Hi! I’m currently a sophomore in high school and I need some advice about how many AP and CC classes I should take junior and senior year. I want to take 3 APs and 2 CCs next year (which is as many as I can take), but I feel like I might get really overwhelmed. I am a good student, but still I think this might be a lot. They are all classes that I really want to take and am passionate about (CC American Lit, APUSH, AB Calculus, CC Spanish IV, AP Bio, and a regular Theology class). I’m a little worried about burning out, but I also want to go to a really good college like Notre Dame or Washington University, and I feel like in order to get in I need to take at least this many AP/CC classes. What do you think?
I took a pretty similar schedule my jr year, although I had all AP and I’m not sure what CC is. However, I ended up getting all A’s, the key will be time management more than anything. It may sound boring, but really if you can get the motivation to actually study consistently you will do as well as you can. I am not in the mid-west, so I don’t know a ton about those schools, but hopefully it all works out for you.
Based on what we knew from forums and posts, It’s hard to say how many AP’s are needed for an admission in to good colleges. seems many students are having at least 7 plus AP’s. My D in her current junior year taking all AP Classes( AP Chem/Literature/US Hist/Environ/Cal AB) except Spanish. In her senior year all classes are going to be AP. In her Sophomore, she had Ap Computer science and AP world Hist. had AP Geography in fresh man year. She will end up taking total 14 AP classes. It was not planned, but that’s how her sequence was set by school for advanced students.
As a parent I feel sorry to see how much time she has to spend( go to bed daily around 1 -2 am) on projects/tests/quizzes while balancing other activities involved. LOT of hard work that goes in with more AP’s.
Top universities like Notre Dameor WashU don’t expect more the 6-8 APs total. If you got A’s in important AP’s, extra AP’s aren’t going to change their perception that you can do the work. Same thing for CC classes, which in addition should be chosen carefully (either core classes or classes you couldn’t take in HS.)
Are the CC classes yearlong college classes taught in HS? Or are they regular, semester-long college classes taught on a college campus with college students, meaning you’d take Spanish IV one semester and American lit another semester?
My advice would be for you to take APUSH, Calc AB, AP Bio, and one college class per semester, nothing more than that is needed or expected.
Also, at your age, you need to schedule 8-9hours of sleep a night or you risk damaging your brain. You also need to have EC’s and keep downtime/socializing time, because colleges don’t want “AP robots”, they want smart, healthy kids who have balanced schedules.
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For CC American literature, what would your other English course options be?
For AP US history, what would your other history or social studies course options be?
For calculus, are you in precalculus now? If so, then calculus would be the obvious next course.
For CC Spanish IV, are you in the previous level (CC Spanish III or equivalent)? If so, then CC Spanish IV or equivalent would be the obvious next step.
For AP biology, what sciences have you taken already? It may be better to get all three of biology, chemistry, and physics before taking one at an advanced level.
Please, look into that schedule.
Your child should not be taking APES if they’re taking AP Chem. 4 APs a year is plenty. Same thing for senior year, no need for her to take more than 4 APs and 1 honors class.
If she goes to bed at 1 or 2, it’s a HUGE problem for her health. It also means her schedule is not well-balanced and if she’s doing it for college, it may be meaningless since after 8 AP’s the law of diminishing returns applies. With AP Lit, AP Chem, APUSH, AP World, AP Calc, all she needs to have a “perfect record” is AP Spanish and/or AP Physics 1 (or AP Physics C AFTER she took Honors Physics) + anything of her choice. That’s it. There’s nothing else, nothing more even Harvard or MIT or Stanford or Pomona or Wellesley would want - and even if she didn’t have that, it wouldn’t exclude her from consideration.
As Stanford put it “It’s not a game of who has the most Ap’s, wins”.
14 is way overkill 
Please look at her current schedule and especially at next year’s schedule to see what can be cut and ensure she can get 7-8h of sleep a night as a junior/senior.
(AP Calc BC, AP Spanish, AP Physics 1, and one more AP would be plenty for senior year).
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Totally agreed with you, same was my concern too as a parent. But, seems kids are concerned with GPA, with more AP’s weighted GPA will be higher(0.5 bump for AP classes). The same will have an impact while giving a class ranking. So far she had all A’s and 5’s in her AP exams.
AP needs to be tied to the major you are applying.
If you plan to study Liberal Arts in college, take more AP social science (Psychology, Macro/Micro Economics, History…) classes. If you plan to be study engineering, make sure you have AP Physics 1, 2 and C, Calculus BC. Calculus AB won’t look good for engineering.
Contrary to popular belief around here, the minimum high school prerequisites for engineering at most colleges are precalculus in math, and high school chemistry and physics.
