high school schedule

hi! I am currently a sophomore in high school and I wanted some opinions on my high school schedule plans for the next two years and any advise. My hope is to attend an elite college, and right now I am in a top high school that is very competitive. Here is what I have done academically thus far to hopefully stand out,

freshman
English 9 Hon
Geometry Hon
2D Art
Spanish III
Chem
Bio
AP World History

sophomore
English 10 Hon
Algebra II Hon
Spanish IV Hon
Physics
AP Chemistry (2 period block)
AP European History

Freshman year I ended with a 4.3 gpa and managed to get straight A’s with the exception of one B+ in AP world first semester, which is notorious to be the hardest AP class at my school. I am also doing well this year. I have a big schedule planned for the next two years, but I think I can handle it:

junior
AP Lit
Pre Calc Honors
AP Stats
Spanish 5 Honors
AP Biology (2 period block)
APUSH

senior
AP Lang
AP Calc BC
AP Spanish
AP Gov/Econ
Anatomy Hon
Intro to Business
Teacher Aide

Senior year it definitely tentative since thats a while away but that’s a main idea of some of the core classes I am planning on taking. My only worry is that I am biting off more than I can chew. I have always been a straight A student, so I really don’t want to ruin that.

PLEASE let me know any opinions/thoughts/concerns you have, I would love to get as much advise as possible. Anything will help, thank you!

If you manage to do well with 2 AP classes and 3 Honors classes your sophomore year, I think you’ll be fine.
Since AP Bio usually cover most aspects of Bio (including Anatomy and Physiology) you might want to take something other than Anatomy your senior year. How about AP Physics? Does your school offer that class?

Perhaps take intro to business or teacher’s aide (or study hall or an easy elective) instead of AP stats, so that you’d schedule increases in rigor rather than have an abrupt drop off from jury to Sr year.

Does your school so AP lit in 11 AP Lang in 12? Because many schools do the opposite.

hat sort of majors are you thinking of (yes I know that it’d be very tentative at this point).

yes my school does ap lit first which i know that is very strange! i am definitely going for some type of major in science! and thank you for the advise i was thinking the same thing on the drop off in rigor because i don’t want colleges to think i’m blowing of senior year. @MYOS1634

yes it does offer ap physics! i was also considering that class but i want to do something medical related as a possible career in the future. i will keep this in mind! @HopefullyBrown24

Ok then we take intro to business Jr year, which leaves two slots (intro to business, teacher’s aide).
If you’re not going into pre-vet or nursing, it may be a good idea to choose another science than Anatomy (AP cs principles? Might be pushing it in terms of APs though). Does your school offer some sort of non AP cs? Or regular science classes?
Your last class could be a ‘fun’ class you’ve always wondered about : theater tech, Current events, culinary arts…

@MYOS1634 i could switch the years i take anatomy and ap stats? i am interested in both classes i just think i don’t have very good placement. sadly, my high school is definitely more traditional and doesn’t have culinary arts or theater tech, i will have to look into other elective options. intro to business & teacher aide were two classes i am interested in but not set on taking if you know what i mean. we do have AP cs but i’m not sure if i would do well in that do you know how it is?

You need to keep a science in your schedule senior year but you could take AP stats then. Teacher’s aide is not seen as a class. It counts the same as study hall, except you can’t do HW or write college essays in it. It can help with a recommendation of the teacher you’re an aide for writes recommendations.
There are two AP cs classes, one is AP cs principles that introduces you to the different ways in which cs applies to our lives and is project-based. The other ap cs class is a programming class and is much harder/less fun (unless you’re into programming or want to major in cs) so for an elective I’d recommend cs principles.

we only have cs w/ programming:( and yeah i will have to figure out a science class but thank you so much!! @MYOS1634

