Hello all! As a senior, I was planning to choose the following classes:
AP Gov
AP Eng Lit
AP Spanish IV
AP Psych
AP Bio
AP Calc AB
I’m not sure if the workload is doable - I’m doing okay this year taking 3 APs & Pre-Calc Honors, but I have definitely broken down more than once. (However, the breakdowns don’t necessarily affect the quality of my work, I just don’t know that it’s entirely healthy to keep having them.) Or rather, I know I can do it, I just don’t know how hard the curriculum will be.
How hard are the AP tests for each respective class?
The Calc teacher is one I know, and he’s taught the hardest (in terms of most challenging) math class I’ve been in - consequently, I know his teaching style, but I’m still intimidated by him. However, I’m prepared to work as hard as possible to succeed in his (and all the other classes).
I’m studying to be a biomedical engineer (genetic engineer specifically), and I decided not to double science because the Physics class at our school isn’t very good (I’m probably taking it over summer at the nearby CC). I tend to do better at the humanities, but I am extremely willing to work hard to cover my deficits with math/sciences.
As a current senior, I can tell you that 6 APs might be a little difficult. I’m in 5 right now: Lit, French, Psych, Physics, and BC Calc. AB Calc will not be too difficult for you, especially if you did honors pre-cal. Psych is also not a difficult course. However, I know from my friends who are in bio that it is a LOT of information, so it can be a lot to take on with those other classes. My friends who took Spanish last year were stressed by the workload too. Lit isn’t too bad, but my school may teach it differently from yours.
Another factor to consider is senioritis. No matter how dedicated you are and no matter if you swear you won’t be affected by it, you will. It’s only January and I can already feel the lack of caring building up, even though I’ve always been a hard worker. Once the college decisions roll in and you’ve committed to a school, your motivation will plummet. 6 APs is a lot of work for someone whose will to study 24/7 is decreasing rapidly.
Just for reference, my 5 APs are enough to do me in right now, even though my French class is ridiculously easy and Psych isn’t too challenging. Your mental health is more important than your resume, and I cannot stress that enough. Unless you’re absolutely dead set on taking all of these classes, scaling it back and taking just 5 might be enough. Colleges will still see a challenging course load and will still see that you are challenging yourself even more than you were junior year, but you get to take some of the pressure off of yourself.
In short, I can’t judge your motivation level as the year goes on or how disciplined you are as a student because I don’t know you, but take it from someone who’s been there. 5 APs are plenty challenging and if you can reduce stress and make the last few months of senior year easier for yourself, I would recommend lowering the number of courses.
Thank you for your response!
Hm. My motivation can vacillate, but normally I’m pretty on top of things, especially if I gauge early on that a class is difficult. To be honest, this year I haven’t been so great at that in AP Eng + APUSH because both teachers are relatively easy.
Part of the reason I want to take 6 APs is not knowing what other elective to take (admittedly, a bad reason, but one I have nonetheless) - I was interested in Leadership, which I’m currently in, but the position I want would take up A LOT more time than the one I have right now. Our school has too many electives I’m interested in, including AP Psych.
However, I am also a really competitive person, and as much as I know that being valedictorian will not matter a lick once I’m at a college, I know that if I can excel at all the APs I’d be a guaranteed in - right now, I’m still tied with a few other students in my class.
You’re right that mental health is definitely important; it’s something I’m trying to keep in mind as well.
It honestly depends on the school and teachers. there have been times my ap class was much easier than my regular classes and I still did well on the course and ap test. Some classes the difficulty between regular and AP is negligible so people just take the AP anyways
In my experience, gov is easy if the teacher is easy. It’s hard if you have a tough teacher. The exam is really easy.
Lit is easy if you like reading and writing and actually do the reading. It’s hard if you try to SparkNotes your way through.
I don’t know about Spanish but I’ve heard it’s difficult.
Bio is pretty hard and very time-consuming, but has an easy exam if you are sufficiently prepared.
Calc is kinda hard, but not any harder than Pre-Calc.
I honestly think colleges won’t be counting up your APs, so they will prefer to see a couple of hard APs that you’re genuinely interested in. I would strongly suggest you stick with Bio, Calc, Spanish, and Lit. Drop gov and psych. If you’re worried about the difficulty of Calc and Spanish, then switch Bio for APES if available.
In fact, colleges dislike the “everything but the kitchensink” approach to APs.
You have to be selective and build a logical curriculum.
Taking 6 Aps guarantees nothing except too short nights.
It may have only 5% acceptance, but Stanford is very clear: “it’s not a game of who has the most APs wins”.
Let’s use your schedule as a practical example:
AP Gov
AP Eng Lit => very time consuming. Great if you love reading, not great if you don’t. COnsider carefully.
AP Spanish IV => will definitely help you, first because it shows rigor (considered equivalent to calculus, in terms of difficulty) and also because there are foreign language college requirements that you typically get out of with an AP score or at least you only have to take one semester
AP Psych =>do not take for college admissions, as it’s considered an “AP Lite” and has the same value for admissions as any elective would considering the rest of your schedule. If there’s a fun elective that doesn’t require much homework it may be a good choice because you’re going to have a lot of work already.
AP Bio
AP Calc AB
===>these two will help you when you start college. Depending on the college you start at, taking Calc1 and General Bio1, rather than skipping, is probably a good idea.
