How managable is this schedule?

Test Preparation AP Test Preparation
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<p>My guidance counselors randomly decided to send out course sheets for next year, and will sporadically call us in for the full deal once we get til January. Lots of people I know from other towns suggest not taking any more than like 3 APs, though I have different plans. </p>

<p>APUSH
AP Macro (is it easy to self-study AP Micro with this)
AP Lit (probably not, it's too brutal. Anyone know how worse it'd look to not have AP English?)
AP US Gov
AP Stats
AP Bio, unless chemistry H suddenly becomes a lot more interesting</p>

<p>Other than lit, I kinda think it's not like death (well, it is, but not like death death). I know workload and stuff varies by teacher, but has anyone else here taken this many AP courses?</p>

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<p>What year are you in? And I guess it’s possible…but I really wouldn’t recommend it. It’s true that some of them are easy, but you should focus more on the workload instead of the difficulty. Bio, APUSH, and Macro (and possibly Lit) together equates to reading till death. If you’re a junior, it’ll probably be hell for you given extracurriculars and SATs. So while you might get 5s on all of the exams, you might get low grades in the class itself. I’ve never heard of anyone taking 7 APs IN SCHOOL. I have heard of people taking 7 APs by self studying some of them. But that’s easier because it’s more flexible, and you determine your workload yourself. Personally, I think 3-5 APs in school would be considered a good and challenging schedule.</p>

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<p>Considering I’m probably not taking lit, it’s only 5 APs there. </p>

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<p>Well, I’m a sophomore now. I’m kind of already pushing forward with my SATs (have to, I suck at standardized test stuff). I guess handling ECs will be kinda hard.
If there’s anything I’ve noticed, I think I do better with a harder courseload. Last year, I had some of the hardest teachers in the school, and I got all 96’s+. This year, I have some of the easiest teachers, and I barely pulled 92-95’s (the workload is half of last year’s). My hope is to get my class rank, GPA, and ‘intellectualness’ up with my bootcamp schedule.</p>

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<p>Bumpppppppp</p>

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<p>Of course everything depends on you and your strengths, but I’m assuming if you’re considering taking so many AP courses you’re pretty smart.</p>

<p>APUSH is not difficult conceptually but it will be a lot of work, a lot of memorization. AP Euro/U.S. require more work than any other AP class pretty much. They’re not the hardest, but you will be reading your American Pageant book or whatever you use for several hours each week, in addition to whatever busywork your teacher assigns. Personally I self-studied AP U.S. and got a 5/800, it is not that difficult if you have a solid background in U.S. history and read a textbook/prep-book; however, your teacher may assign a lot of extra work that makes the course more difficult and time-consuming than it needs to be.</p>

<p>I haven’t taken AP Bio but from what I’ve heard it is the same thing. A bunch of memorization/reading, the concepts are probably harder than APUSH though so it is probably more difficult, of course depending on how well you pick up scientific concepts. I think the combination of APUSH + AP Bio is a very time consuming one, and these courses will likely consume most of your study time. If you’re OK with that then you’ll probably do OK with them, but they may distract from other things. </p>

<p>Economics is easy as long as you are decent at math, nothing beyond basic algebra but there are a lot of graphs. Econ is a concept course though, there is not too much to memorize and the reading is not too intense. If you pick up on the concepts very quickly, there will likely be very little work you need to do, unless your teacher assigns a lot of busywork. Personally I think econ is pretty easy as far as an AP course and you could probably self-study it quite easily; once you have the general background, there is nothing holding you back from self-studying the one you don’t take and taking both AP tests. </p>

<p>AP Statistics is a pretty easy course, it pretty much doesn’t go beyond basic algebra skills and there isn’t too much to memorize.</p>

<p>I think it’s definitely doable, although if it were me I would consider not doing AP Bio + APUSH together. The rest of the schedule is not too difficult. Are you taking pre-calc/what math?</p>

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<p>Wow Extelleron! Big thanks for your detailed posted!</p>

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<p>I’ve been talking to a couple of the seniors/juniors around here, and for the most part, my APUSH teacher is pretty lax, so aside from a few study guides to fill out now and then, his class shouldn’t be that much busy work oriented. Thankfully (kind of), I have a pretty detailed USH honors teacher this year, coupled with a natural inclination towards history, I honestly am not too worried about APUSH.
AP Bio is exactly how you put it. I’m kind of leaning towards it, mostly since my current honors chem class isn’t pushing so much towards my way, but I’m still considering it (or just AP Physics). Want to save the good old APES for senior year. Our teacher for AP Bio is brutal; someone told me last year he a gave the final chapter test the day before final exams. </p>

