AP Computer Science Principles or AP USH?

Hi, I can’t decide between computer science or AP us history for my junior year. I am most likely not going to major in computer science but I have always wanted to try it. If I take computer science then I will take regular us history, but if I choose not to, then I will take AP USH. any Advice?

Check with students who have taken APCSP at your school. Homework-wise, it should be possible to take it and APUSH at the same time. Also ask your guidance counselor.

ok I will do that. Thanks

My answer is going to depend on what other classes (and their levels) you are thinking of taking. Without knowing anything else I recommend APUSH. Perhaps you can take both though. But APCSP can not substitute for another math class.

The workload of each of those classes is going to be different for each school. You should talk to students who have taken the classes, the teachers, and the guidance counselor to get school-specific information.

I agree with @Mwfan1921 that it would depend on your other classes. Obviously APUSH is good for history/social studies credits, whereas AP CSP is a math elective (in our school it won’t count towards graduation requirements in math).

Would your high school allow you to drop down a level in history if you find yourself overwhelmed? If so, you can try taking both classes.

DD’s AP CSP class is a lot of work. Three kids dropped it before first semester ended. However, the teacher has been great about giving assignments several days to a week in advance. Depending on the complexity of the assignment, she’ll spend 10-15+ hours programming a game or assignment, so time management skills are a must. APUSH is two hours of homework (reading and taking notes) a night in DD’s school. Your mileage may vary.

My daughter had CSP sophomore year. She used the class much of the time to do other homework. The teacher did Candy Crush on his phone. I think it’s an easier class depending on your math knowledge. She got a 5 on the AP exam. History is a graduation requirement. APUSH is an option. She is a junior so she does have more homework in that class but I don’t think its close to 2 hours a night. As someone as pointed it may depend on your other classes. In her case her other classes are harder this year as a junior.

ap csp is a joke. I would suggest doing ap cs if you already know how to work a computer and research on your own.

AP CSP is NOT a joke, only someone with a very narrow epistemological view of the field would say that. It’s an excellent overview of the field work so if course it does not go in depth into any particular aspect but it does cover all the major areas of the field and helps in introducing all key introductory ideas.

Can you take AP US history one year and AP CS principles the next year? (or vice-versa)

Hi sorry i am replying late thanks for the advice.
Here is my current plan for junior year schedule:

US History
AP Comp Sci principle
IB Chem
AP LA
IB Spanish 4
Adv Precalc
Team sports 1 sem/free 1 sem

I can still decide if I want to do AP US history but if I did, I think that 5 AP/IB class would be too much, so I would skip comp sci like I had said and fill the spot with an unweighted elective. I could take it senior year, but my schedule will be pretty full there also and I don’t want to overload myself and risk my GPA/college apps for that.
With that said, if I did end up considering a computer science major, would it be an issue to have not taken it in HS?i want to try and keep my options open.

Your schedule is fine as long as you can take AP/IB social science senior year.

ok thank you, I plan on doing IB/AP economics senior year.

If you are considering a CS major, i would try to take a CS class in HS to see if you like it.

APUSH is a demanding class but is also very rewarding. If you do well on it, some colleges (like mine for one) will give you double the credits since it spans both early and modern American history. I’d say based on your current schedule you could fit it in so long as you’re able to do the reading since there is a decent amount