High School Course Plan Advice Needed

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

Hello, I am a sophomore in High School this year.
The classes I have taken and that I am going to take are listed as follows with their respective grade:

Freshman Year (Taken)

Wellness - A
Latin 1 - A
Latin 2 - A
General Art - A
Honors English 1 - A
Honors Geometry - B —> I got a B, because of a situation that was going on in Real Life, but it is taken care of.
Honors Biology - A
AP Human Geography - A

Sophomore Year

Aerobics (for PE credit) - Predicted A
Honors Algebra 2 - Predicted A
Honors English 2 - Predicted A
Honors Latin 3 - Predicted A
Honors Precalculus - N/A
Honors Latin 4 - N/A
AP Government - N/A
Honors Chemistry - N/A

Now here is where I need help…

Junior Year

AP Literature
AP US History
Honors Biology 2
Honors Chemistry 2
AP Calculus AB
AP Calculus BC
AP Chemistry
AP Biology

Would you guys say that it is possible to pass all these classes with an A? I am an extremely passionate student. While I am not the smartest cookie out there, I do work hard, I do study hard, and most of the time I accomplish what I want to. My school has an excellent staff body that offers tons of science and math help. I know that the work load will be heavy, but otherwise, do you think that my goal is firmly possible?

Senior Year

AP Language
AP Economics (Macro/Micro offered in 1 semester)
Honors Physics
AP Latin: Vergil
AP Statistics
Anatomy
Scientific Research
Microbiology

I feel that my senior year is too easy. I’ve heard that AP Econ and AP Statistics are very simple. I know that Senior Year is often seen as the time to relax, but I do not want that to be my case. How can I strength it? Any classes you recommend me taking? I want to major in Biochemistry in college, and eventually get into medical school, so please do keep that in mind.

I know that this a lot, and I do appreciate your constructive, helpful comments.

P.S. I do plan to purchase Barron’s books for all the AP Classes for my junior year, and I will be preparing and studying all summer if all goes well.

2

Junior year seems like a lot. What’s the difference betwein Honors Bio II and Honors Chem II and AP Bio and AP Chem? They probably cover the same material. Will you be taking Calc AB and BC at the same time? If so you might as well just take BC. I think your senior schedule looks good, but if you want a challenge, you might add AP Physics I instead of Honors.

3

Thank you for your reply, Madeline. I appreciate it. Honors Chemistry 2 and Honors Biology 2 are required classes that we have to take before we can take AP Chemistry and AP Biology, that is why I am taking them. As for the Calculus, our school offers AP Calc AB and BC year-round, there is no other way around that. And your AP Physics recommendation has been noted thank you.

I would appreciate further feedback from the rest of the community.

4

why aren’t you taking Latin your junior year? It would definitely be hard to pick Latin back up (especially at the Ap level) after a year off…

5

Well you see, I want to take it Junior Year, but I feel that it is more important to knock off the science courses in that time. In addition to that, I am part of Latin Club, and I have a very close relationship with the Latin teacher, so I should be able to keep practicing Latin year round and in the summer for the duration of my junior year.

6

Bump…

7

I’d recommend not taking AP Biology and AP Chemistry the same year. They are the most difficult AP classes and sometimes the labs will go into your other hours and if you end up having labs for both on the same day that would be a mess. At my school we are not even allowed to take them the same year but we can take AP Physics and either AP Biology and AP Chemistry the same year. You don’t really need to throw them both in the same year along with 2 classes of AP Calc do you?

I would switch things around so your schedules would look like this:

AP Literature
AP US History
Honors Biology 2
Honors Chemistry 2
AP Calculus AB
AP Calculus BC
AP Economics
AP Biology

AP Language
AP Chemistry
Honors Physics
AP Latin: Vergil
AP Statistics
Anatomy
Scientific Research
Microbiology

I hear AP Economics is a breeze so it could be that one class for you that you can take a bit of a break. I’m all for challenging yourself and working hard but I don’t think you should stress yourself out. You have to remember that during your junior year you have test preparation and extra curriculars and it’s the year where you really need to have good grades. I ended up pushing myself to hard and I didn’t have enough time to study for my ACT and I didn’t even come close to the score I wanted.

I think moving AP Chemistry and maybe even AP Calculus BC to your senior year would benefit you more than shoving them all into your junior year. Your senior year already looks difficult but since you want it to be harder adding those classes will do the trick.

8

@yurica - thank you so much! Your advice is very insightful, and it has helped me reach a decision. I will be editing my schedule with your comments into account and submitting to the counselor on Tuesday. Thank you.

Also, would you recommend taking the ACT, SAT, or both? And if so, how do you study for these tests? Is the Princeton Review/SAT practice book enough?

9

You’re welcome!

I think your school will have you take either the ACT or SAT and then you can choose the other. My school had us take the ACT but they are now switching to the SAT. I would recommend taking both but taking the SAT multiple times. Both tests are almost identical subject wise. The differences between them are that the ACT has more advanced math, the SAT has stronger vocabulary, and the ACT has a science section that has absolutely nothing to do with science(it was a nightmare). Usually, students who perform well on logical reasoning exams and puzzles do well on the SAT while students who prefer straightforward information and plow through their academic subjects with straight As do better on the ACT. The SAT gives students plenty of time to decipher problems, and rewards them for creative thinking. The ACT is a brutal, straightforward exam of material and concepts.

The only effective way of studying for the ACT that I know of is by understanding concepts and paying attention in your math and science classes.

To study for the SAT you can take a prep class, buy a practice book, buy an online prep course, and study vocabulary. Most of all you need to practice. The more you practice taking the test the easier it will be taking the actual test.

10

@yurica - thank you! One more last question, would you recommend taking the SAT/ACT this year (sophomore year) or would it be wiser to wait until Junior year?

11

It would be wiser to take them your junior year.