<p>^or a lot of overachievers too...the people who did that also do nothing but study</p>
<p>Double period doesn't necessarily make it a harder course to take. You have twice as much class time to go over the material. Now if the school tries to cram what should be a double period class into a single period, then it gets challenging.</p>
<p>i took 1 ap sophomore year, 5 jr year , and 3 sr year. i go to a competitive public school where these classes are not easy - but i survived.</p>
<p>summer before junior year people told me i was crazy to take all those aps, but i knew i wanted to go to a good college and i knew other people in the country were taking a lot of aps. believe me, it is not THAT much more work than honors courses. the only difference is that the end of april / beginning of may will be very difficult. but at least in my case, it was worth it. </p>
<p>you dont have to reconsider your schedule. take what you like and what you think you can handle. good luck :)</p>
<p>don't worry about not having enough APs. as mentioned already in this thread, it doesn't really matter how many you take as long as you do well in them. </p>
<p>i took zero APs in grades 9-11 and took three in senior year (calc ab, lit, bio). that was just enough so i could maintain my good grades and still not have to do any work (i did my english essays the night before they were due, my bio homework during my 25 minute lunch block, and my calc homework during calc ;)).</p>
<p>take the classes you are confident you'll do well in without going insane in the process. :D</p>
<p>i would set realistic goals...are you a genius? if other students at your school tend to take 4+ ap classes per year and score 4/5s on the exams then go ahead and do them...</p>
<p>but dont expect to get 4s/5s if no one else in previous classes have done it...</p>
<p>I am smart and hardworking...but i wouldn't consider myself a genius!!! ^.^</p>
<p>i am a sophomore and took two APs this year (Euro and French) and am starting to think about what to take junior and senior year.
Junior year, I would like to take AP English Language, US History, Biology, Calculus BC, and maybe Psych.
Senior year, I would like to take AP English Lit, Comparative Politics, Art History, Physics, and maybe Chem.
Is this overkill?</p>
<p>You do not need AP scores to apply to schools. What top tier schools look for is that you have taken the most challenging courses at your school. My kids private school does not offer as many APs as the local public school, but most kids will take AP examins without taking the AP courses and still get 4/5. My daughter graduated with only 7 APs, but she took the hardest course load. AP Psych’s difficulty is not the same as Honors Physics, you may get AP credit, but that’s not the hardest course load.</p>
<p>well, I got in with only 2 APs, and I haven’t taken the AP tests for either of them yet</p>
<p>I would not say that’s overkill.</p>
<p>It demonstrates commitment and I wouldn’t necessarily agree with oldfort:
AP is well regarded because it’s a standardized curriculum that has been agreed upon by most institutions to represent a freshmen college class in rigour.
Take the APs, but note that Biology and US History together will be hard. And Chem and Art History together will also be hard.</p>