I’m a junior, planning to take AP Calc AB, Chem, Stat, Econ in class and Enviormental, Human Geo and Euro online.
I really started taking school seriously junior year (not good, but at least it wasn’t senior year) and I’m currently taking apush + comp sci with 93 + in both. I understand the work load of AP classes but I’m not like an outlier attempting this, many students I know are doing it and of course their counselors could care less. Mine is clearly looking out for me, but she just wouldn’t budge on her position of not letting me take all of them.
What can I say to my counselor who told me previously that it is too much, when I know I can handle it?
*Also in my school stat + econ are the easiest AP’s to take and Enviormental + Euro are extremely tough in class whereas taking on GAVS (Georgia virtual school) its a breeze. Not sure who to ask for advice when the go-to person (counselor) is the one I’m trying to persuade and change their mind.
You could explain the situation to your parents and see if they can talk to your GC. Maybe then, there would be more of a dialogue of why she thinks you can’t handle it/why you think you can handle it and opinions may shift.
If your freshman and sophomore grades don’t show you can handle the work, it’s an uphill battle. You’ll need your parent to get involved. (btw, those 7 look manageable)
Many schools have rules on this to ensure that students succeed. At DS’ school, a student needed a certain grade or above in a prerequisite class to take certain classes (including AP). It was possible to get an override from the department if everyone felt the student could still succeed without having achieved that, but it did involve discussion with the student, parents, advisor, and department.
At our LPS, if you took a class you weren’t "qualified " for (i.e., didn’t meet prerequisites ), you needed a waiver from your parents acknowledging you accepted the “risk” of your strategy.
The reality is that teachers at many schools have too many students to really help kids who have taken on too much of a challenge, that parents make a stink where their kids aren’t doing well, and that the school is trying to manage that.
A full discussion with GC and involvement of parents may be necessary, and you may have to compromise a bit, but it’s worth a try. You need to be prepared to follow up with the hard work.
Going from two to seven AP 's is A LOT.
In addition, not sure what you’re trying to go for. What’s our end goal in taking seven AP 's in one year?
I would cut stats 'in class ’ and either apes or AP human geography online (or both) as they won’t really do you much good, being 'AP lites ’ . Your guidance counselor should be okay with your taking three in class and one or two online.
With college applications (which is like having an extra class) you’ll be plenty busy with 4-5 AP classes.
I don’t know if it’s smart to take that workload but since difficulty of AP courses vary so much I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt since you say other students are doing it.
My son’s school had a policy limiting the number of AP classes. When he wanted to take more than the allowed amount we went with him to the guidance counselor. His reasoning was that the AP courses he wanted were based not only on interest and required subject but the teachers also.
We didn’t say much except that we backed him and thought he was well capable of handling the load.He got signed up.
Are you taking any language?
Not sure how AP works as on-line classes. Are you planning on taking the exams? Euro is tough for a reason–so you can pass the test.