I’m currently a sophomore and I’m debating how many AP/honors classes to take junior year. Currently, I’m planning on taking AP Chem and all other honors (Honors bio, Honors American studies (history and English), Honors pre-calc, Honors French 4, Honors band), but I’m worried 1 AP won’t look good if I’m aiming for T20 schools. AP and honors are weighted the same at my school and are the same difficulty (if not harder), so I’ll have a demanding courseload, I’m just nervous my lack of APs will reflect poorly on my academic abilities. (I’m planning on self-studying for the APUSH exam so I’ll have two AP exams - I can’t take APUSH unless I also take AP Lang, but the three APs are notoriously challenging and essentially impossible to take in conjunction).
Is 1 AP ok if honors classes are viewed as “equal” at my school?
I’ll be frank, if you’re looking at T20s, taking only 1 AP when your school allows you to take more isn’t going to look great. Every other part of your application needs to be able to blow everyone else out of the water. Obviously, course load isn’t the only thing schools are looking at, but if you’re looking at the top schools in the country, it’ll come down to the tiniest details. Could you take AP Lang and APUSH without AP Chem?
How are your grades? Are you near the top in your classes?
Top 20 universities are looking for a lot of things, but a big part of what they are looking for are students who took very demanding classes and got A’s and A+'s in them.
Do not do this in the hope of making up for B’s and C’s. Do not do this unless you want to work very hard and you are good at the subjects in which you want to take AP classes.
I’ve never taken AP Chem, but I know kids who have taken it with APUSH and AP Lang. It honestly depends on your school and the difficulty they’re taught at.
To answer post 5, it could be too much. Is that a typical course load for high achievers in your high school? My instinct is that while those three APs would be a lot of work, it’s probably manageable if you are organized. T20 schools may expect that much work, tbh, but not if it isn’t the norm in your school.
None of the upperclassman know anyone who’s taken that courseload - the highest courseload is usually APUSH, AP Lang, and AP Stats. APUSH, AP Lang, and AP Chem are notorious for being the hardest APs at my school, I was advised against it by friends who’ve gotten into T20 schools (Northwestern, etc)
Could you take AP Chem senior year and take AP Lang, APUSH, Honors Bio, Honors French, Honors Band, Honors Precalculus?
Does your school routinely send students to highly selective schools, is it known in your region/state?
I could take AP Chem senior year but I’m thinking of taking AP Bio (since I’m interested in medicine). And yes, every year multiple students go to ivies and T20s, my school is known in the region (New England) for being very rigorous and competitive
If your school is known for being rigorous and sends lots of students to top schools, then your schedule is probably fine since I assume it’s a competitive schedule for your school and college adcoms would read it in that context.
Should I just take AP Chem junior year if I’m interested in going into medicine/STEM, or should I take APUSH+AP Lang and wait to take AP Chem senior year?