Even though it is only halfway through the year, my teachers are beginning to make recommendations for next year’s courses. Our school has notoriously difficult AP courses, so I am very scared as to what I should choose. Most of my friends are taking 5 AP courses, but I would like to see what you guys think.
My plan for next year looks like this:
Graphic Design I GT (takes up two class periods)
Business Calculus GT
Art 3 AP
Humanities - World History AP
Humanities - Literature AP
Physics 1 AP
Graphic design is hard to get into, so I chose these backups:
Art Studio AP
New Forms GT
The thing is, if I happen to not get into Graphic design because of lack of space, I would then be taking five AP courses. I am also taking SAT next year so I’m not sure how I’ll do. I originally wanted to take the SAT the start of junior year, but my parents told me to take it later in the year (when AP tests are) despite my protests. Any advice would be very helpful!
Enlist the help of your GC if your parent wont listen to you and the timing of the SAT. IMO the decision on timing should be yours and you are right to not have to worry about studying for AP tests at the same time.
Secondly, don’t worry about what your friends are taking. Run your own race. Only you know what you are comfortable handling in terms of course work.
For your classes, I’m not seeing a foreign language. Most schools want at least three years if foreign language.
I would drop one of the art classes for your foreign language.
As far as I know, my school only requires two credits for language.
@crabycarbs it would probably help if everyone knew your plans for after high school. Obviously, you’re very art focused. Have you thought about what you might like to study, or what type of school you would like to attend? The short answer is you should take the number of APs you can handle with a manageable amount of stress and still maintain a solid gpa. That answer is different for everyone.
@crabycarbs , many colleges want to see more FL achievement (at least 3 years and/or through level 4.). Do yourself a favor and look at what a few schools on your potential college list want. You’ll be kicking yourself if you end up really liking a couple of colleges a year from now where your FL choice is making it hard to get in.
In fall of junior year, there is the PSAT, which is SAT-like and can qualify you for National Merit if your score is high enough.
@Tigerwife92 , I am planning to go into UX or UI design. When my schedule clears up in senior year, I plan to take a computer science course.
@gardenstategal , I haven’t considered that until now, I’ll look at my desired colleges and see what they want.
@ucbalumnus , I took the PSAT this year and got a 1240, however I was not in a good physical state when I took it. Recently (this Saturday) I took a SAT practice test online and got a 1350. I haven’t started studying for it yet (I probably should), so the test score isn’t my best effort.
@gardenstategal , thanks for bringing up the fact that some colleges require three language courses. One of the colleges I want to apply to requires three language courses.