<p>I figured that the parents might be able to help me out the most here, with everyone's vast wealth of experience ;)</p>
<p>I am thinking about changing my 2nd semester schedule.
This is what would happen.
1. I would take AP Comparative Politics rather than the honors version
2. I would switch honors english teachers, to a much better one.</p>
<ul>
<li>I get into AP = easier than self-prepping for a test I plan on taking anyway</li>
<li>AP teacher is same as honors teacher, but smaller class = more time for her to get to know me --- she already likes me a lot --- better rec when applications come around.</li>
<li><p>English teacher is amazing --- I had him soph year. Much better than my current one. Less work, more learning, more fun. </p></li>
<li><p>I lose my foreign language for 1 semester. My teacher likes me and would allow me to continue to the next level senior year, but this may prevent me from entering the foreign language honor roll (I have As but I also need 8 full sems)</p></li>
<li><p>I drop my GPA: while AP = honors on our scale and still honors english, I have to take a "regular" class in place of the language, which would probably be one of the required classes I normally would take online = net drop in GPA. I am valedictorian and could sustain the loss, and though I haven't received anything less than high marks my high school career, if I do mess up 2nd sem junior year, that could ruin me.</p></li>
<li><p>I have developed a good relationship with my current english teacher. His recs aren't as good as the amazing teacher I would switch into, but I'm pretty sure he would mark "best in career" for many slots - just his written part might be a bit crappy.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>+/- I don't know how much the amazing english teacher would respond to my switch. His written recs are outstanding, though I fear he may not put as many "best in career" marks. Things may have changed in his class this past semester, and I may no longer be the top student I was soph year (highly doubtful though) </p>
<p>If you've read through all of that, I commend you; hopefully I didn't come off as conceited. So, herein lies my dilemma. A double AP/English switch definitely makes 2nd semester more educational/easier (I now have a regular class to slack off in, plus the english class would have less papers)/more fun/smaller class sizes/possibly better recs. But it could also turn out disastrous. I would be sacrificing my GPA, which could possibly lead to me falling in rank since whatever buffer I have is now gone. The english rec from "amazing" teacher might not be what I wanted...</p>
<p>I know that to some, this may seem like a ridiculous dilemma, but I just don't want to be taking any needless risks. I'd appreciate any advice on how to weigh the various pros/cons. Thanks in advance :)</p>
<p>Reading between the lines, it sounds to me like you've already figured out for yourself what to do.</p>
<ol>
<li>Take AP Comparative Politics since you're planning to take the AP test anyway.</li>
<li>Switch to the "amazing" honors English teacher. Knows you well since you already had him soph. year, and undoubtedly still has a high opinion of you. Win him over again with your contributions and enthusiasm. The fact that you think he's so great likely means you'll have a good relationship there.</li>
</ol>
<p>Don't get hung up on the valedictorian thing (i.e. worrying about your GPA dropping a little). Trust me, it's not that important in the long run (or even for college admissions). Same thing with the foreign language honor roll. Much better to take the courses you want to take and LEARN. Enjoy your classes first and you will do well.</p>
<p>You didn't say, but I'm assuming you're a junior. Good luck!</p>
<p>"A double AP/English switch definitely makes 2nd semester more educational/easier (I now have a regular class to slack off in, plus the english class would have less papers)/more fun/smaller class sizes/possibly better recs. But it could also turn out disastrous. I would be sacrificing my GPA, which could possibly lead to me falling in rank since whatever buffer I have is now gone."</p>
<p>The 2nd semester of your Jr year is the WRONG time to be taking it easy. If you want to be as competative as you can be for college admissions, you don't want to do anything that raises any questions about your Jr year classload. Take it easy the 2nd semester of your Sr year if you want to.</p>
<p>Would any regular class raise these suspicions? For example, rather than take a required course in something like business or cuisine, I could potentially take an independent study in economics (my teacher would allow me to learn AP econ and take the test this May; he could provide the materials and test me over each chapter), though this too would have to be a regular grade - school policy. This whole problem is caused by incompetent scheduling, most years its not this bad for juniors.</p>
<p>I can definitely see how colleges may view me taking "Typing I" randomly 2nd sem junior year as slacking, but these credits are required (and also none of them are honors) and thus far I have taken none of them in school. Every class in my schedule so far has been either honors/AP or a regular class that is prerequisite to the higher honor classes: pretty much everyone else has taken some of these required courses in school already. It would be easier on my part to take one of my required credits in school, so less would have to be taken concurrently outside of class. I don't know how most 2nd sem junior year schedules stack up, but in terms of my progression through our school's curriculum, these changes would not knock me off the "hardest possible courseload" track, just a small bump with my foreign language, but I would self-study a little and pick it right up senior year in the AP level. But...if this is a problem for adcoms, I may have to rethink this.....</p>
<p>"would probably be one of the required classes I normally would take online " Ok, I many be dense but WHERE are you going to school that requires classes to be taken online?</p>
