How Many APs Should I Take Junior Year? (if My GPA is Low)

<p>I've been contemplating about how many APs I should be taking Junior Year. I know AP Courses aren't everything when it comes to applying to Top Universities but I do know that Junior Year is the most important school year so I want to try my best. The problem is my Sophomore GPA wasn't the greatest: UW: 3.1, W:3.6. My Cumulative GPA is now : UW: 3.2, W:3.7. (I went through a lot of family issues). Anyways I thought that if I took more AP classes that maybe I could boost my GPA a bit but I don't want to do poorly by overloading myself. Here is my planned Junior Schedule:</p>

<p>Junior Schedule:
AP English Language
AP US History
AP Physics B
AP Statistics
Creative Writing
Journalism I
AP Psychology
Literature and the Arts II (Honors)</p>

<p>(I'm Sure of these classes(above))</p>

<p>Online Courses:
Pre Calculus Honors (Must Take w/AP Statistics)
AP Art History (Not Sure, Only taking to fix GPA, but I do like History)</p>

<p>My question is should I take Art History to boost my GPA or should I just drop it and work on other things (like Extracurriculars, for example)</p>

<p>Colleges I Have In Mind:
Harvard
Columbia
Howard
Rice
UF
Vanderbilt
UCLA/UC Berkley
etc.....</p>

<p>Those colleges, as far as I know, only look at unweighted GPAs. It doesn’t matter if you get that extra point by taking an AP class because that will only raise your class rank, but not your UW GPA.</p>

<p>^Exactly. You better focus on getting a 4.0 UW or you won’t stand a chance at those schools. So do not take AP Art History.</p>

<p>Sorry, I forgot to add that I’ve already taken 4 AP Classes:
Freshman
AP Biology: B (4 on Exam)</p>

<p>Sophomore
AP French: A (4 on Exam)
AP Human Geography:A (5 on Exam)
AP World History: B+ (4 on Exam)</p>

<p>ur in-school schedule does not look bad at all. Is there a way u could drop one of ur English electives (be it Creative Writing, Lit & Arts 2, or Journalism 1) in favor of taking Pre-Calc in-school? That way u would have less work and would be less over-extended.</p>

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<p>Exactly - because EVERY person who gets into Harvard, Rice, or UCLA has a 4.0 UW! And don’t forget to score 2400 on the SAT - you’ll NEVER get in otherwise!</p>

<p>…Do I NEED to tell you that was sarcasm?</p>

<p>It seems as if we are in a similar boat. Truthfully, the only one that should tell you if you have the capability to ace all of these classes is yourself. You will make sacrifices if you really want to be successful with that course load like sleep (I can never get used to less than 4hrs of sleep), social life, even mental health. Also it is so easy to end up with a couple of B’s like that. If you really believe you have the persistence, will, dedication, and work ethnic then go and ace those classes! </p>

<p>On a side note, it would be good to know how difficult your classes are because all schools are different because for my school, no one can get anything lower than a B in apush, but no one has gotten an A in ap english. Personally, I would drop ap art because I heard the online course is difficult.</p>

<p>MissxSilverwing- Sorry, I must not have been clear enough. RoseBud’s UW Cumulative GPA is currently a 3.2, a GPA which would most likely result in his/her entire application being thrown out just like that. I said that RoseBud better just focus on getting a 4.0 so that he/she can raise his/her UW Cumulative GPA into a zone that is acceptable for those schools.</p>

<p>Hey Guys, If I could get straight As Junior Year would I stand a chance at Ivies and other top schools. I believe my Cumulative GPA by the end of Junior Year will be UW:3.4667 and W: 4.1. So is there still a chance.</p>

<p>There is always a chance, but it is pretty slim</p>

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<p>Oops! Apparently, I failed at thoroughly reading all of the OP’s post. Given the OP’s situation, ITA.</p>

<p>Apparently, the OP is also URM so yes she still has a chance at those schools if she can bring that UW GPA up and maybe write some good essays/explanations describing the family issues she faced Sophomore year.</p>