I’m going to be a senior in high school next month. Currently I am signed up for 5 AP classes. The ones I am signed up to take are AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP English Lit, AP US Gov, and AP Calculus AB. I don’t know if this is a bad idea or not. I have held myself to a high standard academically, with a GPA of 3.95 and I have been challenging myself with Honors and AP classes since freshman year, but I don’t know if this volume of AP classes is a bad idea. Have you taken any of these classes? Are there any lighter courses you might recommend I switch some of these out for? (I’ve already taken APES, Stats, Physics 1, APUSH, and Lang) Should I keep my schedule as is?
Taking both Bio and Chem might be suicide. Apart from that the other classes are pretty standard for seniors.
It is a bad idea to take two AP Sciences at once. I would drop either AP Bio or Chem. You are not expected to take both of those.
Have you taken Bio, Chem and Physics?
I would counsel against too many APs Senior year, and this is why.
In the fall, you are in college application season. You may be taking the SAT again. You may want to visit some more colleges. You have to write college- specific essays (hopefully you already wrote your common app essay over the summer.). You have to fill out your Common App and get recommendations.
Also you may be in marching band or Sports or be a leader of a club. College Apps is like another timesucking EC on top of that.
Then in the spring, you may have senioritis. You are been accepted to college and are looking toward the finish line. You have to study for the AP tests…it will be difficult to study for too many at once.
Stanford U says:
“We expect applicants to pursue a reasonably challenging curriculum, choosing courses from among the most demanding courses available at your school. We ask you to exercise good judgment and to consult with your counselor, teachers and parents as you construct a curriculum that is right for you. Our hope is that your curriculum will inspire you to develop your intellectual passions, not suffer from unnecessary stress. The students who thrive at Stanford are those who are genuinely excited about learning, not necessarily those who take every single AP or IB, Honors or Accelerated class just because it has that designation.”
I did Honors Bio my freshman year, so I have some experience with the curriculum, but I haven’t seen it in a while. However, I do have a few friends who took AP Bio as an introductory biology course, and they did fine with it. I took Honors Chem junior year and did surprisingly well, managing to get 92% or higher on every test, but I still don’t know if I’m prepared for AP Chem. It hasn’t carried at my school for a few years, so I really have no idea what to expect. I took AP Physics 1 last year as an introductory physics course, and it was the single worst decision of my life, but at least I got the physics credit out of the way. I know at this point that I will definitely have to stay in AP Calc, because I already took stats. I will also stay in AP Gov because I need the credit to graduate. I will take either bio or chem, maybe not both. The only class I am seriously considering dropping is AP Lit because the summer work has already been an extreme challenge for me (English isn’t my strong suit), and I will get the 12 grade Language Arts credit from Chinese Level IV.
Drop chem or bio. And take some form of english, even if it is standard english iv. I’d say stick with AP Lit though
Unless you are a science whiz, I would drop one of the AP chem or bio.
What are you planning to major in? I took 9 APs mainly because they taught me the analysis skills I would need as a civil rights lawyer (Gov, Seminar, Research, APUSH, Lit, Lang, Stats) and the rest were filler classes that were somewhat easy so I wouldn’t have to do them in college (Psych and Bio). I would recommend taking the APs that are related to your major, and only keeping the others if you can handle the workload AND you want AP credit to get out of doing them in college.
You don’t necessarily have to take the AP tests in May 2019, but you would lose any potential college credits, if you don’t.
Also, you already took APUSH, so why not downgrade to an honors or “regular” history course senior year, instead of APUSG? All those college apps and essays this semester take a lot of time and consideration and senioritis is probable at least to some degree. Now, if you’re wailisted, then you’ll be pushing hard academically thru graduation.
I’d definitely drop one of the AP sciences. Eight AP’s is a good total #. Nine or 10, likely won’t make a difference.
Drop one AP science.
Perhaps take honors English 12?
What’s the possible major? What sorts of target colleges? These points matter.
I agree two AP science could be tough, don’t forget labs. But my concern is AP lit. Many kids find it tough and you say it’s not your strength. Depending on the college tier, you may be able to change this one.
We have a pretty interesting discussion going over on the Parents Forum, and it is very informative to see the different work loads among the various AP classes at different schools. Having said that, have you talked to the teachers and those who have graduated or taken those classes to find out precisely what the homework load is and what it entails?
Do you have a study period? It is perfectly reasonable to take just one science class and still get the box checked saying you are taking the most rigorous coursework available. And yes, the college application process is time consuming. Just things to consider.