AP Statistics
Next year I want to have 5 more but I worry that will be a lot of stress on top college applications. If I wanted to take one of, which one would be recommended? I want to major in engineering or medical fields. My schedule for senior year:
AP English 4
AP Psychology
AP Calculus
AP Chemistry
AP Physics 1
US History 2 Honors
I have taken the honor level classes for chemistry, physics, and calculus. My grades in my aps this year are all As and last year were Bs.
What should I do?
Good god, your course rigor is just fine, don’t stress about it; the majority of people at my school accepted to UNC were accepted with FAR less APs than that. If you’re out-of-state then that’s a whole different story. You’ve certainly worked very hard, however I would drop whatever AP class that is not related to your intended major; don’t push yourself to the point of having to stay up until early morning studying (like I did my junior year) for multiple tests.
Reconsider Chapel Hill if you want to go into engineering field.
Other than that, I recommend you to take AP Calculus. Although I hate math to my guts, I feel like calculus is essential to every high schooler.
I was in a similar position as you, deciding what to take. I agree with Andrew that Carolina accept people with less APs. However, I think you should take as many AP courses as you can. Here’s why, 1) it shows that you aren’t slacking off, but working even harder 2) really prepare you for college (especially, the courses you listed) 3) you can save money if you do well like on AP exam.
UNC did a study on APs and found that students with more than 5 APs had no greater success rates in college. So if you worred about the shear number of APs for UNC than you shouldn’t. Other schools will have different ideas. However you have demostarte ability in Science, Math and English with the APs you have already taken.
If you any interest in engineering (FYI UNC only has biomedical eneineering), then I would definitely take some level of Physics, Calculus and Chemistry. Ideally AP Calculus. I can almost guarantee you that your engineering peers will have this background. It will also give you a better feel for if you are suited for engineering. If you do not enjoy and do well in Physics and Calculus then I would seriously reconsider engineering. Taking all three as APs might be too much. Have you taken any Chemistry or Physics yet?
As for the rest, AP English is good since it push you to be a better writer. Always a good thing. AP Psychology would be interesting but probably won’t carry much weight in the college application. I would save that for college. It can be an interesting course to balance out a STEM course load. However, it should be the easiest AP on your senor year list.