<p>Since you are switching from an honors to an AP class, I doubt having a regular class in your schedule would hurt you. I'm a little worried about losing language credits since so many colleges expect three full years and a few prefer four. In general though I think going for the teachers you love is nearly always a winning strategy.</p>
<p>menloparkmom - I was being unclear, my fault. Classes like PE, health, business, fine arts etc. are required to graduate. However, all of these are regular classes. Since I have tried to get to the AP level in every subject, I had to take the honors prerequisite classes for each (ex. 3 semesters of science per AP science). In order to do so, I could not fit these classes in my schedule. I did complete a few credits through summer school, but the rest I will have to take online through a distance learning program - the other alternative to not taking it this summer/in school. </p>
<p>Edit: I guess you could call it "gaming" the system, since essentially your GPA would be higher with honors classes during school and regular classes outside of school than with honors plus regular in school (mathematically I believe the higher honors scale outweighs the extra classes), but such an approach is almost built into the system - counselors and high achieving students alike all do it.</p>
<p>I think you do not need to worry about the "foreign language honor roll" </p>
<p>menloparkmom, when he says "I have to take a 'regular' class in place of the language, which would probably be one of the required classes I normally would take online"
This means
- the school or state has some classes that are required for graduation
- these classes are taught at the regular or usual high school level, not honors or AP classes
- these required classes are considered by some to be "a waste of class hours that could be spent on more useful or interesting classes"
- it is possible to take these required classes online</p>
<p>So if you are a student set on taking as many useful or interesting classes as possible, you might label the usual required classes "required classes that I normally would take online"</p>
<p>This was familiar to me because at my daughter's high school, health falls into this category.</p>
<p>@ MidwestMom - Yep, thats pretty much how it is.
Sorry for the double post, but regarding the foreign language situation, I have already taken 3.5 credits of the language through 1st sem junior year (the AP level senior year would be the "5th level"), since I started it in middle school. Now in terms of years...I guess I wouldn't quite meet the 4 year req...not sure how these colleges count it. I could take it at a community college, just to help keep it fresh in my mind, and not count it for high school credit but still indicate an interest in continuing the language for the entire duration of high school.</p>
<p>"I could take it at a community college, just to help keep it fresh in my mind, and not count it for high school credit but still indicate an interest in continuing the language for the entire duration of high school'"
Can you take the senior year AP level language class at your school your senior year if you switch your schedule they way you want to this year? if so, then the above is the best solution for the balance of your Jr year. If not, then be sure to continue the language study at the community college, and/ or self study for the language AP test because you will only have 2.5 years of language taken in HSchool to show on your transcript.</p>
<p>The teacher would allow me to continue to the AP level, so I guess community college would be the way to go. With the foreign language issue covered, is it a green light to switch? I'm thinking about taking something like "Business Management" to cover the required course.</p>
<p>Sounds like you know what to do what's best for you.</p>
<p>My only thought is the switch of teachers. My HS actively discourages that practice because it's unfair for the teachers (playing favoritism). Is there a REAL legit reason to switch teachers? The level of fun and workload doesn't really factor in the school's decision. Just be prepared when your GC asks what's up with the change of teachers and when the school challenges you on that. I've actually done that with my 11th grade Honors English teachers and well it created quite bit of discomfort especially on the teacher that I wanted to be with. That teacher actually confronted me when she found out and said that the other teacher was also very good and we could always just be friends and what not. At the end, it just worked out for me and the teacher as I learned SO much from her.</p>
<p>Anyway, just pointing that out.... and find out if your parents are allowed to override the school's decision as my parents had to.</p>
<p>@ ticklemepink:
I am aware of the switch of teachers. It is a practice that GCs dont want to happen here too, but since I am making so many changes, I can both justify it (by saying the scheduling process failed to grant me my initial request of taking AP all year) and potentially override it. It's interesting because next semester, there already will be a "brain drain" from my current english class. Many (~5 out of a class of 18) are switching out, all primarily because of their discontent with the instructor. I think that if someone wanted to, he would have REAL reasons why to switch, predominantly issues of competence, not preference. However, this would bring in things like parents/administrators/lawyers and whatever else might happen in a suburbia school. I do understand that my switch may cause some discomfort and I don't want to exacerbate anything, but the GC has already agreed to this hypothetical scenario and I'm fairly certain that though the "amazing" teacher may be concerned on the outside, internally, he probably feels good that he has earned the "loyalty" of so many students.
Glad to hear that your switch worked out for you :)</p>