<p>@AP Macro: Yeah, I did a summer program over the summer and took economics as my course. And I’m always reading about that stuff anyway, so AP Macro shouldn’t be that bad. I’m guessing AP Micro has a lot of overlap with Macro, right?
On the bright(er) side, AP Macro’s teacher is pretty lax, easy, and has one great story to tell everyday.</p>

<p>@AP Stats: Heard it’s OK as well.</p>

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We have 2 honors classes for pre-calc, so if this is my schedule, I’ll just take the easier one (idk why everyone just doesn’t take the easier pre-calc honors class, its easier and same GPA weight). I was considering doubling up in math to hopefully take AP Calc BC senior year, but I doubt it.
Of all these classes, I’m most concerned about English. AP Lit is brutally death at my school, and honors classes are still pretty difficult. Not doing so brightly in it this year as well =/
No word of advice on AP Gov? </p>

<p>But thanks for the nice post man, appreciate it.</p>

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<p>Beyond the basic things that you would learn in either course, like up to supply and demand graphs, I don’t think theres really that much overlap. I’m taking AP Econ this year (for our school micro/macro are combined into one class) and we’re almost done with micro, I’ve done a lot of the reading for macro already and its really much different. Like in Micro you will consider the overall market for a good / its factors of production but you’ll be mostly focused on the firm’s decisions. A lot of it is just common sense/common knowledge though, expressed in more scientific terms, especially a lot of the early Macro stuff (ie. banking/financial system and how its organized, inflation, GDP, unemployment rate.)</p>

<p>If you’re not an English nut then yeah I think AP Lit is a bad idea. You have to really love reading and analyzing literature and writing about literature. The teacher at our school is pretty crazy too; luckily I avoided that class.</p>

<p>I haven’t taken AP Gov and they don’t offer it at my school so I have no idea. Just from a hunch I’d say it is probably a lot of memorization though, because there really can’t be too many concepts about how the government is structured.</p>

<p>Hearing from people on here like you makes me glad that my school is so easy, lol. Grade inflation is crazy here. It’s nice on one hand but we don’t learn that much either, so it’s difficult to compete on things like the SAT subject tests where you have to have detailed knowledge of some subject.</p>

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<p>Oooh, I think that I may come in handy here! I’m a junior in high school and I’m taking 6 AP classes this year in school, along with 2 honors classes that require almost no work. The classes that I’m taking are</p>

<p>AP Biology
AP US History
AP European History
AP Comparative Government
AP English (gosh I forget the title of the course, but it’s not the Literature one)
AP Calculus AB </p>

<p>My parents told me not to do it, my guidance officers told me not to do it, all of my friends shook their heads and told me that I was going to lose my mind, etc etc. In all honesty, it is very hard simply because of the time and dedication that I have to put into all of it. Of course my school lined it up so I got offered all of the reading-heavy courses in the same year, so that is why it’s been so time consuming. And obnoxious. BUT, I’m glad that I did it. Anyway, here’s my evaluation so far. Keep in mind of course that every school is going to be different with different teachers and workloads per course. </p>

<p>Biology has been pretty easy for me. My teacher is very lax and pretty much hands out grades, so I essentially read some good ol’ Dostoevsky in his class each day and watch the girl next to me draw. While I do have to study for tests because he will give out B’s and C’s if you have no idea what you’re doing, I like the form of the class because it’s essentially self-study and you don’t need to know everything in detail. I ridiculously lucked out on this because I REALLY could have been working my butt off for a good grade in AP Bio. But I knew of him ahead of time so it’s all good. </p>

<p>APUSH has been a horror. AP Euro has also been a horror as well. The two classes combined was perhaps not the smartest choice - and I’ll definitely regret it on test day, because the tests are one after the other - BUT I’m madly in love with learning history, so I grin and bear it. Without grinning, haha. It’s just a lot of time and reading and flash cards for me, but it’s doable. </p>

<p>Comparative Government I’m taking as an afterschool class, so it’s very relaxed and only once a week. Another self-study pretty much… an easy A when you get down to it. Calculus I suppose is like any other math course for me. I’m pulling a low A in it (struggling a little bit with the very difficult concept questions on the tests) but otherwise it’s not taking too much of my study time. English is the same. I’m either getting a very high B or a very low A (my teacher is ridiculously hard and probably gives out around 13 A’s out of all of his students… booo) although I’m doing NO work and spending NO time on that class. He simply doesn’t give out homework. Our whole grade is essays. Not much that I can do there haha. </p>

