Help me decide which classes to take next year?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>So, I'm undecided about classes, especially APs and I need advice and help weighing the pros and cons.</p>

<p>A bit about me: I have time management issues but I'm very studious. I'm happiest when I can get a lot of work done, but lots of work on topics I don't care for is dreadful. I'm naturally good with music, abstract subjects, sociological discussions, and languages. I'm bad with math, science, spatial logic, very very detailed things to remember (better with applying concepts than applying facts or outside knowledge), and anything requiring physical coordination haha.</p>

<p>I'm taking AP Music Theory for sure, 5 days a week. That'll be hard but I want to study music in college, and the teacher is one that I'm friends with, we do private voice/theory lessons outside of class as well. My dad studies music too so I'll have something to fall back on.</p>

<p>I want to take AP Psych. I like the teacher, and it's only 4 days a week. I had a blast in regular psych and sociology (2 separate classes that I took last semester), testing was a little weak but I got fantastic grades on all my essays and research papers. I got an A in both classes. Teacher also likes me.</p>

<p>Now comes the iffy APs...
I can't decide between Lit, Gov, and French.</p>

<p>Lit: I signed up for this because I don't want to be in regular lit. I prefer English when it's discussed philosophically and I'm generally a good reader and good at analyzing things. Regular English has always been bland and tedious to me; AP Lang was challenging but I learned a lot. I just got the summer work packet today though and I really would rather not do all of that...the homework for that class seems so excessive, but I'd like to be friends with the one teacher who's teaching it next year, I've met her and she seems super interesting. However, I don't want to have to do a lot of work outside class, and it's 5 days a week which might not work well with my schedule. Regular Lit is 3 days a week.</p>

<p>Gov: Admittedly I want to take Gov because of the teacher, but also it's only one semester which is nice. It would also allow me to keep in contact with the AP Euro teacher I have this year. The AP Gov teacher is also the teacher who runs my advisory, he's incredibly friendly and I could always get outside help from him due to advisory. I also think it would be fun to learn the distinctions between political parties and all. It seems a bit dry but at least it's not very excessive and I've helped friends with their APGov homework and it was easy for me. I feel like it has a large sociological aspect as well, which I like.</p>

<p>French: I'm in French III now, and I'm honestly one of the best kids in my class. It comes very easily to me for the most part. My French teacher also adores me and will just chat with me about her personal life, I think she's great. Also, both of my parents are fully fluent in French, and I really want to travel there, perhaps study abroad in college, and gain fluency in the language. I'm a bit iffy jumping straight from III to AP but my teacher said it sounds manageable for me since it comes so naturally to me, and AP meets with IV 3 days a week and on its own only 2 days, so it's not a massive jump.</p>

<p>At the moment I'm leaning towards Theory, Psych, Gov, and French, but I also don't want to get overloaded. I'd be playing to my strengths but time management is so important in APs I'm just not sure if I could handle it. I struggled with 2 APs this year (Lang and Euro) but I wasn't playing to my strengths necessarily, nor did I have a very solid support system.</p>

<p>As for other classes I'm taking...
Possibly Prob/Stat, I'm not a math person and it's supposed to be incredibly easy, I'm quite good with statistics and I don't want to drop math AND science after not doing too well in them this year.</p>

<p>I was thinking of advanced Theater but now I'm thinking of dropping that so I have more free time, I'll be involved with theater regardless and I have more than enough fine arts credits.</p>

<p>I'll be in advanced women's choir, which won't be too challenging, and I have tons of friends who got into it for next year as well. What's majorly weighing me down is that I need practical arts and phys ed credits to graduate. I need 5 PA credits and 2 PE credits. So I have to take 1 3 day a week PA class, 1 2 day a week PA class, and 1 2 day a week PE class.</p>

<p>For PA, I'm thinking of taking interior design or personal finance for 3 days a week, and child development or a different personal finance for 2 days a week. I don't know which of those are the least rigorous, I'm thinking 3 day personal finance and child development, but you DO have to do the 'take care of a baby doll' thing in child development and I am so not looking forward to that. PE isn't all that important, I might take golf or something.</p>

<p>I am planning on talking to my counselor soon but, just based on your own experiences with AP classes, what would be the best route to go given my other classes? Any sage advice?</p>

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<p>No matter what you should definitely take AP Lit. Heard its a life changer</p>

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<p>If you don’t want to do the work for the class then don’t do it, you said yourself you have time management problems and you don’t like to do work on topics you don’t like. Also, you should not be basing your decision of what classes to take on what teachers are teaching it. While a good teacher will make the class more enjoyable you are the one that has to do the homework, tests, and essay. If you want the teachers so you can be able to maintain a good relationship for recs, most recs are written and finished by the first few months of school, so it doesn’t matter if you have them as a teacher or not for your senior year. One of my best friend’s mom’s is a teacher and many of her students have maintained relationships with her through the years (even when they were in college) just by stopping in her classroom and saying hi. Hope this helps!</p>

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<p>@maymay5678‌ That’s the problem. I don’t want to do the work for Lit, honestly. And having teachers you have a good relationship with generally makes them a lot more lenient when you need an extension or an exemption.</p>

<p>I want them for recs and also just because I enjoy being friends with my teachers. It makes class a lot more enjoyable as well as making it easier for me to pay attention.</p>

<p>I just can’t decide which classes would be the best idea for me to take, and the most enjoyable. I don’t want to do anything that will lower my grades, and I think AP Lit might do that. The rest I’m pretty sure I can do well in. I think I can maintain As in Theory and French, high B/B+ in Psych, and a mid range B in Gov. Lit, probably a low B/B-.</p>

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<p>What schools are you looking to apply to, cause that may help with deciding the rigor of your classwork.</p>

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<p>@maymay5678 Idk right now. I’m thinking about Lewis & Clark, Whittier, Linfield, Willamette, Oxy (low reach) and 2-3 high reaches. I have a couple instate safety public schools but for the most part they’re mid-range selective LACs. I need enough hard classes to redeem myself from an awful second junior semester but not so many that I get mediocre grades…that’s the opposite of what I want. I’m hoping for a sudden MAJOR upward trend (minimum GPA I’ll be happy with is 3.7) and I’m trying to be smart about the classes I include in my schedule. Challenging but interesting, classes that I can easily get help in if I need it.</p>

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<p>Honestly, they want you to see you taking the hardest schedule you can handle. If you feel like you can manage senior year and all the stresses that come with it and still take all of the APs and do well in them then of course you should. However, if you do feel like you can’t, then I would say drop Lit first (you seem the least passionate about that), and then French (just take level 4). Hope this helps!</p>

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<p>@maymay5678 I’m about equal in passion for Lit and Gov but I think Gov would be more interesting, have a lighter work load, and it only lasts a semester so I’d have 3 APs instead of 4 my second semester (a luxury I can’t afford if I choose to take Lit).</p>

<p>French just seems like…there’s no point in NOT taking AP. Mostly everyone I’ve asked about it has said it’s a better idea to take AP if I want to continue with the language. I don’t imagine it would be incredibly hard to go down to IV if I start next year and decide I can’t handle the work load though.</p>