Hi. I will be a junior next year. I will also be taking the following classes as electives:
AP Calc AB
AP Lang
AP Bio
AP Physics 1
AP US (partly independent)
Spanish III (partly independent so I can take AP in senior year)
I’m considering taking AP US Gov and AP Comp Gov independently. Should I? As a sophomore I took AP Psych independently because you can only start taking APs as a junior.
Am I overworking myself? I’m pretty sure I can handle these courses. I’ve seen people survive with much more.
Also, can someone please recommend books for all the above APs? I want to start preparing over the summer.
This honestly just seems unnecessary and clear overkill, but if you really want to, then go for it. As for books, people will try to sell one book as inherently better, but it makes no difference for the most part. With that said, PR is best for calc and CliffsNotes, surprisingly, is best for bio
My daughter did 7 AP’s her senior year. She is very smart and organized so she made it through all of the classes with A’s, but she was very tired by the end of the year and did not have as much time as she would have liked at the end of the year to put into studying for the exams. I wouldn’t recommend it if you have any kind of significant outside activities like she did. There are only so many hours in a day, LOL.
What a tough schedule! Make sure to prioritize throughout the year! I’m a rising senior and took 4 this past year - Chem, Physics 1, Lang, and APUSH. Really happy to say that I got all 5s!
Chem: Awesome teacher, didn’t need book, but I hear Princeton’s the best for it
Physics 1: Awesome teacher again, but AP Physics 1 Essentials was recommended for concepts and 5 Steps to a 5 for questions. Search for more practice test material on reddit’s ap students subreddit.
English: Teacher was good enough and Lang isn’t something that you necessarily study for. Write practice essays and take practice tests. The book that will come close to the best is Cliff Notes.
Bio: Friends took it, all got 4s and 5s, all concur that Cliff Notes is absolutely the best
APUSH: Absolutely purchase The Insider’s Complete Guide to AP US History! It’s not frequently recommended here because it’s a newer edition of Larry Krieger’s old book, Direct Hits. The book is extremely concise and very to the point. It’s very well written and easily got me a 5 (still awaiting USH subject test score though).
Good luck!