So I know that junior year is the craziest year and how significant it is to college so I want to make sure I do well. Next year I was recommended by my teachers to take:
AP Spanish
AP US
AP English Literature
AP Physics
AP Chemistry
Do you think this is too much to handle? I know Im willing to super work hard of course but do you think that this will be too rigorous? I’ve only ever taken one AP before (AP world history this year) which I ended with a 99 average but Ive heard that WHAP is like a joke compared to other APs. All opinions appreciated!!
I always like to think of whether I’m taking too much based on the QUALITY of the AP courses. I think taking the two AP sciences may be too much to handle! Those two are some of the most intense AP courses and I wouldn’t want you to have to use all of your time there rather than spreading it out! Also, if you are a native speaker for spanish, then you won’t be too bad. For APUSH, again, another content intensive course! Lots of information to memorize plus you have this second year new exam which makes it just that much more difficult to prepare for. AP Lit isn’t as intense as the three content rich APs you have. If I were you, I would just drop one of the sciences. At my school, for AP sciences, we have to come in for a zero period which was horrible and added so much more stress on your body.
Good luck! Really think about what you can handle and focus on the quality of your APs! f you have any questions let me know! I’ve taken APUSH (4) and AP Chem (5)! I’ll also be taking AP Spanish, AP Lit, AP US Gov, AP Stats, and AP Spanish senior year.
Also! If you do take AP Chem, make sure you are truly interested and almost passionate in chemistry! I would not recommend this class for anyone who does not love chemistry. The amount of work required and the range of information required a lot of self motivation and if you find it boring, good luck surviving lol!
'I’ve only ever taken one AP before (AP world history this year) which I ended with a 99 average but Ive heard that WHAP is like a joke compared to other APs. All opinions appreciated!! "
I’d advise you only take 2 AP classes next year and then take 4 your Senior year.
Your Jr year GPA is so important!
DONT take 2 AP sciences classes in the same year what ever you do!
It will kill both you and your GPA.
It’s a bit unorthodox to do the two science APs in the same year, so I’d drop one if I were you. Otherwise you should be fine; WHAP is a legit AP; I wouldn’t at all call it a joke.
^ I agree; the schedule looks OK, except for the 2 science courses. The lab reports alone would be over-the-top time consuming.
Thank you all for your responses! I took Honors Chemistry this year and honestly loved it and its the same teacher for the AP who is an amazing teacher. It was also my best average of my classes. As for lab reports, all of our labs are in school. For physics the class is 2 periods every day (one class, one lab period) and for chem i have class every day and then a lab period every other day, so I’m not really concerned about lab reports bc they’re taken care of in school and pretty easy.
Do you guys think its utterly impossible to do both APs? Science is my favorite class by far and my best average and the reason Im doubling is also because physics in mandatory for a junior year science and if I wait until senior year to take AP Chem I’ll probably forget a lot since I took honors chem this year you know? But if you guys seriously think its impossible I’ll definitely talk to my guidance counselor and figure it out
Yes, those two classes in particular are conceptually challenging and will probably have difficult exams and problem sets.
You won’t forget your honors chem if you wait another year.
you need to have the highest possible GPA your Jr year, so take only 1 science AP.
you wont be dinged in any way by colleges for moving the other to your Sr year.
I’d say maybe take a lighter AP than AP Biology as an elective like AP Psychology. We had a few students take 5 APs this year, and their fifth, elective AP was either AP Psych or AP Human Geography. Those two sciences at once will be hell.
I only took 2 APs (one of which was whap) in my sophomore and then took 5 APs in my junior year and my GPA wasn’t hurt at all. I also took two AP science classes during that year (Chem and Physics B) and did very well on both exams, so it’s completely possible for you to succeed and have your GPA benefit from the more difficult classes. I also know quite a few other people at my school who had similar schedules and they were fine as well.
Also, it sounds like you really enjoy/are interested in science, so I think taking those two classes would be really worth it (especially AP chem, probably my favorite AP class). If you did so well in WHAP, you probably won’t have much trouble with Lit or APUSH, so you’d be able to focus more energy on your more difficult classes. So yeah, it really boils down to how well/fast you grasp scientific concepts, as well as your work ethic; if you feel confident in your abilities, I would say go for it. It’s entirely possible to conquer two AP sciences in one year. Though, maybe you could do AP Bio and AP physics this year instead, since AP bio is still challenging yet WAY easier to understand than chem in my opinion.
For reference, I took Physics B, Chem, Calc AB, APUSH, and Lang my junior year and got a 5 on all except for a 4 on physics, which was more due to a poor teacher than anything else.