Hi everyone! I already started thinking about my schedule for next year. This year, as a junior, I am taking AP Biology and AP Psychology. All other courses are generic (I go to a private school and the only two levels are regular and AP). This is my schedule for next year as of now:
AP Calculus AB
AP Government
Physics
Engineering I
Accounting/Finance
English classes (2 Semester classes)
Bioethics (religion requirement)
I have one year long slot to fill. I have completed 3 years of Spanish and I am pretty good at it so I am considering AP Spanish Lang. However I am also interested AP Chemistry or some more interesting classes like Law and Justice or America in the 1960’s. So my question is, what do I take to build a schedule that is rigorous but also doable to get good grades. All of our regular classes are pretty challenging but I still haven’t about a 93-94 average overall. Any input helps!
P.S. I am trying to get into some selective schools (Northwestern, Notre Dame) so that may be good to keep in mind.
I’d go with AP Spanish.
I’d look into taking “America in the 1960s” because it’s a seminar (I assume - so, “different” from your run-off-the-mill rigorous transcript) and it’s a social science (which is represented by AP Gov, which is good, but since you’ve have the highest level in math and foreign language + you double up in science and English, why not double up in social science too? THat’d be hard to beat… I’d remove accounting/finance though, unless “personal finance” is a requiremet in your state.
@MYOS1634 thanks for the input. Personal finance is not a requirement but I am looking to go into finance/business in college so I want to get a taste of what it is like. I may just take finance 2nd semester since they are two separate classes. I think I will also take AP Spanish and one other interesting social studies class like America in the 60’s.
I would definitely take AP Spanish. Four years of Spanish will look competitive and impressive to colleges. Your schedule already looks rigorous enough, so personally I would not take AP Chemistry. You don’t want to overload yourself and cause your GPA to drop. I agree with the suggestion to add an interesting class such as “America in the 1960’s” because it will show depth and a variety of classes/subjects that you have taken. Before anything is final though, I would check each of your college’s websites to make sure that you are fulfilling the admissions requirements for each of the colleges.
Finance ande accounting in HS aren’t really related to what you will study in college - it’s the same field but the content is very different. It’s a bit like that Chemistry unit you did in 7th grade Science, vs. AP Chemistry.
However if you take just one, Finance may be a better choice. And if America in the 60s is a semester course, then congratulations it makes an excellent companion to the rest of your choices.