As a side note, here are a few comments about your classes:
Junior
AP Lit - It differs for schools/states, but like MYOS1634 noted, this is known as a senior class due to its notoriously hard workload in comparison to Lang. The actual exam mirrors this; Lang is quite easy to score a 4/5 as long as your essays are decent and your MC’s are good. Lit is hard - especially if you do not like English.
Pre Calc Honors - Eh. It’s all right
AP Stat - I took this senior year and it was a hard class for many due to the fact that the teacher was new at teaching the subject and known for being one. Overall, expect a lot of writing and hand-cramping with FRQs (lol). One good thing is that if you get a 5, you can place out of Stat in college since its a required course for many majors. Saves tons of money and time.
Spanish 5 Honors - Don’t know, quit Spanish after middle school in favor of the classics (Latin, Greek).
AP Biology (2 period block) - Eh as well. Some say it was hard, but as someone that went from AP Chem to AP Bio, its chill. Of course, your aptitude for science in general factors into it.
APUSH - I recognize that this is a staple class for those who typically take AP’s, but as someone that took AP World, skipped APUSH, and then took AP Gov, I support my route all the way. ALSO (important) – you may feel as if this is too early, but LOOK AT YOUR COLLEGES OF CHOICE. MAKE A LIST. Look at the AP credits they accept AND look at the particular credit. It’s a little bit of college course lingo you have to learn but its pretty easy to decipher. A lot of colleges only select AP credits. For example, take AP Lit and AP Lang. These are notorious for being either/or, as in, you can get get a credit for either one or the other, and not both. It differs for each college. I’m a Northern Virginian kid who ended up applying to mostly Virginia colleges to save money for med school. Those schools (think UVA, William and Mary, VT, etc) typically accepted both credits. BUT, UVA, for example, only accepts a credit for either AP World or APUSH - So plan accordingly. I’m not saying don’t take the AP, but you do not have to take at least 5 AP’s every year to get into an elite college. Think sports, extracurriculars, and leadership. Seriously, I can’t stress this enough! Some poor kid in my senior year went the all AP route with barely any extracurriculars. She was so focused on only academics that she actually Your essay is also your time to shine. If you’re really that neurotic with a need to prepare in advance, check our CommonAPP. It’s what you will to apply to most colleges (though not UC schools) and their essays are typically the same in advance.

Senior
AP Lang - re: above AP Lit
AP Calc BC - Always been decent at math so calculus was actually enjoyable. Good teachers make it much better too.
AP Spanish: re: above Spanish 5 HN
AP Gov/Econ - Never took AP Macro/Micro (ECON). As someone following the pre-med path, econ was seen as a joke to me (not to mention incredibly boring). I had to take it in order to graduate HS, but I took a regular Econ class over the summer for $100. It was supposed to be a 4-5 week class, but as it was self-paced, I breezed through it in less than two weeks and got my HS credit. Best decision I ever made. Opened my schedule for other science classes and electives. As for AP Gov, class is a joke in terms of how hard the AP exam is and the workload. Once you get past all of the other AP’s, it’s typically a breeze and a nice relief in the hectic first semester as a senior applying to colleges.
Anatomy Hon - LOVE LOVE LOVE. I’ve met pre-meds who decided not to take A&P in HS in favor of taking it in college, but as someone that loves this subject and aims for a career in medicine, fantastic! I found that although you certainly go more in-depth in terms of physiology and how the body works exactly in AP Bio, the staples of anatomy in an actual A&P class is much more worthwhile (and enjoyable).
Intro to Business - Never even heard of this, sorry.
Teacher Aide - Like others noted, this is typically seen as a blow-off course along to the likes of Study Hall.

For additional classes, think AP Psych. I opted not to take AP Com Sci in HS as it didn’t really capture my interest, nor did it follow my desired career path. As for academic difficulty, it will always depend on your aptitude, hard work, time, etc. I had a part-time job (two in junior year) plus a lot of extracurriculars so think tons of coffee, but luckily enough, I enjoy learning, especially while having fun and talking with friends so I managed to graduate with a good track record and 4.3 GPA.

I know I just vomited a ton of information at you and now you’re probably scared out of your mind, but seriously - it’s okay. You will survive! Just remember that classes in subjects you enjoy will always be easier and go by faster. So explore and take classes that you’re genuinely interested in. Your GPA (and your exhausted brain) will thank you for it.

@greenie99 WOW!! thank you for all of that info!!! i am in a similar spot as you i think that i want to go into premed or something with science because i love it! you are such a great help:)

Make sure you have one each of Bio, chem, and physics at any level before you take a&P. If AP physics and you’re thinking premed, AP Physics1 or 2.