I am already taking a pretty rigorous schedule for senior year (3 -4 APs as is) and I am trying to decide between AP Lit and Honors English 12. I have an A in AP Lang and would be open to taking Lit, but from what I have heard, Lit is supposed to be substantially harder and very few people come away with an A. I am also trying to keep my 4.0 but I am more concerned about the course load being too heavy than getting an A- in the class.
I am planning to study Economics or something similar. In terms of college admissions for Top 20 schools, what English class would you all recommend I take?
Basically, my question is if not taking lit will hurt me in the college admissions process…
I disagree in a general sense. Having a rigorous schedule does not mean having to take every AP available or taking all APs. There are valid reasons for T20 schools for not taking AP Lit if one has taken AP Lang, mainly that few will give credit for both AP Lang and AP Lit.
For the OP, though, I’m more concerned about the sentence “I am also trying to keep my 4.0” as that seems a cop-out that will not be viewed positively. If you’re lucky to get into a T20 college, get ready to kiss your 4.0 goodbye.
But really, it will all be in context. If your other APs are sufficiently rigorous, and your GC marks your schedule as “most demanding” (verify with your GC), it’s unlikely to impact your application unless your recs or essays make the AO wonder if there are other areas in which you are not challenging yourself.
I would, though, be more inclined to say it’s OK to forgo AP Lit is the options were interesting electives like Modern Women Writers instead of Honors English 12
I would love to take an elective such as the one you mentioned but unfortunately, my school offers no such choices… And although I do want to take challenging courses, I do not see much point in taking an intensive literature course that doesn’t pique my interests as much as other areas, when my time could be better designated elsewhere (EC’s, college apps, classes like Calc. etc.). Thank you for your feedback!
At my school they have AP lang 11th grade, and AP lit senior year. There is basically no reason for me to take ap lit so I’m stuck taking standard 12th grade english because we don’t have honors english 12. If I was you, I’d take honors.