So right now I am a sophomore in high school looking at classes for next year, and I was wondering if 6 AP classes would be too much to handle. Here are the classes I am planning on taking for next year:
AP Calc AB
AP Stats
AP Psych
AP Chem
AP Physics
AP English Lit
Study Hall
For reference, I would also be playing sports year-round. The only AP classes I have taken thus far are AP human geo and AP gov, and I didn’t have much trouble with either. Any help would be appreciated, thanks!
I don’t know your academic strengths and I don’t know how those courses are at your particular school.
I do know that for the students I know best, Junior year is a jump up in difficulty: the classes get harder, and your involvement in your ECs should be stepping up into more leadership roles.
I know that at many schools 2 AP lab sciences is too much for most students. For the collegekids, it was 1 each of science, math, english, social science and foreign language (which I notice you are missing).
But again: I don’t know your specifics.
Your current teachers and school counselor should be able to help you, knowing your specific skills and abilities. No one here knows you.
A rigorous schedule can be handled by some students and not by others. 6 AP is at the high end, but top students have certainly thrived in challenging environments before. My D has a similarly challenging schedule as a Junior this year and she’s doing fine, but she has a proven ability to excel. My older D dropped an AP early Junior year, as 4 was too much work/required too much time.
Physics 1 or C?
Have you completed a foreign language to at least the year 3 level, preferably 4? I think that would be more advantageous to college admissions than a double science. IMHO, also more helpful in life.
Yes.
I have similar concerns as others, where is your foreign language, where is history?
6 is a lot. But we do not know you or your school. I am assuming this is AP Physics 1 which is just challenging HS 1st yr physics at many schools–so not a hard AP–but–I still don’t see why you need 2 maths and 2 sciences with no FL and no history. And the AP psych is not needed at all–a History or FL could certainly go in that spot.
Talk to your guidance counselor and teachers before you consider this further.
6 is a lot. Doing 6 APs plus a year round sport seems crazy to me.
Personally I would not have been worried by the two AP math classes, but I would have died in AP English Literature. Other students would be exactly the other way around.
Doesn’t taking both AP Physics and AP Chemistry mean that you will have two lab classes at the same time?
I do wonder if you should leave one of the math classes for senior year, and one of the science classes for senior year.
Thanks for all of the help so far. I can try to give specifics, but I understand it is not as helpful as if you were to actually know me. I’ve never really had trouble with any classes, had a 4.0 through my first two years with all honors classes, not much trouble, and minimal homework.
I have completed up through Honors Spanish 4, but I do not think that it would be the best for me to take AP Spanish as I don’t have much of a strong Spanish base due to the teachers I have previously had (and I just don’t enjoy it much.
This would be AP Physics C.
As for my reasoning for some of the classes I would be taking:
Both mech and E&M, or just mech?
If both, you’re gonna die. I’ll assume you are deciding to forgo sleep.
Save something for senior year.
It certainly is doable, depending on the student. My daughter had a similar schedule last year as a junior (BC Calc, Chemistry, Physics C, English Lang, French, and CS Principles) and did manage it quite well. If you feel confident, I say go for it!
Looks like just Mechanics, as a yearlong class - my school doesn’t offer E+M
It’s still a lot. It can be done if you are a stellar student with outstanding time management skills.
Yeah… Thanks for the help.
What will you be taking senior year? Your schedule is supposed to show a progression.
Have you taken a World (or European)history class?
In addition you really want to have taken an intro to physics class and calculus AB before you launch into Physics C. You will learn a lot more then.
My recommendation:
save Psychology and Physics C for senior year.
Ap stats is an elective and an easy math class (in college, as a STEM major, you’ll take calculus-based statistics, whereas AP Stats is algebra-based) so only take it if you really really want to study basic stats.