Hey guys! I’m thinking about taking 6 AP classes in senior year. I intend on taking AP Calc. BC, AP Stats., AP French, AP European History OR AP Psych. (History Course), AP Physics 1, and AP Lit. Comp. Can I decrease my involvement in extracurriculars, as I’m already submitting college applications in the fall of senior year? Would 6 AP classes be manageable, considering that I would also spend time completing college applications?
It depends on what you choose as a major and where you want to go. Look and see what each college accepts for AP testing and go from there. Focus on your major, not the number of AP classes you can cram in.
There is no way that you will be able to do this.
You are still a freshman in high school and evidently are yet unfamiliar with just how challenging AP Psychics 1, AP Lit Comp, AP Calc BC, and AP European History actually are. Taking these six AP likely won’t be manageable even if you don’t engage in your ECs at all.
I do not know why your GC would even allow you to take these four in your Senior year. What do you propose to take in your Junior year?
You should discuss this with your school counselor, he should have a better idea of how demanding their curriculum and teachers are and how difficult or easy similar experience was for other students of your ability level. A lot depends upon your time management skills and time demands of your social life, family responsibilities and extracurriculars.
IF you are a freshman in HS (as the above poster believes) then please take one year at a time. It is too early to worry about what classes you might take senior year. See how you do over the next two years before you decide on a senior year schedule.
IF you are a junior then I would tell you to talk to your teachers and guidance counselor to work out an overall schedule that makes sense for you. You have given no indication of the classes you are taking now and how you are doing. For some students 6 APs is very manageable (especially since AP Psych and AP Stat are regarded as easier APs) and for others it would be overwhelming.
And FWIW you should not be decreasing your EC involvement senior year – in fact senior year can be the time when students are most involved with ECs as they are often in leadership positions by then.
@SaiR78 If you are a freshman then don’t sweat too much, just come up with a rough 4 year plan with your counselor, you can make changes year by year according to your schedule, performance and target major/colleges.
@MWolf thank you for your reply and insight into the difficulty of these classes. In junior year, I plan on taking AP US History, AP Chemistry, and AP English Language & Composition. Would it be better if I chose to take AP Psych. instead of AP European History, and Honors Senior English instead of AP Literature & Composition for senior year? I was originally planning on moving AP Physics 1 to junior year, but I’m unable to, due to some other graduation requirements regarding 2 semesters of visual/fine arts. That would be 5 AP classes, with AP Stats and AP Psych. being one of the easier AP classes.
At least three of my D’s classmates did exactly this. And my younger D will be doing this. Do you personally know OP well enough to make this individual determination?
OP, this is a very individual decision. This would be a very rigorous schedule, but the most capable students have certainly done it (my D’s friends are at MIT, Columbia, and Purdue).
You should speak with your teachers, guidance counselor, and parents who know your previous course rigor, study habits, etc., and can provide individualized guidance.
Depends. I have known kids who took 6 AP classes. They did well in each (and on the AP exams) and had time for ECs and for the friends. And submitted college apps.
I have also known kids who struggled mightily with 1 or 2 AP classes.
Depends on the kid. Take some AP classes and see how you do. You don’t have to make your senior schedule now.
The determination is based on other posts of the OP.
The OP is proposing to take AP Calc BC, AP Physics 1, AP English Comp and Lit, and AP European History in the same year along with another two APs. These are four of the most difficult AP classes that there are (the high rate of success in AP Calc is entirely due to self selection).
Rearranging your APs will help a lot, and replacing AP European History with AP Psych will also help. Do not drop AP Literature & Composition.
I would recommend APUSH, AP Psych, AP English Language & Composition, and AP Calc BC during Junior year, and AP Physics C, AP Chem, AP English Lit & Composition, AP Stats, and AP French during Senior year. In general, taking heavy duty courses during Junior year is easier than during Senior year.
Either AP Physics C is easier than AP Physics 1 or 2, because the math of physics and electromagnetics is built on calculus, but Physics 1 and 2, are teaching it using algebra.
If you can take APUSH or AP Psych during 10th grade , that would also help.
Will you have had any world history by senior year? if so, then you could choose to take psych. But most selective colleges want to see a course in world history or European history and you would be shooting yourself in the foot to skip this. Take an honors or regular World/European history class senior year instead of AP Psych if you haven’t had one of these and you think AP history is too much. Nothing wrong with AP Psych…my D will take it next year as a fun elective, but you need all the basic cores first.
I know a couple of kids who took six APs in either their junior or senior year. They did very well in them, dealt with the pressure, although it wasn’t particularly satisfying. It is a very demanding course load.
Here’s the thing, though… neither one got into tippy top schools: their first, second, and third choices. Their families were stunned, the kids were crushed. They got into very, very good schools… schools I would be proud to send my daughter to (both ended up at selective programs at state flagships going for pre-med). But they didn’t get into the T30s they wanted, even with straight A’s in all those APs, near-perfect SAT scores, and taking no lunch period… the sacrifices.
It worked out for them, they’re happy where they are. But they probably would have ended up in the same place with one or two fewer APs and a little more time spent on things they enjoy more than studying.
