You are thriving now … in a way, keeping a 4.0 in a competitive high school, taking AP Chemistry and AP stats junior year, getting high SAT scores … it’s just that it is taking what you perceive as too much hard work to get there. The default most people would take is to get Bs in some of these classes or take fluffier AP classes in fields they are more interested or talented in (for example, can you write well, maybe AP social studies or history options would be better). So you have kicked it up a notch and tried hard to be #6 (really high by the way).
In a competitive high school, yes there are likely 5 people that are more talented than you and maybe even work harder or work more focused on grades and more efficiently. So ignore them, they will be there at UGa getting the top As in classes, but who cares. There are lower As for you, some lower As for talented but lazy people, etc etc.
The myth is that everyone but you is talented and not working (more people seem to study in secret than you think for bravado I guess) or that you somehow magically “get” chemistry or even math. Most people who are good at math have worked every problem set since 1st grade and kept at it, most people who did not “get it” seem like they got discouraged in 3rd grade and spent the next 3 or 5 or 7 or more years bemoaning what they don’t get. Heck it’s math. Chemistry … well … what don’t you get.
Chem AP is a survey class of a very complex field, chemists, chemical engineers others take 3 years of college level chemistry before they “get” what it all means. Hunker down and assume that the chemists of the past WERE more brilliant and that you are only fit to try to push some basic facts into your head. If you like it … sure you could spend another 3 years in college stuffing brain with chemistry facts (just take organic for example, which has 10 exceptions for every rule, most different from previous rule).
AP statistics, since non-calculus based, in another class where you learn the basics of statistics, basically an overview of the field. Shovel it in as effectively as possible, try to figure out why for some specific problem, and if you are interested take more classes in college.
I would consider making high school more rewarding and maybe more valuable by picking classes for next year that suit your interests and future plans more. Why did you take AP chem if you are not a future engineer or scientist … or are you ? Why not social studies, history, psychology, etc, etc. Maybe this can guide your selection of majors at college (at least is it science or math or liberal arts).
We haven’t done much with tutors, so I am not sure why you need them so badly or what they are providing that simply hunkering down with the books and lecture notes, reading and doing problem sets, would do. Are you listening in class ? Do you read material BEFORE it is presented in class so you aren’t going … wow, an atom has electrons … but thinking … OK now I understand that the electrons are in the s orbit around the nucleus. Does the tutor just add 30 minutes of studying a day or are they actually targeting specific things that you are not understanding (after pre-reading and then class and then post-reading plus homework on your own) or providing supplemental materials and or homework to help you.
You have learned to work hard and to get help as needed, which a lot of people don’t figure out in high school. All majors at top 100 colleges have hard courses that aren’t a high school cakewalk and if you want an A or maybe even a B … you will have to work and get some targeted tutoring or help.
What I would avoid is relying on your tutors rather than your own self to understand material that is challenging or requires a lot of work to master. Sometimes, it is better to just hunker down for 2 or 3 hours and figure out that chapter or that problem set. The tutors might be making you less likely to learn on your own, which is an important skill. In the workplace, in some fields, there are just no people who have the answer but well you. You are the expert and you know how to solve the problem, but it could take weeks, months, years of targeted work to get it done. Fine … they are paying you because they need it done.
Honestly, the hard work is part of the enjoyment, mastering something you did not know 3 months sooner. The interest part, well it’s not a Lord of the Rings movie, but maybe you just did want to know why water dissolves some things … or what those articles in national magazines are really saying with their studies. The work is not “interesting” but it is a means to an end.
Some thinking about what you would like to do day to day at work, once you master a likely difficult field, would be useful in targeting coursework next year and in college. Jobs are really different …