<p>This year, I'm a sophomore, my grades/classes are like:
H. Alg II: A+
H. Chem: A
AP Euro: B+
AP Art History: B+/A-
H. English: A-
H. Latin: A
Theology: Irrelevant</p>
<p>So you get the gist that I'm more of a math/science person than history and english. I have nearly killed myself working for my B+ in AP Euro and put almost no effort into any of my other classes except Art History. So here are my schedule options and please take into account that I would like at least 4 hours of sleep a night and I also want to get into competitive colleges:</p>
<p>A.
H. Precalc
H. Physics
H. US History
AP English
H. Latin
Theology
AP Stat</p>
<p>B.
H. Precalc
H. Physics
H. US History
AP English
H. Latin
Theology
AP Bio</p>
<p>C.
H. Precalc
AP Bio
H. USH
AP English
H. Latin
Theology
AP Stats</p>
<p>D (the killer)
H. Precalc
AP Bio
APUSH
AP English
H. Latin
AP Stats
Theology</p>
<p>E
H. Precalc
AP Bio
APUSH
AP English
H. Latin
Some random art class
Theology</p>
<p>Sorry it's so long, but I really need advice. APUSH has a reputation for being especially hard along with AP Bio.</p>
<p>It depends on your stats, like if you will need to keep taking a lot of APs for your GPA and ranking or something. If you afraid to handle APUSH and AP Bio, I would do C, its one less AP class but you wont have to worry about screwing up your senior year.</p>
<p>I think you are way over thinking this. Take the ones you want, and try not to get saddled with TOO much homework. Come on, you are only in high school once. Lots of people make it into Ivy Leagues who didn’t kill themselves.</p>
<p>My counselors tried to tell me the APUSH is a “staple AP” that you basically will have to explain it as a special situation on your apps. Is that true because AP Bio seems like it would make up for the lack of APUSH?</p>
<p>It depends on your school…at mine my AP Bio course was horrible, easy and overwhelming, there are like 52 chapters in the book!, but the test was super easy. APUSH is difficult just everywhere, it seems like.</p>
<p>i still dont get what you mean “staple AP” is?</p>
<p>I took AP Bio and was one of the highest (if not the highest) in my class. It took a LOT of effort. AP USH takes a LOT of effort. I personally don’t think a person should take AP USH and AP Bio simultaneously. It’s a lot of reading. Not light reading based on themes and stuff. Meticulous, intricate, fact-ridden reading = a lot of memorizing. Are you sure you have the capacity to do that your JR year? I don’t know about you, but we had term papers our JR year. That’s a lot of reading. A lot of memorizing. Ridiculous amounts of close analysis.</p>
<p>AP English is one of my most favorite classes. I adore my teacher and the love is mutual. It’s not ‘hard’, but it does require a bit of effort. If you’re naturally gifted in English and writing, AP English will be a breeze.</p>
<p>AP Stats is a JOKE!!! I finished Calculus before I took AP Stats, and I’m glad I did because, for once, I feel like I know more than the teacher LOL.</p>
<p>My opinion? I was honestly leaning towards C. Remember the old adage: “Quality, not quantity”. You want difficulty, not overkill. College admissions officers are people and they understand that we are only human, too.</p>
<p>I took AP Bio and APUSH together (with APWH…ahhhH!) my junior year…not good combination. APstats is pretty easy (but the test, for me, was kind of hard)…If you are better with math and science stick with those, they arent that bad and do aim for more sleep than 4 hrs…trust me.</p>
<p>Definitely don’t take AP Bio and AP US at the same time. I knew a few people who did that or are doing it now and they basically felt like killing themselves. And I know people who got into MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Brown, Dartmouth, etc. who never took the class, so I don’t really think it’s that much of a “staple AP.” Just do well in any hard classes and you should be fine.</p>
<p>Personally, I think C is also a good choice. Precalc and AP Stats can definitely compliment each other at times, and neither is going to kill you. AP Bio is going to be a LOT of reading and memorization, so excpect that to take up a huge chunk of your time. And the rest of the classes should provide enough of a challenge without a major overload and too much stressing.</p>
<p>If you are worried about college do D or the schedule with the most AP classes. It depends on your college choice. Ivy is not going to take you if you do not show a heavy course load. I’m in IB and I have taken 5 AP all in ONE year. Not crazy, just dedicated and even I with a 3.7 unweighted gpa am not qualified for an Ivy league school.</p>
<p>Junior year is last year that colleges focus one, it determines really whether or not a college will want you because your an upper classman and have more course opportunities. Don’t slack, its NOT the time. That is what 2nd semester of senior is for when you have a spot at your college. trust me I know =]</p>
<p>class 09’ IB</p>
<p>besides AP English is easy if english is your first language/AP bio is easy because its general really/APUSH is okay because it does cover Bill Clinton…idk about stats though</p>
<p>All of these schedules are competitive and you should be fine…take the one that has the most interesting courses to you. You seem like you don’t really want to take AP U.S. History, so don’t take it. Your C schedule seems like a good competitive well-balanced schedule, but honestly, take some time to breathe and don’t worry so much about college admissions. I know it seems like the most important thing in your life right now, but any of those schedules can get you into a good college. What’s more important is what you do in them. Colleges don’t want you to take AP classes all willy-nilly just because you can; while they do want to see you taking a challenging schedule, there’s no point in killing yourself with more than you can handle.</p>
<p>Mind you, I’ve taken 4 AP classes at one time before – it’s doable, and I was still in marching band and other ECs, but I had nearly no life outside of the classes and the ECs. It’s a sacrifice I was willing to make and one I’m sure you are, too Besides, I loved school and I loved the challenge. So if you honestly want to do D, you can, even though APUSH and AP Bio are two of the most difficult AP courses (APUSH…oh man.)</p>
<p>And you certainly need more than 4 hours of sleep a night. Aim for 6-8.</p>
Besides, I loved school and I loved the challenge. So if you honestly want to do D, you can, even though APUSH and AP Bio are two of the most difficult AP courses (APUSH…oh man.)</p>