Freshman&Sophomore Year Schedule

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>Do most people heading toward the top colleges (I'm looking at Yale, Brown and Columbia)take AP classes during freshman and sophomore year?
In the fall I may go to a school which offers AP classes.</p>

<p>The classes I am interested in for my senior year that the school provides are:
AP English Literature&Composition
Creative Writing
AP Calculus BC
AP US History
Music Theory and Composition
AP Biology (maybe)
Advanced Spanish (maybe)
Yearbook (hopefully editor)</p>

<p>So I'm planning on taking these classes if I attend the school in the fall:
Music Theory and Composition
Biology (maybe)
Spanish I (maybe)
Voice of American Lit (English III)
Pre-calc
SAT Math
US History I</p>

<p>I'm generally asking those who are HS juniors, seniors and above, what classes did you take during your first years of HS? And was your choice helpful for later on/now?</p>

2

<p>Next Year[sophmore]</p>

<p>AP US History
Performance Ensemble
Biology
Algebra 2
English Honors
Performance Ensemble[Advanced Band]
French 3
Trigonometry</p>

<p>I believe this is what I signed up for. This is all that is offered for me at my school as far as APs and Honors for a sophmore.</p>

3

<p>^I don’t think that you should take Trigonometry while you’re in Algebra 2.</p>

4

<p>Algebra 2 - 1st semester</p>

<p>Trigonometry - 2nd semester</p>

5

<p>Your school compiles a whole year of each math class in a semester?</p>

<p>Thanks for the clarification.</p>

6

<p>I’m only a freshman, but I currently have one AP class for Human Geography. My other classes this year are English I Honors (9th grade), Algebra II/Trig Honors, Biology Honors, Spanish II (only regular classes) and Tennis/P.E.</p>

<p>Next year, I am planning to do AP World History, English II Honors (10th grade), Precalculus Honors (or maybe AP Calculus AB if I do Precalculus in the summer at a local community college), Physics Honors, Spanish III, and Tennis/P.E. (won’t do tennis though if I do AP Calculus AB and get my Mu Alpha Theta and National Honors Society clubs started and have to deal with being president). </p>

<p>It varies from school to school in the quantity of AP classes. Usually, bigger schools have more AP classes, but passing rates are lower than schools with a concentrated amount of AP classes. I go to a school now that is like the previous. But, in the previous school I went to, it is the latter (it is also the #1 high school in California). You should focus on classes that are related to what you plan to major in college. If you’re going to do something related to liberal arts (English, history, etc.), do all the English and history-related AP classes; it will not be necessary to do the most advanced level of mathematics or sciences. The same concept is applied vice versa if you are planning to do something related to mathematics or science. I’m not discouraging you and you should be doing classes that are of high rigor at your school, but some AP classes aren’t absolutely necessary if you’re not going to even do anything related, for example, someone planning to do engineering in high school wouldn’t do AP Music Theory or AP Psychology. </p>

<p>I know this girl who graduated from my current school last year from my cousins who also go to the same school as I. Apparently, everyone thinks she brilliant just because she took 14 AP exams, 4 of which did not even have classes offered at our school. What people have failed to focus on is the SCORES she got. And she got some pretty lame scores; consistent 3’s. I believe she only got 3 or 4 4’s, no 5’s. Pretty overrated right? Also, pretend you are a college admissions officer & choose from Person A & B: Person A: 12 AP exams taken, average score 3.2 & Person B: 6 AP exams taken, average score 4.97. Who would you choose? </p>

<p>Generally, it doesn’t matter in freshman or sophomore year. The school I used to go to has no AP classes for freshman and only 1 for sophomores but they have an astounding 90% passing rate, mostly 4’s & 5’s. Many of them go off to Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, etc. It’s what you do outside of school too.</p>

<p>My word of advice from what I have learned from counselors and juniors/seniors is this: quality NOT quantity.</p>

7

<p>Whoah, APUSH as a sophomore?</p>

<p>I didn’t think schools wanted to kill their students that early.</p>

8

<p>^ Do you take AP US History? Is it difficult?
I love history but I can’t do AP World History and I’ve never even lived or gone to school in America so I don’t know anything about the country’s history other than the Civil War and underground railroad stuff. I want to take AP US History as soon as I’m ready though!</p>

9

<p>I’m taking APUSH next year, but it’s definitely regarded as one of the most time consuming and deathly APs. </p>

