<p>wow…you guys are really lucky that ur school offers so many ap’s
in my school we only have 8: ap chem, bio, calc, spanish, us history, english language, english literature, and art history. i wish we had more, like psychology, but we dont :/</p>
<p>My school , as a test centre, offers everything except Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Latin, Spanish Lang and Lit, Studio Art.</p>
<p>My school doesn’t have pre-reqs, especially for my program :)</p>
<p>There are no pre-reqs at our school, but we only offer 6 APs, and 7 starting next year. </p>
<p>I wish I knew about self-studying earlier than the middle of my junior year.</p>
<p>You should really watch out. I am going to be a senior in the fall, and I will be considering top universities next fall (Northwestern, Cal Berkeley, Johns Hopkins, MIT…). I took APUSH sophomore year and 6 AP’s junior year (4 is the most any other junior at my school took I think). With all my SAT’s, AP tests, AP exam prep, AP exams, and just normal stress of being a teenager, I paid the price. During my AP Spanish exam, I experienced a grand mal seizure, was hospitalized, and I still had exams to take. I am okay right now, but I cannot drive until November, my school schedule was screwed up, I had many exams on the late date, and my grades dipped from their normal standard. I am still dealing with the doctors to work on my case.</p>
<p>I decided to take a route within my limits for my senior year: I am signed up for 4 AP’s next year. </p>
<p>I’m not saying that if you can really handle all the AP courses you shouldn’t push yourself to compete. But what I am saying is this: you should be sleeping 8-9 hours a night. Do what’s in your limits. It is not an admirable trait to push yourself beyond your limits. At the end of the day, whether you have 2, 4, 5, or 6 AP courses, if you’re a good student and an interesting kid, you’ll get into a good school-the right one for you. Being a super overachiever means your missing out on other things in life; develop good balanced habits now that’ll last you a lifetime. At the end of the day, your undergrad doesn’t have as big an impact as many people think on your job. Going to Harvard Graduate School of Business holds a lot more weight for companies than Harvard Undergraduate School of Business. I know because my parents hire people at a mid-size electronics company. Not to mention, many of the upper-level, rising people, as well as senior people there went to places like Penn State, Rensselaer Polytechnic, etc. It’s the person that matters, not the brand name of the university.</p>
<p>Also remember that it’s not about the quantity, but the quality. The goal of AP courses is that you learn something well. Putting together a solid resume is nice, but only if it represents you. Take courses that YOU (not your parents) are passionate about, and that you can focus on learning well. I learned that the hard way.</p>
<p>I’m surprised kids who take so many AP classes don’t get more health problems than they already do lol.</p>
<p>I don’t understand how some find it pleasurable to self-study numerous subjects.</p>
<p>Good post Revigik</p>
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<p>It makes sense – if one is bored at school, and would like to know more about a subject, why not learn about it in depth? And if the opportunity arises to take an exam and be exempt from repeating the material in college, it’s a good deal.</p>
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<p>This is very true. Another reason is that the subject may not be offered at the school but one is very interested in finding out about that subject and consequently taking the test. I’m one of those people. I’m going to take AP Psychology because it looks interesting and I don’t think I’ll get another chance to read psychology at this level.</p>
<p>It also exposes me to a lot more possibilities. I’m a lot more interested in government and politics thanks to those two exams on them.</p>
<p>At my school, you can’t take any AP courses until your Junior year (with the exception of World History), and most you cannot take until your senior year.</p>
<p>Freshman:
None</p>
<p>Sophomore:
World History
Human Geography (on rare occasions)</p>
<p>Junior:
US History
English Language
Biology
Chemistry
Psychology
Art History
Music Theory
French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese
Environmental Science</p>
<p>Senior only:
Calculus AB and BC
Economics
Government
Physics
English Literature
All of the ones listed under Junior year</p>
<p>At most, students at my school take about 9-10 APs. And that’s serious overkill. I consider myself an overachiever, but even I’m only going to end up with 7 AP classes for my entire high school career.</p>