As a rising junior having already completed & enjoyed 3 years of Latin which leads me to the question of taking the 4th year or not. I will probably have a class size around 5-6 for AP Latin if I choose to take it. However, the teacher is new and no students have taken the AP Latin course at my school so I had 2 questions:
(1) How is AP Latin as a course? Course difficulty? (Our teacher made the Honors Latin 3 course classics based: Vergil, Catullus…, so I assume that will be helpful)
(2) Most students I know take other languages so is having a language like this a differentiation from other students?
I’d say honestly self-study is a good way to furnish you a perfect ending for 4 years of Latin learning. You mentioned that the Honors Latin 3 course classics were classics based (which is really good, because the year I took Latin 3 our teacher just forced us to memorize everything that was on Wheelock), you’ve already immersed in the literary context of AP Latin ahead of time. With the help of prep boobs (a Virgil workbook, etc.) and other practices on sight reading passages, you’ll get a 5. Also take other languages is quite a good idea, and I’d suggest German because of their same etymological roots (I myself took both AP German & Latin last year).
Also, ask your teacher if he/she could help when you get stuck on the special poetical language of Virgil.
^^^I disagree. From everything that I have researched and heard, you should not self-study a course if that same course is offered at your school. A lot of people mistakenly believe that self-studying a bunch of AP classes is impressive, but it’s not. It’s better to take the most rigorous courses your school offers (this may or may not include APs) and then spend the rest of your time developing meaningful extracurriculars.
I took AP Latin last year as a Junior and I loved it! It’s good that you read Vergil in Latin III, because AP Latin: Vergil is based on The Aeneid (by Vergil) and Caesar’s De Bello Gallico. I didn’t think that the course was very difficult, but I also had a great teacher. I would advise you to take the course! Even if the teacher is a little new, you’ve had three years of Latin and should have enough tools to do well in the class. As far as your second question, I don’t know if Latin sets you apart from others-- I wouldn’t think so but I could be wrong!
If you have any other questions about AP Latin I’d be happy to answer them, Good luck!