Hello! I’m a 9th grader and need help on my courses. I just moved from Asia so I had no knowledge on the courses and which ones to take at my school whatsoever. These are the classes I am currently taking:
Honors English
-Integrated Math
-Spanish 3/4
-PE
Honors english is challenging in enough, however I feel that for math I will not be able to get far if I continue to go with the class. It is very easy for me, as it feels like I have already learned everything I am doing right now. Our school goes by a quarter system which means the lessons are very fast paced. I want to switch to geometry or algebra 1/2 so that in sophomore I will be able to take algebra 3/4.
My dream college is UCLA and I want to have some insight on what AP classes I should be taking. Is it helpful to take them as a freshman? Many of my friends are taking AP bio or AP chem. However, I am in the swim team and practice daily and am afraid the AP classes as a freshmen will take up a lot of my time. I want to take AP chem, AP language, AP spanish, AP phych. I still have time to change the classes for the next semester.
You should meet with your guidance counselor and make sure they understand what math you’ve completed. If there is any doubt about your correct placement, you could ask if they can give you some tests. I am not familiar with the names “integrated math” “algebra 1/2” and “algebra 3/4”. The usual organization and names for high school level math are algebra 1, geometry, algebra 2/trig, precalculus, calculus. Some students complete algebra 1 and possibly geometry while in middle school. From what you say, I would guess that integrated math is what most schools call pre-algebra, which is usually completed in middle school. But I could be wrong, the name is not very informative. Meet with your counselor, and do it quickly because every day that goes by could make it more difficult to change your schedule.
Most high school students don’t take AP classes as freshmen, or if they do, it’s often AP human geography which is usually considered a very easy AP and many colleges don’t give any credit for it. It is very unusual for high school freshmen to take AP bio or AP chem as those are among the most difficult APs and most schools require prerequisites of honors bio and honors chem before those classes can be taken.
You have 4 years in high school, plenty of time to schedule the classes you want. Considering that you are from Asia and that you spend a lot of time swimming, I think you would be better off not taking on some of the most difficult classes this year. Give yourself some time to adjust. Your English seems remarkably fluent from what you wrote above, but some AP classes (history in particular) have heavy reading assignments and this might be especially time consuming for you before you have more time to practice English here. The only thing I would definitely take action on is to make sure you get into the right level of math this semester.
The APs you select should be ones that interest you and are at a good level for you. The ones you mentioned all seem fine to me. Talk to your counselor about wanting to go to UCLA and what kind of coursework would make you competitive for that.
In general, many students I have seen do not take AP classes freshmen year, or, if they do, take only one. However, what is typical in my area may be different from your area, so if a lot of kids are taking AP courses at your school, you may want to consider taking some too. These classes can help you get ahead, but can also add a lot of stress to your first year of high school, so if you are going to take some, be prepared for that. Basically, don’t feel intimidated by the classes, but don’t feel pressured to take them right away either.
If you’re determined to start AP your freshmen year, it might help to try just one or two AP courses this semester/year to try it out, then add more as you progress through high school. While you may feel a little behind that way, colleges will understand that going into school just after immigrating to the US can be a pretty rough transition. There is a space on most applications to put this type of information, so if you state there that you had to take it easier your freshmen year because of that, they will definitely take that into consideration. I’ve heard that AP Psych is one of the easier AP courses (although it always depends on the teacher, of course), so you might try starting there. If you really feel your math/science skills are good enough, you could also try for AP Chem, but be warned that for some it can be a really tough course. I would personally hold off on AP Spanish and AP Lang until next year and Junior year, but you can try those too if you feel up to it.
As for your math course, many schools will allow students to test into higher level math classes. You could try talking to a teacher or guidance councilor about how you feel and see if they would allow you to test out.
OP can’t take AP Spanish because he/she is enrolled in lower level Spanish this year. That’s fine, most kids don’t get to AP until junior or senior year. OP, if you want to try an AP this year, I would suggest AP psych. It’s one of the easier APs. My kid took it as a sophomore and enjoyed it a lot, and the workload wasn’t that high for an AP class. But you shouldn’t feel that you need to take APs in your freshman year. Our AP Psych is usually limited to juniors and seniors but they do allow some sophomores to take it. I don’t think any freshmen are taking it in our school.