<p>As for extracurriculars, I play travel softball, classical piano, and volunteer weekly at a Holocaust Center. I’m in two clubs, and in one of those two I’m an officer (that doesn’t have to do anything). So it’s not like I go right home after school and study… although sometimes I wish I could do that so that I’d get some more shut-eye. </p>

<p>Anyway, in conclusion I’d have to say that it’s definitely POSSIBLE. Just really take into consideration what your teachers next year will be like. Ask around and figure out how hard it is to get an A in those classes and how much work you’ll have to be doing - and if it’s memorization, or concept. I definitely took too much memorization this year, although I had no leeway to work with. The one thing that I should comment on is that while I am taking the SAT this year, and actually next week or so come to think of it, I’m not really spending any time at all preparing for it. I took a practice course in the summer and got private tutoring on weekends for my lower math skills, and now that that’s all done and out of the way, I’m just pushing the SAT to the back of my mind and focusing on my actual classes. </p>

<p>It’s a little bit miserable, but it’s intense. I asked for the courseload and I definitely got what I wanted. If you want to get a higher GPA, spend a lot of your free time reading and memorizing, learning a whole bunch of new (and mostly irrelevant) information, challenging yourself, and impressing colleges then it’s definitely the path to go. But if you’re not willing to pretty much make your junior year hell for the sake of intellectual improvement, then I suggest that you drop an AP or two.</p>

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<p>Yeah, I’m barely averaging a morbid 85-88 in my current English honor’s class.</p>

<p>But yeah, hopefully I’m not going suicidal next year. Better yet, I hope my guidance counselor lets me take the courses I want and there aren’t any overlaps which would force me to not take a course.</p>

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<p>Defintely manageable, but it depends on several factors. My junior year I took AP English language, AP Spanish language, AP psych, APUSH, and AP Calc AB and it wasn’t too difficult; APUSH just happens to be a very work intensive and time consuming course at my school. This year I have AP Econ, AP Stat, AP Calc BC, AP Physics B, AP English Lit, and AP Chem as a self-study and I’m rather bored with school and I have plenty of time for a number of EC’s/ It all depends on your school and the difficulty of each course at your school and your ability to retain information and handle time.</p>

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<p>This year I’m taking APUSH in school and self studying psych, ES, human geography.</p>

<p>Next year (junior) I plan to take</p>

<p>IB English HL (take lang test)
AP Chem
Chem Lab
AP Econ (micro/macro)
AP Calc AB
AP Stats</p>

<p>and self study US gov+Comp Gov</p>

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<p>Junior:</p>

<p>AP Chem
AP Physics
AP Calculus BC
APUSH
AP Stat</p>

<p>Honors English
Latin III (no honors available)
Number Theory</p>

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<p>That’s 8 classes, don’t you need to have a gym?</p>

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<p>Yeah, I know it does. But still, an AP is still an AP here or there. Was really just wondering if my schedule was even conceivable (which it isn’t according to a few people I know). Even if it’s triple my current workload, that’s like… 3 hours of work a night.</p>

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<p>First, I can tell you that I’m taking 7 AP classes in school and that it is possible. I would NOT recommend it on top of college admissions and extra-curriculars, but I’m still alive! If you want the credit, I’d do more self-studying (which my school doesn’t allow). I feel like I sit in school all day and get homework, and then go home and self-study anyways. </p>

<p>I’ve taken all you classes, here’s my advice:</p>

<p>APUSH- just memorizing. I recommend making outlines of whatever material you get
AP Macro/Micro- not too bad. My teacher is very confusing, but I’m pretty sure at other schools its easy
AP Lit- I love English, so I might be biased, but it’s not too bad. Have someone else edit your papers if you want.
AP US Gov- I’m a gov nut, so I really can’t say much here
AP Stats- manageable, sooo much better than ap calc
AP Bio- the easiest ap science (so I’ve heard), but the most memorizing</p>

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<p>I don’t know about this, around like 60% of kids who take AP Macro in my school drop out failing. Although I took a summer course on it and did fine. I’m still puzzled on why everyone thinks it’s so difficult.</p>

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<p>Over APES?!?!? I have a feeling this AP’s going to be the most stressful for me (assuming I don’t take AP lit)</p>

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<p>It really depends on the teachers. Within my own school district, APUSH at two of the high schools is the hardest AP class, and at one of them is the easiest AP class. So you should ask people from your own school.</p>