<p>I'm going to be a senior for the 2011-2012 school year, and I'm currently facing a dilemma. My schedule as of now looks like this:
AP Literature and Composition
AP European History
AP Calculus BC
Regular Physics
3rd year Spanish (started sophomore year)
Debate, Digital Filmmaking (1 semester each)</p>
<p>My problem arises in the fact that I am interested in switching out third year Spanish and replacing it with AP Statistics, but I am very wary about taking two AP math classes togetheris it too overwhelming? I took 4 AP classes my junior year and I would like to do 4 again, but I don't want to overdo it as well. I'm involved with a lot of extracurricular activities so that also factors into my scheduling decisions. </p>
<p>If you took both classes together, what were your thoughts? Was it too much to handle and not worth the extra time commitment or was it a successful pursuit? I'd really appreciate any input I can get. I'm not looking to just flood my schedule with AP courses; I do have an interest in statistics, but I'm not sure if it's worth the commitment of two AP math courses plus the other courses and extracurricular activities. Ideas or thoughts?</p>
<p>AP Statistics is generally viewed as a low rigor course – it is generally seen as equivalent to the lowest level semester-long introductory statistics course. It is often not eligible for required statistics for many majors, since they may require a calculus-based statistics course. It is also commonly mentioned in the “easy to self study AP test” threads.</p>
<p>But note that many universities prefer to see the third level of foreign language in high school; stopping after the second level may be limiting your options.</p>
<p>I haven’t taken them together (though I will this year). However, quite a few of my friends took Calc BC and Stat together last year, and they seemed to manage though they were involved in ECs as well. I say if you think you’ll have time to do so, I think you should.</p>
<p>I took stats in 10th grade and I’m taking calc bc this year (12th). If math is one of your stronger points I think you will be fine</p>
<p>a few of my friends did stats and calc together but i think it looks better to take another year of spanish</p>
<p>I know of people who have succeeded taking AP Stats and Calc concurrently, however, i agree with mathela and think a third year of Spanish would be better than an extra math course. If you’re in AP Calc BC you’re obviously a good math student and don’t need to prove that to colleges by taking Stats. Spanish would keep your schedule more balanced. :)</p>
<p>What are you planning on majoring in? If you plan on majoring in business (except international business), math, finance, engineering, etc. then taking statistics in high school would probably benefit you. But as others have said, if you’re looking at going to a more prestigious university, then taking a 3rd year of spanish would be a better choice. If you’re good at math, then you will do perfectly fine with 2 math courses.</p>
<p>taking only 2 yrs of language is not good.</p>
<p>I don’t know where you’re applying, but you should take Spanish III. In most cases, two years of a foreign language looks pretty skimpy.</p>
<p>I’m looking to major in science, either chemistry or physics with minors in music and possibly film. I also have a pretty broad list of colleges that are spread all over the country. My current top pick is the UW (I also live in Washington.) It seems like the opinions are pretty mixed on whether it would be more beneficial to do stats or Spanish! </p>
<p>Another factor that I’m considering is that I am currently vying for the position of valedictorian at my school. In that instance I may have to do Stats out of necessity to keep my competitive spot. I was originally signed up to take AP Physics but then they canceled the class and so now I might have to fill that AP spot with Statistics. However, Spanish and Stats are the ones that would have to be switched out in this scenario.</p>
<p>I really like Spanish and I wish I had started freshman year so I could take a full four years of the course. I guess the question boils down to whether I want to compete for valedictorian or balance the schedule.</p>
<p>University of Washington’s foreign language requirement for freshmen is the second level of high school foreign language, or the second quarter or semester of college foreign language.</p>
<p>[World</a> Languages — CADR — Plan for College — University of Washington](<a href=“http://admit.washington.edu/Requirements/Freshman/CADR/Language]World”>http://admit.washington.edu/Requirements/Freshman/CADR/Language)</p>
<p>However, other schools may require more. Private schools may not have hard requirements, but holistic review will generally favor students who completed the third or fourth level of foreign language over those who completed the second level.</p>
<p>If you like chemistry and physics equally, note that physics (and chemical engineering) have better job and career prospects than chemistry (although many physics graduates are hired to non-physics jobs like finance, computer software, engineering, etc.) because of their math skills). That may be a tie-breaker if you are undecided between the majors.</p>
<p>Does being valedictorian give you something like a scholarship? How does taking Spanish III reduce your chances of being valedictorian (i.e. is the Spanish III teacher known to be a hard grader compared to the AP Statistics teacher)?</p>
<p>Statistics is useful, but you can take a calculus-based statistics course in university.</p>
<p>At my school, the valedictorian criteria goes (in the following order): GPA, number of AP courses taken, SAT scores. The school currently offers 9 AP courses—I took four junior year and am taking three this year. There are a few of us at this point that still have 4 point GPA’s, so at this point it comes down to the AP classes that we have taken, which would make the extra AP class an important factor in the deciding criterion. Unfortunately, I was told that you could not take AP courses sophomore year (I would have taken one or two AP courses then), but there have been students at my school that have done it. This caused me to double up on classes for junior and senior year to catch up in the tally. Therefore, taking Spanish would not help me toward that goal. I’ve held the goal of trying to be the valedictorian ever since I started high school, and it has been a competitive motive that has helped to drive me to more rigorous studies. I feel like I would be letting myself down at this point if I didn’t drive myself to that goal. I’m also looking into merit based scholarships and being valedictorian would assist with that process. I believe that Washington state colleges also offer a generous package if you are selected to be the valedictorian. I like the subjects that I am dealing with at this point, but my schedule doesn’t seem to offer a lot of flexibility either.</p>
<p>One other thing to consider: most divisions of University of Washington have a foreign language graduation requirement that may be satisfied by the third year of high school foreign language.</p>
<p>[UW</a> Advising - Foreign Language](<a href=“http://www.washington.edu/uaa/advising/degreeplanning/gebsrforlan.php]UW”>http://www.washington.edu/uaa/advising/degreeplanning/gebsrforlan.php)</p>
<p>Other schools may have similar differences in admission and graduation requirements for foreign language.</p>
<p>It depends on what school u go to for my school stats is MUCH easier than calc</p>
<p>I did Stats and Calc together this year, but both as classes.
I DESPISED Stats (even though it was fairly easy) and loved Calculus. I highly recommend not self-studying Stats, it’s so not worth it. But that’s just my two cents.</p>
<p>Replace regular physics with AP Stats.</p>