I’m going to take:
AP Calculus AB
AP Environmental Science
AP World History
AP English Language and Composition
AP Art History
AP Chemistry
Any tips? Are any of these classes extremely hard?
6 APs? Get some sleep now!
Bump
What are you planning on majoring in? Do you really need all 6 of those AP’s?
I’m doing 6 this year and I’ll say that time management is going to be really difficult but that it is possible. I still manage to maintain a pretty good balance (when I can keep myself from procrastinating) between studying, extracurriculars, and living, so if you’re committed you can do it.
Learn very good time management skills. Utilize a planner, don’t procrastinate, and don’t miss school if you can help it. Do well in the beginning of the year- it will be harder to come back from a bad grade if you’re dealing with this many courses.
AP World, Art History, and Evi-Sci are pretty much blow off classes. There is a lot of content, but if you like stories and general knowledge, the class is easy, I did not even take notes! The english really depends on the teacher. Calc is pretty simple, a lot of homework (that I never actually did), but you usually get caught up the day of the test with some ye old good cram studying. AP chem really depends on the teacher, it is a skills class, so you want to practice (if need be).
Ap Chemistry is very time intensive, often with an extra lab period, and one of the hardest science AP’s. APWH is sometimes taught over 2 years, that’s how much content there’s to cover. I wouldn’t take both and I certainly wouldn’t combine AP Art History and AP World H.
You realize that elite colleges expect you to have 6-8 AP’s TOTAL for your whole HS career?
What are your options if you don’t take AP World or AP Chem or AP Art History?
BTW, have you take Honors Bio, Chem, and Honors Physics or AP Physics 1 already?
@Dax123 I don’t know what my major will be yet, I’m just interested in those subjects.
@MYOS1634 Thanks for your tips! I can drop Art History, it’s just another elective class option. The content seems pretty interesting. I’ve heard that Chem is one the hardest APs in general, but I’m going to try my best to do well in it. AP world is a class I’ve been waiting to take for a long time, so I have to take it!! I have taken Honors Bio, Chem, but I have no experience with the Physics classes.
@dpweldo Thanks so much for your advice! What do you mean that they are blow-off classes?
@Larkin29 @yonceonhismouth Thank you for the advice! Do you have any tips of time management? I’m really bad and I need to improve on that. Thanks!!
@jazhope321 If you are taking them just because you are interested, it might be better to just self study APES and/or AP Art History and take some easier classes instead. From what I’ve heard, those subjects can be hard classes but easy self-studies, and this way you can learn the subject for your own interest while still having the ability to drop without penalty if you get too busy.
Good luck!
You could plan to take AP Chemistry and AP Art History (both very valuable, interesting classes, but also quite intense) next year; could you take Honors Physics this year to complete the science trifecta, and take another elective you’d enjoy? Also, have you already reached level 4 in a foreign language (I assume you’re trying to apply to top colleges).
This way, you’d hav
AP Lang
AP WH
AP Calc AB
=> solide, “core” AP’s
APS = “AP lite”
plus Honors Physics and another class = most rigorous schedule.
And in 12th grade, something like
AP Chem
AP Art History
AP Calc BC
AP Econ and/or AP Gov
Honors English
- one class
@Dax123 Wow, that’s really smart. I will for sure consider that. Thanks so much, because I never thought about it like that.
@MYOS1634 I have only completed Spanish 1 and 2, it’s all that’s required, I’m not really into language. Why do you suggest I take Chem and Art History next year?
In order to make your schedule more balanced.
By the way, sleeping meds than 7-8 hours a night for an adolescent hurts your brain and your body. Skipping sleep to handle such a schedule is profoundly harmful - and pointless since colleges don’t expect more than 3-4 AP 's a year.
Top colleges expect students to reach level 4 by the end of senior year, or a minimum of 3 (most competitive applicants will have 4 or AP.) Math and foreign language are evaluated by level reached. Although Algebra 2 and Foreign language 2 are all that’s needed for high school graduation, colleges - especially top ones - expect you to go beyond the minimum.
Note that many colleges also have a college graduation requirement, with first year placement based on either a test or how many years you had in high school. You’ll also be allowed to start another language from scratch.
Self studying doesn’t really matter : college’s want you in class, taking the test, participating in class discussions.
@MYOS1634 Thank you so much for the advice. Do you have any tips for studying? I seem to be only getting average grades right now.
My son is taking six APs this year (env sci, chemistry, English language & composition, calc AB, physics 1, and computer science A), plus two sports, two academic ECs and a paid job. All due respect to MYOS1634, but at my son’s school (large competitive Texas public) all the top juniors take six APs, and have already taken two to four APs in freshman and sophomore years. Out of ~750 students in his junior class probably 50 are taking six APs and another hundred or so are taking five APs. There are even a few students taking seven APs in junior year. No top college would take a second look at students from my son’s school who graduated with only 3-4 AP classes total, because it would be obvious that such students didn’t take the most rigorous courses available to them. My son will graduate with 14 APs and two dual enrollment courses, and he will be part of a large group with similar numbers. The all-important Texas auto-admit group from the school (top 7% for UT Austin, top 10% for A&M and most other Texas public universities) will consist of students who took at least seven AP classes before senior year. So it is very important to consider what students in YOUR school normally do, because you will be evaluated relative to them. If most or all of the top ten percent of juniors at your school take six APs and you are shooting for elite colleges, then you will need to keep up with them to give yourself the best chance. If the top students take only three or four APs junior year then you don’t need to take six unless you really want to. Well, let me clarify that: if you have poor time management skills or struggle with any subject on your list, you should not take such a rigorous schedule no matter what the top ten percent of your class is doing. I can tell you that it IS doable if you are very motivated AND very disciplined AND have an aptitude for all the classes you choose.
@traveler98 Thanks for the advice! Kids at my school usually take 6-8 AP classes throughout the 4 years. I really want to challenge myself next year. What are your son’s ECs? And do you have any tips for time management? Thank you!!!