Hey guys,
I’m a sophomore entering junior year and I am in need of some advice for how I should handle junior year. I’ll post my course list, but before I do, I want to state why I chose the most demanding course list possible at my school. I’m not doing this because my parents willed me into doing it, nor did I do it seeking some sort of validation from others. I chose these courses for one of two reasons: A. I genuinely like/have and appreciation for the subject or B. I’m confident in my ability to handle the class. This being clear, here are my courses:
AP CS (ended with a 102 percent in reg cs last year)
AP English (i really like writing, not sure why)
AP Calc BC (i’m doing this over the summer)
AP US History (hardest course at school)
Spanish 3H (batsh*t crazy teacher, A students end up with 40%'s in this class)
Physics Honors (my favorite subject of them all, i finished physics 1 and 2 at home a couple years ago)
And for my clubs/other activities:
Policy debate (actually focusing on accomplishing something here)
Taekwondo (planning on leaving this)
Astronomy (well i kinda have a club to run. low maintenance though. also i like astrophysics)
Violin (only on free time)
My goal is to at least level this next report card out with at least A-'s. My school isn’t one that hands out AP courses to every student who wants them so keep in mind I did put in work toward fulfilling this course list.I would also prefer if answers with advice steer clear of suggesting I drop a class or two as I am hellbent on going through with this.
Thanks for helping me out here in advance. Bonus points for organizational-related advice.
Our schedules look pretty similar for next year! Well, different courses, but 4 APs, club to run, debate, music… although, you’re lucky that your school offers so many APs - I have to self study almost everything. Point is, nothing wrong with your schedule.
Aside from the usual “don’t procrastinate” that you probably know already, here are some things for the AP courses:
Compsci: easy if you practice programming - shouldn’t take that much time. Barron’s is nice, and codingbat.com is a great site.
English: Lit or Lang? Either way, it’s great that you like writing; now read as much as possible, and for Lit, briefly analyze classics in your head while reading.
Calc: taking next year too.
USH: I self-studied Euro, but some things that might help are to do lots of practice tests (Google will come up with a ton!) and to get those essay rubrics etched inside your brain (especially the DBQ!)
One random thing: if you think it might help you, do your work outside of your house! Go to a library, cafe, park, someplace where you sort of have to work to keep up an image, unlike at home where (you feel like) no one will judge you if you slack all day.
Thanks for your help! I’ve heard that the US History class at our school focuses on writing a lot more than you would expect, and I’m thinking of ways to refine my writing. Do you have any suggestions for how I can practice this at home?
Also, I totally agree with your last point. There’s this coffee shop across from my school that I plan on finishing hw at. There’s also a nearby park where I study/write at so yeah definitely makes sense.
That’s good news! I suppose you could find old prompts and ask your teacher to look over them? Again, the rubrics are basically free points for structuring your essay a certain way. Also, improve based on your English/etc teachers’ advice! Honestly if you hit the rubric points and manage to write as well as you did in the above posts while inserting some facts, you’ll have no problem with the exam.
Yeah! I love the coffee shop environment 
Awesome, thanks again for helping me out!