that were my schedule… I couldn’t handle it, especially for senior year. What I did was took AP Chem junior year and AP Bio senior year. A lot of my friends doubled sciences and ended up getting B’s. But if you can manage it, go for it.</p>

3

<p>It depends on how much time you have after school to manage the homework and reading for these courses. If you don’t have too many ECs keeping you busy in the evenings, you should be just fine. The toughest times can be when you have several major tests coinciding on the same day. Our S took 6 APs his senior year including two sciences (Chem and Physics) and held a strong GPA, while D opted for just 5 because she is busier outside of class.</p>

4

<p>It seems doable if you have some open periods. You probably could drop AP Chem, though, since you don’t seem like you’re too interested in it.</p>

5

<p>I would drop AP Chem. Taking it is hell even if you’re taking it as an only AP class, so with 5 others, it will be even worse. Enjoy your senior year!</p>

6

<p>I would drop AP Government. You don’t need two classes that require a TON of memory. AP Statistics would be useful for your pursuits in biology because from what I’ve learned, there’s a lot of statistics in population studies and chi-squared distribution stuff.</p>

7

<p>Hey guys, I realized that I never responded to this thread and just wanted to say that I went through with the 6 APs and although first quarter was quite difficult, It’s gotten better and I’ve managed to maintain straight As. I don’t regret taking AP Chem as that as well as Bio and Calc are my favorite classes. :slight_smile: I actually regret not also taking AP Physics. And I’m in Academic Quiz Team, Science Club, and BPA and I still manage to find free time. I guess what I’m trying to say is that if anyone is ever in the same predicament I was in, I would tell them to go for it! If you’ve got the right attitude and are willing to do the work, AP is completely doable.</p>

8

<p>Good for you, should help out a lot with those initial pre-med courses.</p>