High school course load

[WorryHurry411]

Ideal high school course load/schedule for a wannabe Princetonian?

[Cantiger]

The most challenging that your school offers.

[sherpa]

I assume my son’s course load was fairly typical. Here’s my off the cuff recollection of some of the AP classes he took junior and senior years:

Chemistry
Calculus BC
English Language

English Literature
Spanish Language
Spanish Literature
Art History
European History
Biology
U.S. History
Physics B
Physics C

Keep in mind that Princeton won’t penalize students whose high school’s don’t offer a lot of APs, as long as they take, as @Cantiger wrote, the most challenging offered.

[renaissancedad]

A rigorous, challenging course load that genuinely excites you for its own sake.

Here are Princeton’s recommendations for academic preparation:

If possible, we expect students will complete the following courses before beginning study at Princeton:

• four years of English (including continued practice in writing)
• four years of mathematics (including calculus for students interested in engineering)
• four years of one foreign language
• at least two years of laboratory science (including physics and chemistry for students interested in engineering)
• at least two years of history

In addition, most candidates have had some study in the visual or performing arts.

Whenever you can, challenge yourself with the most rigorous courses possible, such as honors, Advanced Placement (AP) and dual-enrollment courses. We will evaluate the International Baccalaureate (IB), A-levels or another diploma in the context of the program’s curriculum.

https://admission.princeton.edu/applyingforadmission/academic-preparation