I’d thus keep AP Gov, AP Spanish, AP Bio, AP Calc; I’d reconsider AP Lit. I’d take another elective than AP Psych.
Thank you to everyone who helped! I do love reading, and one of the books in AP Lit is Pride and Prejudice - one of my top five favorite books since my eighth grade class covered it.
Since I am aiming to be a biomedical engineer, I’m taking Intro to Computer Science instead of AP Psych next year. Although the class is compelling, I realized that it’s not necessarily something I want to pursue career-wise, and I could probably take it over the summer at our local community college if I so desired.
(Calc and Bio are probably the classes I’m looking forward to the most, actually.)
My son went from taking 3 AP classes his junior year to 5 his senior year, and while he’s still getting As in most of them, he did get his first B in AP Physics. Also be aware that senior year also adds on the additional stress and time constraints of college applications, testing, essays, visits etc. Think about all of these things before making any decisions.
Hi! Here’s a short breakdown:
AP Gov: Really easy class as long as you read the textbook & become BFFs with the Constitution.
AP Eng Lit: As another poster stated, very reading-intensive and time consuming.
AP Spanish IV: Shows dedication and effort. A lot of people just quit at Spanish III
AP Psych: Notoriously easy and a really fun class to take, most people enjoy the curriculum and you get to do fun things like tasting lemonade
AP Bio: If you’re interested in science then this is great. If you’re not, then only take it if you’re positive you can spend that time and effort. AP Bio is a really difficult and time-consuming class, among the most difficult of the APs.
AP Calc AB: Also a difficult class, but if you are good at math then you probably won’t have too many issues with this except for the homework load which I’m finding to be p intense. Make sure you have a solid understanding of trig + precalc.
I’m taking six APs right now. It’s doable but painful. I hope you enjoy no sleep?
I’m taking AP Gov, AP English Literature, AP French, AP Bio, AP Calc BC, and AP Stats. AP Bio is really easy, but SO time consuming. It’s all memorization. AP English Literature is a lot of reading very boring books. My class read the Metamorphosis and I wanted to stab my eyes out. AP foreign languages are almost always ridiculously difficult. I actually think AP Calc BC is a lot of fun, especially integrals.
Also, I happen to be a person that can get by without studying. Or rather, I don’t study and try to pretend that that’s okay. I’m actually not that smart, just a good test taker. If you are the kind of person that really likes to study for every single test, six APs will be way too much.
Hey there, I’m also a senior taking 6 APs. Your tentative course schedule actually looks a lot like the one I take right now. Here’s a rundown of your schedule, at least by my opinions:
AP Spanish - This class is pretty terrible, but only because I have a bad teacher. In general, the class is difficult and usually there is a lot of annoying homework, but I think language classes are very subjective and it varies depending on the teacher. My class is hard but she puts in a lot of homework points to inflate our grade.
AP Bio - I never actually took AP Bio in high school, but in my school it is a very rigorous course and requires a lot of reading/memorization. This is a tough class.
AP Lit - I disagree with the posters that say this class is too much work. Yes, there is a lot of reading, but I have gone by more than once by just Shmooping or Sparknoting the book. If you really have no time to read, just look online and that’ll help you for tests/class discussions.
AP Psych - I take this course now and it’s so easy, but also really interesting! You should take this course to inflate your weighted GPA if you need to.
AP Calc AB - I took this class last year and it’s a lot easier than BC. Keep this one; it’ll inflate your weighted GPA and it still is a rigorous math course.
Best of luck next year! As someone currently having a similar schedule (just replace AP Bio with AP Environmental and AP Calc with AP Stat), it’s difficult but doable to take 6 APs. Just be sure to manage your time well and try not to procrastinate too much
I am taking three out of the six AP classes you are considering taking, and here are my two cents:
AP Lit: This is a time-consuming and hard class, but it is so rewarding! I love to read, and I have a great teacher, so this class is really fun and edifying.
AP Bio: This is a very rigorous class. Be prepared to spend hours mostly every day answering a lot of lab questions, reading dry content, and relying on outside supplements such as Bozeman Science or CliffsNotes to help you out. I have a wonderful teacher in this class as well, and she makes it slightly less challenging.
AP Psych: This is a fun and interesting class. Part of what makes it so likable is its applicability to everyday life and its relatively simple content compared to that of other AP classes.
The above won’t mean anything to you unless you have a good idea of what the classes are like at YOUR school. So here’s my advice: ask your peers. Find out from other seniors taking the classes how they’re doing, any advice they can give you about the teachers/content, and what you can do to prepare. If you’re uncomfortable talking to other students or don’t know anyone taking those classes, stop by the teachers’ rooms one day and just explain to them that you’re interested in their classes, and can they offer you any help deciding to choose the classes? You might ask them for syllabi, sample worksheets, and a general outline of how the classes runs.
Since you love reading, then AP Lit makes total sense.
I’d thus keep AP Spanish, AP Lit, AP Calc; I’d take either AP Gov or AP Psych, or neither if you take AP Bio (very time consuming and hardcore, difficult to do well in along with everything else.)
If you felt you could handle it, you could take AP Spanish, AP Bio, AP Calc, AP Lit, one regular or honors social science, and one “fun” class with no homework. This would be a very challenging schedule.
