Next year, I’ll be a Junior. I originally considered taking AP Psych, AP French, and AP Lang or APUSH, but I’ve read several discussions that say that you should take more rigorous courses Junior year. So, I was thinking of taking AP Psych my Senior year and AP French, AP Lang, and APUSH next year. So, should I take these and swap out AP Psych or take AP Psych and swap out one the ones I just mentioned? (not AP French)
Taking AP Psych Senior year sounds like a good idea. It sounds like you’ll already have a lot on your plate with two reading-intensive classes, and AP languages are also a lot of work.
Colleges look at ALL the classes you have taken/ are taking when your send in your application- NOT when you have taken them. So If taking 3 AP classes your Jr year will jeopardize your GPA, then push one off until your Sr year. What is MOST important your Jr yr is to get the BEST grades you possibly can in progressively more difficult classes.
If you have not taken AP classes before, then taking 2 AP classes- APUSH AND AP LANG or French is plenty rigorous.
As @menloparkmom says, take what you can handle. If you can handle it, I would take:
• AP French - next in the sequence
• AP Lang - The most valuable HS course IMO. It’s very writing intensive, but writing is a valuable life skill. Additionally, it will be invaluable when writing essays for college apps.
• APUSH - you can drop to Honors USH if more than 2 AP’s is too much, but I would not push off to senipr year if this is traditionally an 11th grade class at your school.
AP Psych can be pushed off.
@menloparkmom I’m currently taking AP World History, a course that’s equivalent to honors, and an accelerated course, so I’ll at least have some experience. I also go to a college prep school, so… By the way, I choosing these courses because I’m interested in them, not so much for APUSH though. I wanted to maybe take that one to show colleges that I’m challenging myself more.
P.S. My school doesn’t offer Honors courses, but believe me, if I had the chance to them, I definitely would.