Of course, an engineering-intending high school student who has the opportunity to take calculus and/or AP level physics or chemistry should do so, but that is a lot different from saying that taking “only” calculus AB looks bad for prospective engineering majors.
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Calculus AB is only algebra extension. The knowledge of vector differentiation in Calculus BC is required for engineering.
“Won’t look good” doesn’t mean “bad”. It just means if college have most engineering applicants with Calculus BC will get much better edge getting their choice of major.
“Minimum requirements” of precalculus won’t even cut it. Many good engineering colleges (even public ones) already assume students know kinematics based vector differentiation and won’t cover them in their Calculus I/II classes. The next engineering differential equation will be too tough for those without the foundation of Calculus BC.
Not sure if you are in a state like Texas where weighted GPA is so critical because of top 10% auto admit to state flagship. Assuming that’s NOT the case, then the next question is whether your guidance counselor can check the box that you’ve taken the most rigorous schedule. But even that isn’t as important as being able to get enough sleep, do well in your classes and have time to do ECs that will showcase who you are.
I read your question as that you really WANT to take these classes, but you’re concerned if you can handle all the work. I think that depends on how the individual teachers at your HS teach the class. I know I’ve read from a lot of posters over the years that APUSH is a ton of reading, but at my D’s HS there was very little homework. So my advice, ask at your school just how much work is involved for each of these classes.
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Focus on the original poster please and ask questions for clarification if needed. But don’t assume facts not in evidence. I see nothing about engineering so the comments about whether BC is needed (it’s not) derails the thread. So is asking about your own schedule or your kid’s schedule if not the OP.
I suggest talking to your teachers, guidance counselor, and parents, who better understand your school history, abilities, work ethic, etc., etc., better than anyone here.
Can students take that course load? Certainly. My D is a Junior with 4 APs (Chem, Calc BC, English Lit, USH) and a CC course. Some would say “that’s too many”, but she doing fine. Her only course with below a 97 is Band.
Can student be overwhelmed by that course load? Certainly. My older D had 3 AP courses as a Junior 5 years ago and dropped one 10 days in due to the workload.
No one here can tell which bucket pertains to you. Take a rigorous course load that you can manage, taking courses that interest you. Don’t worry about specific counts that other people claim are required. They’re usually wrong.
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Hi! You are absolutely right that a good course load is necessary for admission into a good college. However, remember that it is not the only thing. You want to remain a balanced individual by volunteering, participating in extra-curriculars, and by staying on top of standardized testing. Burnout should not be a problem if you manage your time well. I personally took 1 AP freshman year, 2 APs my sophomore, 4 my junior, and am currently taking 6 as a senior. While doing this I have managed to be an athlete, dancer, guitarist, activist and volunteer. Furthermore I was a part of a course called Independent study and mentorship my junior and senior year where I got to do independent studies and conduct my own research while working with actual professionals. I was able to manage all of this without really burning out. I think that if you have faith in yourself, you should be able to manage just fine! Good luck!
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Hi, My daughter is currently a sophomore in high school . She wants to pursue medical field. Her school offers AP classes in 11th and 12th. She is planning to take 3 AP classes, Honors Precalc, spanish4 in junior year. She is considering AP Bio , AP chem &another AP class in junior year. Is it ok to take AP Bio and AP chem in same year? will that be too much work load?
Please advice what all AP’s she should take in junior year considering her intending to go to medical field?
All good advice and conversation. I’d add that a lot of this depends on your specific high school and community college. What AP classes are offered, who teaches them, is the teacher good, how well do students score on the exam? Kids avoid some APs at our school because the teachers aren’t strong, or are too tough. Same with the community college classes. Are they virtual, do you have to travel, is it taught in your HS? Our CC classes are generally much easier than the AP equivalent if offered and kids get college credit without worrying about the AP exam. Ask the older kids/families at your school for the best advice, or ask the AP teachers for test score statistics from past years. Lastly, it really depends on the student. Don’t try to keep up with the others if they aren’t capable.
Hi! I am a current senior looking to go into the medical field. I can tell you that it is definitely possible to take 2 AP sciences together. I personally took both AP bio and AP Physics my junior year along with other AP Courses and am currently taking AP Chem as a senior. I can tell you that many students struggle with AP Chem and AP Physics because there is a very heavy emphasis on understanding the concepts and applying it to various math based problems. AP Bio will be challenging if she struggles with memorization and application. That being said, extra time put into the course work and proper time management will be essential! As for specifically what aspiring med students should take - I would recommend taking all the AP Science Courses as that shows well rounded exposure to the field.
While course load is important, make sure she participates in medical related activities such as volunteering, shadowing, research, etc. if she wants to go into the medical field. And more important, it is important that all of the activities are concentrated throughout the course of high school and not just in 1 summer.
Good luck!