<p>Unlike AP Euro/World (which I enjoy), APUSH is a lot of rote memorization and tends to focus more on the political/government stuff. We’re an incredibly boring country with a tiny history compared to Europe/Asia/etc. At least that’s my opinion.</p>

10

<p>^ They can’t go too much into the government stuff, can they? If I wanted to learn about the US government, I would take AP US Politics&Governement.
So is APUSH very boring? I was looking forward to when I could get to take it :frowning:
World history of any type isn’t offered at the school I’m looking at!</p>

11

<p>^haha. Don’t worry! I should have added a disclaimer. I’m probably really biased about APUSH. </p>

<p>It’s true that it’s a lot of work, but you won’t be disappointed. It’s just different from the other history APs since the US is only ~200 years old and doesn’t have anything comparable to the Enlightenment and its like, but it’ll still be a great class if you like history.</p>

12

<p>^ What other AP classes have you taken? Does APUSH have more work outside of classes to do then those?</p>

13

<p>It’s a lot of reading, memorization, essay writing, etc. I would say it’s similar to AP Bio.</p>

14

<p>Like reading… don’t like memorization… and the essay sounds alright.
Well I want to take AP Bio as well, haha.</p>

15

<p>AP exams aren’t even offered at my school for Freshman and Sophomores.</p>

<p>Next Year/ Sophomore Schedule:
H English II
H Chemistry
H Algebra II
H World History
Spanish II (no honors available)
World Religions
Acting
Filmmaking
Tennis</p>

16

<p>^ You take a lot of classes. At my current classes you only take six classes.
But clubs and sport are after school.</p>

<p>Do people that take honors usually do AP the following year?
Will you be doing
AP English
AP Chem
AP Calc
AP W History
For junior year?</p>

<p>Because I am an international and all, I am such a n00b about this stuff… :P</p>

17

<p>It’s not as much as it seems :stuck_out_tongue:
World Religions is 1 trimester, and acting is 2 trimester.
The filmmaking is an entire year though, so I’m taking 7 classes (and tennis, after school).</p>

<p>My school is odd, but as a Junior I hope to take:
AP English
AP US History
H Pre-Calculus
H Biology
Spanish III H</p>

<p>as my main core classes. we’re not allowed to take that many AP classes… most are our Senior year.</p>

18

<p>My schedule last year blew because I was in band, then I dropped out and I got the “leftover classes”. Also there’s NOT any focus at all between my classes this year and last year, I think I’ve taken an elective in almost every branch of electives. >___<
Freshman year:
1st semester - Street Law, Intro to Art, Honors Physical Science, Intro to Engineering
2nd semester - Honors English 9, French I, Honors New Mexico History, Honors Algebra II
This/sophomore year:
1st semester - Advanced European History, Web Design I, Honors Biology, Precalculus
2nd semester - Honors Chemistry, Honors English 10, Health Care Occupations A, AP European History
AP classes are year long and the first semester of the AP class is considered an elective credit. As you can see we get four classes a semester, so next year, taking all APs, I’m going to have 4 classes… all year… D: Actually, the same schedule hanana ^^ just put up, except instead of World History, US History.</p>

19

<p>The normal pathway at my school, where students are pushed into AP courses out to wazoo, is:</p>

<p>Freshman year: AP Human Geography
Sophomore year: AP World History + another AP that interests you (Environmental Science, Bio, etc.)
Junior year: AP Lang, AP US History, and one other AP that interests you.</p>

<p>The average student at my high school goes through at least those four AP classes in their first three years.</p>

<p>Personally, my schedule is (and has been) the following:</p>

<p>Freshman year: No APs (I registered too late and AP Human Geo was full)
Sophomore year: AP World History, AP Bio
My Junior year is scheduled to be: AP Calc AB, AP Lang, AP US History, AP Psychology</p>

<p>I would like to take these at some point, whether they be online or in my senior year: AP US Gov’t/Politics, AP Comparative Gov’t/Politics, and AP Environmental Science.</p>

<p>

Why can’t you take AP World History? APWH has very little to do with America. It’s about general themes and impacts on WORLD history.</p>

<p>You say that you don’t know much about American history. But so what? That’s why you go to school - to LEARN! You can still get a 5 on an exam in a subject that you formerly knew nothing about. AP classes are all-encompassing and very in-depth, so if you study, you have nothing to worry about.</p>

20

<p>^ I can’t take AP World History because the school provides World History but not AP World History. Don’t know why :(</p>