Right now I’m unsure if I should take APUSH next year. I’m also taking AP Comp. and my counselor had said that taking those two classes at the same time might be stressful as there is much work given out in both classes, but I had talked to the teacher that teaches AP Comp. and he had said that he doesn’t give out much work when he knows students that are taking other AP classes have a workload in those classes, specifically APUSH. I perform well in both subjects, but I’m unsure about the workload. Any advice is appreciated.
Are you taking AP CSP or AP CSA? Both are a lot of work in DD’s high school. However, the assignments are largely small projects, given in advance, and students have a couple days to a couple weeks to complete them. So as long as you aren’t a procrastinator and you practice good time management, it is manageable.
I’m not taking AP CSP or AP CSA.
What’s AP Comp?
What classes did you take this year and what grades did you get?
What is your schedule next year?
AP Comp. is short for AP Language and Composition. The classes I took this year were Math 3/Trig Honors, English 2 Accelerated, Chemistry Accelerated, Biotechnology, Modern World History, Spanish 3, 3-D Design, and PE. I received A’s in all of those classes. The classes I requested for next year are AP Calculus, AP Chemistry, AP Comp., AP Psychology, Anatomy and Physiology, Philosophy Honors, PE, and I’m unsure whether or not to take regular US History or AP.
Not all AP classes are created equal, so do you have you have a sense of the workload from the teacher? My daughter’s World History AP course was incredibly intense, but Euro and APUSH were much more manageable.
Next year’s schedule seems like a significant step up in terms of rigor. Have you taken any AP courses in previous years? Are you a rising junior?
Can you tell us a bit about the types of schools you’re interested in, particularly in terms of selectivity. And are you interested in STEM, business, etc?
The teacher had said that we would have a total of 90 assignments completed by the end of the school year. I have taken AP Modern World History sophomore year and AP Geography freshman year. I am going to be a junior this next school year and the colleges I’m interested in are the UC’s here in California and a few private schools(Stanford, USC, and CIT). I am very much interested in STEM, physical sciences, and mathematics.
With the aims you have, I would say take the class, so long as you’re confident you can handle it. Neither are that bad in terms of workload, at least at my school. APUSH was about in the middle for my junior year APs. (Lang/Comp, CSA, APUSH, Chem)
I’d drop Ap psychology and Anatomy and physiology to take APUSH and a free period.
Ha! My mistake. Sorry. APHUSH and AP Language should be manageable, as long as you like to write. Would your school let you drop down a level in either one if it doesn’t look like it is going to work out?
Yes, my school allows students to drop out of AP classes if they know that they can’t handle it or if the class is too demanding for them.