<p>I'm thinking about taking all four of these APs next year in my junior year. We have to sign up for classes soon, so any advice would be greatly appreciated! I'm pretty much sure about Calc and Physics BC because they're required for the advanced math/science pathway at my school. How hard would these two APs be plus APUSH? Is it too much work on a daily basis? I'm not TOO sure about APUSH yet... AP Psych is an elective, so it should be easy..</p>
<p>APUSH is pretty hard, but not impossible. Calc BC and Phys C are a formidable duo, and should give you plenty to worry about as it is.</p>
<p>BC in both Calc and Physics are very rigorous courses in their own right. If you haven’t yet, especially since you are a junior, I would take Calc AB and AP Chem instead of Physics, unless maths are your fortes, because as a Junior I seriously doubt that you have the highly advanced calculus skills needed for Physics C. Physics is very, very, very math-dependent, and Chem is looked upon just as favorably as it, provided you can take that instead.</p>
<p>Psych is widely known to be a “soft” AP, so you might be better served by taking an AP Language or Econ or Gov, which would differentiate you more.</p>
<p>APUSH can be hard or easy, depending on the teacher. Mine wasn’t too terrible, and I got a five. However, I do know kids who got B’s and C’s in the class, which is generally a rare sight in AP courses, but it does happen, and if history’s not your thing, I’d suggest you take World History in its place if you can because that tends to focus more on logic and less on concrete facts.</p>
<p>bpsbgs: AP Chem at my school is a senior class and its REALLY hard… one of the hardest APs at my school if not the hardest b/c of the teacher. Econ and US Gov are senior classes too (I dont want to take comparative gov b/c that’s like a pushover), and I’m not taking AP Lang junior year b/c then I’ll be forced to take AP Lit senior year, so I’ll just take Lang senior year.</p>
<p>I mean, I’m already signed up for these 4 AP classes next year (just signed up for APUSH and AP Psych) so I’m 99% sure I’m going to be taking them next year, unless I go through a major epiphany or something. But I just have second thoughts sometimes, you know, like what if the workload will be too much and I won’t be able to keep up with all of it? Especially AP Physics and Calc. I mean, APUSH is just a lot of work, but it’s not necessarily CHALLENGING like Physics and Calc… just memorization and a ton of busywork…</p>
<p>APUSH is indeed a hard class. Pretty much rote memorization.</p>
<p>Calc BC is hard but it’s manageable. As long as you do the problems and study, it’ll be little sweat.</p>
<p>I’m surprised Chem is harder than Physics. At my school (and I assumed everywhere) Physics is harder than Chem by a mile.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s that the course itself (chemistry) is harder than Physics, I just think it’s considered hard because of the teacher. Otherwise, Physics BC itself is one of the hardest (if not the hardest) HS science course.</p>
<p>Ok, upsidedown, 4 AP’s is not that big of a deal in most schools. At mine, I was among several people who took 7 AP’s both junior and senior years (ie 14+ total). Thus, I was going off the assumption that 4 AP’s is not a terribly daunting task. Secondly, colleges really like to see the AP Lang –> Lit progression, they feel it is important in making sure you’re able to handle college-level writing without remedial courses, so I would still urge you to take that course.</p>
<p>Neither APUSH nor Psych are inherently difficult courses; however, with that said, this lack of difficulty is well-known. Both are considered standard level courses, but having them will not serve as a significant boon to your application. Still, I would drop Psych, at the minimum, and take Lang, if I were in your situation. </p>
<p>Also, Comp. Gov is not looked at as a pushover course by the world at large, and i know several brilliant kids who have failed it their senior year. Thus, even though in actuality at your school it is easy, the overall view of the course is what matters more. Most colleges are not going to be familiar enough with your school to know which courses are harder than others on a teacher-by-teacher basis, so I feel that you are doing yourself a major disservice by ignoring those courses as a pushover, when it will serve as an easy and well-respected A.</p>
<p>Whoa whoa whoa, I think that varies widely. 7 APs in one year? How many classes do you have a day? Or are you on block scheduling? My school only has eight classes, so it’s pretty hard to do that. I’ve never heard of anyone at my school taking more than four AP classes as a junior. Most people only take APUSH and AP Lang (I took those plus Calc BC). </p>
<p>Although I guess most schools don’t have mandatory gym class, right? Such a waste of time. But even if you skip lunch, it’s pretty impossible to do that at my school. All the AP science classes except AP Enviromental are two periods long, and you have to take a regular/honors course in bio, chem, and phys before choosing an AP version in your senior year.</p>
<p>As for my advice, I’d stick with Psych. The other three are some of the hardest AP classes, so give yourself a bit of a break! Personally, I didn’t find the APUSH test too hard, but my class gave a ridiculous amount of homework. I HATE study guides, so I ended up getting a C in that class and a 4 on the AP exam.</p>