Rising seniors, including myself, are beginning the pilgrimage to the counselors office to chose classes. I really am at a loss at deciding which courses to take, but here is what I am thinking:
AP Literature
A/B Calc
AP Comparative Gov
AP German
Astronomy
(+2 electives)
I have a few questions about this.
- Is this a challenging schedule? 2. Will not taking an AP science weaken my application? (I’m taking AP Physics 1 currently, and I’m genuinely interested in Astronomy.) 3. What are some main differences between AP U.S. Gov and AP Comparative Gov?
Thanks!!
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How challenging your schedule is depends on your school, at one school that schedule might be impossible and at another it may be ridiculously easy. In order to gauge the difficulty of your schedule you should ask current seniors at your school about how rigorous the classes you are interested in are.
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This question is hard to answer because I don’t know how strong the rest of your application will be (GPA, SAT/ACT, ECs, essays, ect.) or what your goals are for the future.
Do you want to major in science in college? If so, then you probably want to take an AP science senior year as well as AP Calc BC (not AB unless your school requires that you take AB then BC).
Do the majority of college-bound seniors at your school take an AP science? If they do, then you would be well served by taking an AP science course.
Is astronomy a joke science class at your school? Blow of classes typically don’t look good on an application and tend to be a waste of time because students in those classes typically don’t care about school and are just taking the class in order to graduate.
I can’t help you with number 3 since I haven’t taken either of those classes (yet).
You might be able to choose an AP science with your electives if you feel you can handle it. I’d say that especially with AP Lit, your schedule is challenging enough, although depending on your time management skills and personal interest you might be able to fit in more. Astronomy isn’t a bad course by any means, and I was considering taking it myself (I decided against it). I don’t think a lack of AP science will hinder you if you already have a science credit in your schedule (astronomy) and you’re already taking one. However, the part that may hinder you is that colleges like to see students take a lab-based science course all four years of high school. Which science and AP science courses are offered at your school?
AP US Gov (which I’ll be taking next year) examines the political science of the United States and focuses on the history and structure of our government, whereas Comparative Gov is mainly on an international perspective and mentions the various classifications of governmental power throughout the world, e.g. communism, fascism, etc. If you’re more interested in US history or politics, you should take US Gov, but if you’re willing to branch out and explore a world stage of government (perhaps if you’re interested in foreign governments or diplomacy), Comparative Gov would be better for you.
@IAmNotCreativ, I’m not looking to do anything science/math related in college. Many seniors choose AP Enviornmental Science, and that has been deemed “a joke”. So I’ll ask around like you suggested and see.
@niletheriver I am taking a study hall, so it is definitely a possibility. They offer AP Chem, AP Bio, and AP Enviornmental. The only one I know I could possibly do well in is Enviornmental though. They both sound interesting! I think I’ll stay with Comp Gov then because I really enjoyed AP World.
If you want to take Environmental, then go ahead, although it might be a bit of a waste of time in that instance. It might not be necessary because there is astronomy in your schedule, but it’s up to you. I’ve heard that it isn’t a hard class, so it wouldn’t take up too much of your time.
Definitely stick with Comp Gov if you’re interested and enjoyed World History. The two aren’t exactly similar but Comp Gov does give you a somewhat more modern perspective of the world not just from a historical or cultural standpoint but from a perspective that how a country is run would affect the mindset of the people living there.