I am a international freshman student now in a public high school in Virginia
i just moved to the States for about 6 months now and i’ve been speaking English for only 2 years so sorry if i make any grammar mistakes.
I got straight A in 7th and 8th grade. I am now in the 9th grade taking AP world history (the only AP class I am taking right now) I am also taking algebra 2, Biology, and English 9 (All Pre-ap). I got all A except algebra and biology. (I got a 89 in algebra cause i messed up the last test and i have a 82 in biology)
I am now choosing my classes for the nest school year and i am planning on taking…
AP Calculus ab (Pre calc in the summer)
AP Physics
AP Statistics
AP US/VA History
I don’t know if that will be too much pressure for a sophomore because i am actually thinking about graduating one year early so i though i would need as many AP as i can because it’s better to have 8 to 10 AP classes if you want to get into the top colleges.
Does your school allow students to take AP Physics without a pre-requisite introductory course in physics? Which AP Physics course are you taking? Their difficulties vary.
If you’re doing well in AP World History, I have no reason to doubt your capabilities in an AP History class. I would recommend APUSH.
If your two weakest classes are math/science related, taking both AP Calc AB and AP Stats may be difficult for you. I would take AP Stats the year after.
You’re extremely misguided if you think having “8 to 10” AP classes will get you into top colleges. Colleges like to see you challenge yourself, yes, but it is naive to believe that you can get 10 APs done in the span of 3 years and perform well on all of them. Something has to give way.
Your Bs tell me that you are having trouble with your current workload already. Making your schedule more cumbersome will only exacerbate the problem. Focus on getting your grades up first, because that is crucial, particularly if you want to get into top schools and/or graduate early.
I am just thinking about doing three years but I’m not really in a hurry so 4 years won’t hurt.
I think i will be taking AP Physics 1 because they told me it is an introductory course, algebra based, and the pre-requisite is a “B” in Algebra 2.
I am doing okay in AP World History right now. I have a 94 but i spend a lot of time on it, probably 4 hours a day doing work, and reading the textbook. My middle school only offered Chinese History so i have to spend a lot of time now studying for this class. And since this is my only AP, i don’t really have to worry about other classes. I just moved to the US six months ago, and i don’t know anything about US history so i am just worried that i won’t have enough time to spend for this class.
I also thought about what you said and i’m dropping 1 AP class. I will probably take all four the first week and make a decision afterwards. It will be either AP Stats or AP Physics and i will replace it with a study hall since i don’t have one right now.
And just some quick questions i wanna ask:
Do you recommend self - studying an AP class?
Would it help if i talk the AP Chinese exam even if my first language is Chinese?
AP physics 1 has no pre requisites.
AP statistics isn’t necessary , it’s an easier math class compared to calculus and while statistics isn’t very valuable class to ahve, you should take stats in college, when it’s more rigorous.
You need to have 4 years (units) of English, 4 years of social science /history, a foreign language up to level 4 or AP, biology, chemistry, physics at any level + one science at the AP level, and math upbringing pre-calculus or calculus, plus preferably one art class and electives of your choice.
For highly selective colleges, however, the difference will also be your ec 's - competitive and non competitive. Being excellent at sports, debate, chess, choir, painting, photography, coding apps… Will matter. You choose what you’d like to do (rowing, knitting, the ukulele, speech… Anything) and push it to your best.
to add on to what @MYO1634 said: the foreign language should be in a language that isn’t your native language. English might count for you, figure out if the colleges you are interested would accept that as a foreign language.
Thank you so much @snowfairy137 and @MYOS1634
So i decided to drop AP Statistics and go with AP Physics 1.
The school counselor suggested me to take AP English 11 in summer if i want to graduate early, but as i said before, 4 years won’t hurt so i will just have to wait and see after i finish my sophomore year.
For history, i took World History 2 in the 7th grade (I don’t know why, i guess it’s just some curriculum differences that we had in Taiwan). I am also taking World History 1 now and it’s a freshman class. (I am taking 2 history class). But i am not planning on taking 2 again so i am just going straight to AP USH.
I am taking Spanish this year so i guess i will have 2 languages this way.
For science, i am not planning on taking AP Biology because it’s a lot of information and it’s mostly English so i don’t know if i can handle that or not. Instead, i am doing AP Chemistry and Physics since they require more math and I feel like AP Bio won’t really benefit me a lot cause i am not going into that field.
For the extra curriculum part, does it have to be something you do in school? I am not doing any extra curricular at school right now but instead, i practice martial arts out of school. I don’t go to competitions but i just practice every week at a school. I’ve been doing it for 12 years. Would that count as an ec?
Your replies really helped me a lot in choosing my classes and getting to know things about applying to colleges. Thanks.
The extra curricular activities are VERY important. Top colleges receive thousands of excellent students’ applications - where they make a difference is through their essays (quality of writing + personal voice) and their EC’s. These EC’s take 4 years to be developed to the max, which is why it’s generally a bad idea to graduate in 3 years. The goal is for you to develop in a variety of activities.
(Avoid activities that many Asian parents have invested, such as the violin or the piano, because your goal is to be unique. So, martial arts, knitting, debate, photography, handball, whatever… a combination of activities where you’re one of the best in your category and a few others that you do just for fun.)
If you’re aiming for top 25 LAC/national U’s, you’ll need to be a champion in your martial art, preferably compete regionally and nationally, AND have other hobbies.
You should read Cal Newport’s How to be a high school superstar _, and perhaps _Make colleges want you by Moyer.
