Should I take AP Human Geo or AP Computer Science Principles my senior year? I want to go to Georgetown and major in International relations and Economics, minor in Arabic and French. Which would more sense for my major? Which looks more impressive?
Junior Year Course Load:
Honors Physics, AP Biology, AP Language and Composition, Honors Pre-Calculus, Government, Latin III
Projected Senior Year Course Loads: AP Econ, AP Literature and Comp, AB Calc, AP Latin, AP Computer Science or AP Human Geo, Art (this is a required class)
BTW, I’m proficient in Arabic, due to scholarship with the State Dept, and obviously, I want to work in diplomacy/intelligence. Which plays into my profile better?
Wait, why aren’t you taking French if you want to major in it? It’s excellent you’re proficient in Arabic, but starting a language you want to major in, ab initio, in college, is really very very hard. Can you take French 1 and 2 over the summer at a college or in an intensive language program? (Ole Miss or Penn Sate have those, where you cover the equivalent of High School French 1-2-3 in two months or so; Middlebury has a very intense program for high schoolers; Concordia Language village also does but it’s more fun.)
As for CS Principles vs. Human Geography, it won’t matter, both would be interesting.
I would actually let up a bit, as your schedule is too hard (unnecessarily so - in that you won’t gain any measurable advantage by putting you through such a schedule, but are likely to be miserable due to the workload). Based on your interests, I’d pick the Honors version of AP Lit or AP Calc.
I’m going to Morocco this summer on a State Dept scholarship to further hone my Arabic skills. French is also spoken in Morocco, so I’ll have exposure to that as well @MYOS1634. Also I’m gonna minor in French, not major.
Then, if you’re going to Morocco this summer, it’s all the more reason to try and take something where you can prepare a bit fo the French there, and to continue a bit later on so that you don’t forget everything. Not sure what to advise you though as for the “how”.
Can you think seriously about transforming one of you Ap’s into an Honors class?
Which doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t take one or they other, but that was not your question. Neither relates to your major, and no college admissions officer is going to analyze your schedule that closely. FWIW, APHG is considered to be one of the least rigorous AP’s and Georgetown, like many top private colleges, gives no credit for it.
I can’t speak for @MYOS1634, but to me the schedule as shown makes you look like you are an AP junkie. College admissions is not a case where whoever has the most AP’s wins. Additionally, you have failed to list your hidden first semester course - College Apps and Essays. Rising seniors always underestimate the time that this will take.
I assume you’re referring to NSLI-Y or something similar, which is quite an accomplishment. However, while you will certainly improve your Arabic skills over a summer, “proficient” is not a word I would use.
Oh, I know I won’t be getting hardly any sleep. That’s fine. I’ve pretty much breezed through HS (not to say I haven’t taken challenging courses and gotten good grades, I just want to push myself to the limit this year). So, @skieurope, neither looks better, and neither plays into my projected major? It seems kinda counter-intuitive that AP Human Geo wouldn’t be useful to an IR major. Also, I’ve already started outlining my college essays, so I have a jump start in the process.
Also, FWIW, I don’t think I am an AP junkie, I’m not taking those classes to impress admin officers. They just seemed like logical steps from junior to senior year. I want to continue on with latin and econ, and my school only offers those classes as AP classes. Also, AB Calc (or BC calc) is the next step for those who took honors pre-calc at my school, as is AP Literature is the next step up from AP Language. This really only gives me one slot where I get to choose the class I take, as I have to take art. @skieurope@MYOS1634
Sorry to keep adding things, yes, I am doing nsli-y this summer, but I already have experience in Arabic, and am already at a basic level. So, by the end of the program, they expect me to be Intermediate Advanced or Advanced Low, I think. @skieurope
AP human geo is a knockoff college board money-maker, it’s not going to help you with anything. It’s typically taken by freshmen just for the sake of taking an AP.
Just take an honors or regular class instead of human geo or comp sci. As you probably learned in econ, there will be a point where the cost of APs will outweigh the benefits. 4 APs is more than enough.
I’m not saying not to do it if your heart desires, especially if the only alternative is English IV H, but you don’t have to take AP Lit. If there are genre electives like Creative Writing, Modern Drama, etc., there is no reason why these wouldn’t be acceptable alternatives. Again, many schools do not give AP credit for both English courses.
Okay so definitely not taking AP human geo now thanks to @skieurope and @annana. But still on the fence on AP comp, isn’t it good to have a base in computer science, regardless of your major? And why is 4 more than enough AP classes? Like I said, I’m not trying to impress anyone or anything, which is why I took AB calc instead of BC. I honestly don’t know what else to take other than AP Comp Sci.
@NikkuWadde You said you’ve been breezing thru HS so far so you probably don’t know just how tolling sleep deprivation is. From what you said, I think you know how much homework you will be doing, but you think you can deal with a significant lack of sleep. I had the same attitude last year and I regret it now, I developed insomnia and I’m never not tired.
You might be able to manage the APs you’re doing right now if you take a blowoff class in your remaining spot, but it will still be around 3-4 hours a night. With AP comp sci, things will get really hectic. Besides, I’m pretty sure you need prior experience in comp sci to take the AP course.
You can still do it if you want, but don’t say I didn’t warn you…
Keep in mind this is AP Principles of Computer Science, not AP Comp A or B. @annana. And it’s not like I sleep anyways. I think my idea of “breeze” is strange. I stay up late doing assignments and such, but never spend time studying b/c I am super diligent in class, and with my hwk, so that is my studying. Maybe, it is just hindsight bias making my HS career up until this point seem “easy”
This is no CS B, nor has there ever been. CS AB was discontinued years ago.
It’s not that it’s not good, I just don’t see it tying in with anything you will ever do. I’m a STEM-major, and I do very little of my own programming.
The law of diminishing returns kicks in once you’ve taken 6-8 AP courses (or equivalent) over the span of your HS career. Meaning each additional course will not add anything more to your college application. That does not mean that you can’t take more if you want, but college AO’s are not going to be impressed that you decided to forgo sleep for another AP class.
None of us have access to your course catalog, so we can’t offer alternatives. Personally, unless you’ve exhausted the school’s offerings, I’d take a French class. Alternatively, if your school offers it, I’d take AP Comp Gov. Otherwise, just pick whatever courses interest you.
Okay, taking AP Gov would really be suicide if AP comp would be too much. AP gov at my school is known as an extremely difficult class. And regarding French, I can’t take an honors or AP French Class b/c I have never taken a French class, and I rather not have my GPA dragged down by unweighted classes. @skieurope
One unweighted class will not ‘drag down’ your GPA. Mathematically it simply can’t. It’s going to be 1/26-28th of your GPA. It doesn’t matter at this point. You could spend a bit of time with a French 1 book and ‘English grammar for students of french’, use stuff in Morocco, review when you return, and start in French2H if that were to worry you that much. But frankly, French 1 even unweighted will matter more than either AP.
