I am in grade 10 this year, and my school schedules for grade 11 in January (early, right?). I am looking at taking 7 AP courses, but there are also honors business courses such as accounting and marketing that are available to take. Should I pursue those courses, or should I pursue courses like AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics, and AP Psychology? I hope to major in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE).
Thanks!
I’d prefer AP Micro and Macro over Honors business courses. They will help your weighted GPA, rank, and also get you more AP scores. That’s just me though. I just think in general AP courses are more rigorous.
Shout out to @ShaunakK98 for profile pic
I was thinking the same thing. Lol I have had this profile picture for more than a year (it is from Google Images).
@Spencek Hahaha well good luck in high school and I hope you apply to Penn in your senior year (I suppose you would judging by your profile pic?)
You make me jealous… I wish I would have started planning for college when I was a sophomore. Anyway, good luck with your APs and standardized tests:)
If you are trying to figure out if you’re interested in business, I don’t think it would kill your chances to take one of the honors business classes. In fact, it would probably be beneficial to take a class that you are interested in if you’re taking an AP just because it is an AP, but that’s really just personal preference. And like SylvRsr said, it depends on the rigor of your school’s honors courses vs. AP courses, since every school is different. If you end up changing your mind and deciding that you want to do business or something like that, it could be good to have some business on your transcript, but it’s not a deal-breaker either way.
Personally I think taking 7 AP classes is too much. Take the AP classes you are legit interested in and take 1 or 2 classes that are not AP. Colleges don’t expect you to take 7 per year and the odds of getting stressed out and overwhelmed with work are high. My kids have both been fine with 5 APs and 2 Honors and have time for a varsity sport and some other activities. I think they could have done 7 but I can’t imagine life would have been at all fun and you only get to be a teen once.
@SylvRsr I started planning in grade 8. I figured that if I had a plan and executed it that I would get where I needed to be. @Penn26 I know that I want to do business. I just think that the courses at my school are not as beneficial as AP courses. I neither want to waste time nor do something that is not beneficial for my Penn application. @dcplanner I am taking 5 AP courses plus 2 AP self-study courses. The self-study courses are in a study hall and are done all during t the school day. If anything, that is easier than 5 AP and 2 honors courses. I think that in the long run, everything works out alright. Let me know if you think otherwise. Thanks everybody! 
I would go for the AP to show rigor. You don’t need to tailor your coursework to business if you can back up the interest in another way (extracurriculars, personal projects, competitions, etc.). The difficulty between honors and AP does differ by school, but AP is generally accepted as more difficult.
My school has no business program and the closest I’ve gotten to business courses is AP Economics (which is in the social studies department) and AP Computer Science (if you count comp sci as business). I took 1 AP freshman year, 2 sophomore year, 8 (all AP) junior year, and am taking 8 this year. So just looking at my transcript, you wouldn’t be able to tell I was into business at all, but you could tell I was able to get an A in any subject and could handle a heavy load of work. I backed up my lack of business interest with strong FBLA involvement (up to national level) and I just got accepted into Wharton.
And, of course, it helps your class rank and weighted GPA. Yes, it’s a lot of work – but if you have the drive and can manage your time, it shouldn’t be a problem. Push yourself to your limits and show them exactly how hard you want this. I had people who told me I was insane for wanting to take 8 APs my junior year. Sometimes you have to be a bad listener
If you want to talk more or bounce your ideas off of someone, feel free to message me privately and I can give you my e-mail! I can give my two cents but it all comes down to what you want to do. Best of luck.
@thinkumo My thoughts exactly. I could not take any in grade 9, but I am taking 3 in grade 10. Then the rest of my courses from here are either AP or post-AP (like Multivariable Calculus). I also do FBLA (although I just switched to a new school in Ohio from Pennsylvania and they do not have a chapter). While Wharton is my goal, I would rather do the PPE from CAS and apply for a dual degree after freshman year. Thanks again for the help!
@Spencek I would take an actual AP class offered at your school rather than 2 study halls where you self study for Ap exams. Trust me on this. You are better off taking community college courses in the summer in areas of interest- Ivy’s love this. My son took Accounting, Computer Science and Stat at our local community college over the summers and mostly Ap’s all years- except freshman year no Ap’s were allowed. My son was just accepted to Wharton.
I was told (and read) that colleges don’t care how many Coursera courses you have taken or self study for Ap’s- They would rather see you in the school classrooms utilizing the most challenging courses your school offers and developing an extracurricular passion that has impact. Never ever take a study hall…
@runswimyoga They do not know that it is a study hall if it shows up on the transcript, do they? I am getting credit for my self studies through a program at my school. I also hope to attend the University of Pennsylvania Young Scholars Program this summer, and I will hopefully earn Penn credit in economics.
I know what you mean and am planning to do that, but my school does not have very many AP courses.
I should have 15 AP courses, 8 honors courses, and 2 post-AP courses complete when I graduate. I think those are reasonable numbers.
@Spencek At my son’s school study halls show up on transcript (just no grade listed) bc school lists every period course taken… check with your school to make sure yours doesn’t. 15 Ap’s are plenty, my son had 13.
A lot of students attend the LBW summer program at Penn that get into Wharton (I think I heard 40% of students that went to that summer program ultimately were accepted) so if you are able to do that would be a good thing!
Also my advice would be to Find an ec platform and take it as far as you can… There is something called a failed simulation test with respect to extra c’s… the adcom should think it wouldn’t be easy for most students to be able to simulate your ec check this out
http://calnewport.com/blog/2010/03/26/how-to-get-into-stanford-with-bs-on-your-transcript-failed-simulations-the-surprising-psychology-of-impressiveness/
LBW is different than LEAD, right? I can only do that between grades 11 and 12. In the mean time, I am hopefully going to take a course or two from Young Scholars.
I am involved in ECs, and would love to take them further. I hope to be an FBLA state officer this year, and then advance to a national officer. It is also a goal of mine to be a national champion.
Thanks for all of your help! You gave great advice!