I am currently a HS junior and I’m taking 3 AP’s, 1 Honors, and 1 regular class:
AP Language and Composition
AP Calculus AB
AP US History
Physics Honors
Orchestra
Span 3
So, my problem for choosing classes is mainly which English class should I take. Currently, my AP Lang teacher is also the AP Lit teacher (unless my school found someone experienced with the class). He discussed about which English class we should take; however, he said that those who have a B in the class would have to either decide on AP Lit or CSU Expos. based on our writing.
I had a B in that class for two semesters and I was uncertain to honestly take AP Lit or CSU Expos. The only catch is that I will have a 33-50% possibility of getting an English teacher who barely pays attention to her class and teaches only regular classes like English 3,4 and now CSU Expos. I’m mainly concerned about who I will end up with based on my decision on choosing AP Lit or CSU Expos, but I honestly feel like I would not be ready to take AP Lit since my average last semester was a 6.8/9 based on six essays. Also, if I do take expos, I would have to take AP Environmental Science, but APES doesn’t really help me much since I want to major in biology even though AP Bio won’t be offered next year. I wanted to maintain a really good GPA for colleges and for my rank as well. Are there any suggestions?
Also, I currently signed up for:
AP Stats
AP Psychology
AP Gov/Econ
AP Lit
Orchestra
But I’m planning to change it to:
AP Stats
AP Psychology
AP Gov/Econ
APES
CSU Expos
Orchestra
Someone please help!!! I just want to get into UC’s and possibly one private if I’m good enough!!!
Could you meet with a guidance counselor? Can you start in one and switch if it isn’t working out? Maybe they could help you decide. IMO I would go with whichever courses you would enjoy more. If your GPA is strong through junior year, the slight difference in your senior year schedule won’t be the deciding factor in getting into the schools you want…good luck!
As someone who usually does well in English, I did not like AP lit, and it isn’t one I really recommend because AP lang gives the same credit. The one thing to consider is that by taking CSU Expos you’ll be adding another class which will make it harder to maintain grades. Talk to your counciler about it
Honestly, I’d want to ask my counselor, but the counselors in my school aren’t that useful. Our school policy doesn’t allow us to switch out of an AP class once we selected them because we initially signed a contract saying that we agree AP classes are a one year commitment. A couple of juniors actually tried to switch out of AP Lang this year due to it being too difficult, but the only problem was that they wanted to switch into English 3 Honors, but it was full and English 3 was the only option left. There’s honestly not much to do about these classes because most of the teachers in my school aren’t even that great in general except for my AP Lang teacher since he actually makes the class feel like a college course… :\ But I appreciate for the advice though!
I think you can handle the four Aps- I’m taking APES and AP Pysch right now and can tell you that they may as well be normal classes. That said, if you’d like the challenge, go for AP lit. If not, try talking to the CSU teacher to get a feel for the coursework. In the end, it matters most that you’re taking a class that you enjoy.