So think carefully why you want to do this. Maybe you need to save money in college, and getting credit for those APs will help you. That’s understandable. At the end of the day, though, if you are just trying to impress your college of choice, you might more effectively do so by taking fewer AP classes but achieving great things or being very impactful in your ECs.
BTW, I think it is GREAT that you are planning your four years of high school as a freshman. DD was able to take advantage of several opportunities she otherwise would have missed had she not done that. She has friends missing out on classes they would have loved to take simply because they didn’t look ahead (didn’t bother flipping through the curriculum guide), didn’t realize what was available until it was too late to fit in prerequisites for those classes (her school doesn’t have many elective spots as gym is required for four years as well as some other classes). While not everything went according to plan for DD, having a framework in place made it easier to make decisions on alternate plans when the unexpected happened. Kudos to you for thinking ahead!
My son is currently in senior year and taking 6 AP classes. He took 1 AP sophomore year and 3 junior year. I thought he was crazy signing up for this schedule but he’s handling it nicely, straight A’s so far. He’s taking:
AP calc AB
AP Spanish
AP Physics 2
AP Euro
AP Eng Lit
AP Chem
A mentoring class and gym (needed some type of break).
So, it’s possible but it is a lot of work You’ll probably have a better idea once your closer to senior year.
Please describe your proposed 4-year sequence for each of these core subjects:
English:
Math:
Foreign Language:
Science:
Social science:
Personal picks:
Any high school graduation requirements?
@MYOS1634 Sorry if this is a lengthy reply. I wanted to mention that I can only take 7 courses per semester, and have an interest in pre-med for college. The graduation req. for my school are 4 years of English, 4 years of Math, 4 years of History, 3 years of Science, 2 years of World Language, 4 semesters of Phys Ed (1 per year), 2 semesters of Wellness (1 in Freshman, 1 in Soph), 1 semester of Personal Finance (11/12th Grade), 1 semester of Computer, and 2 semesters of vis/fine arts. In freshman year (right now), I’m only completing comp req, and unable to even start vis/fine arts due to bad luck in course selections.
Freshman: Honors Geometry, Honors Bio, Honors English, Honors U.S. History, Regular French II (no honors available), Basic Programming (1 sem), Wellness (1 sem), and Phys Ed (1 sem)
Sophomore: Honors Algebra II, AP Biology, Honors Chemistry, Honors Sophomore English, Honors US History II, Honors French III, Wellness (1 sem), Phys Ed (1 sem)
Junior: Honors Trig/Pre-Calc (Req. for AP Calc AB/BC), AP Chemistry, AP English Lang. Comp, AP US History (US History III), Honors French IV (AP French unavailable yet), Personal Finance (1 sem), Phys Ed (1 sem), vis/fine art elective (1 sem), vis/fine art elective (1 sem)
Vis/fine art + Computer req. Completed!
Senior: AP Calc BC, AP Stats, AP Physics 1, AP Literature comp., AP Euro hist. OR AP Psych., AP French (French V), Some Semester Elective Course (1 Sem), Phys Ed (1 Sem)
Thank you!
3 years of US history sounds like overkill, is that really the normal sequence at your school? And if so, then AP Euro would matter in that it shows you know a little about the world outside the US…
As for senior year, I’d drop AP stats and replace AP lit with honors English - 4 APs a year is always more than enough and still shows an increase in rigor from junior year.
It is fine to plan ahead as long as your flexible - your grades, interests etc may change over time.
I agree unless your school requires 3 years of US History don’t take a 3rd year just so you can take APUSH. (At our school it is US History II or APUSH) Some colleges specifically say they look for US and World History so I woud not take AP Psych in place of a world history class (any level) if you don’t have a world history.
French your fine if you stop at French 4 - colleges use levels for foreign language vs number of years. It is fine if you never do the last year just to take AP - remember there is no contest to get the most APs. You might find a fun elective class to take - say biochemistry that doesn’t come in AP but that is okay too.
I guess it depends on the APs and your aptitude/interest in them. About a year ago I asked this same question here on CC. My daughter (junior) is taking 6 APs and doing really well, so it is definitely possible. She is taking Calc BC, Physics C (Mechanics), Chemistry, English Lang, French, and CS Principles. To be honest she seems to have less work than last year (sophomore), when she only had 2 APs (Calc AB and Biology), plus honors Chemistry, English, World History, and French.
From my personal experience of taking 5 AP classes in senior year, I’d say it’s definitely manageable, but definitely a pain in the butt. I wouldn’t suggest taking AP Calc as well as AP Stats in the same year, but perhaps math is your thing.
You have yet to know how many colleges you’ll be applying to, and I definitely think the quality of your college essays may suffer due to your workload. However, if you find these AP’s interesting and enjoy challenging classes, go for it! It’s been done before, and can be done again. Just evaluate the motive behind taking so many AP classes, and if you’re truly still a freshman, trust me when I say that senior year will be very stressful rather than enjoyable with this plan in mind. While everyone enjoys senior year and makes memories together, you’ll have to turn down plans and spend hours working at your desk, and once you finally catch your breath and you’re ready to spend time with your dear friends, you’ll be off to college. Are these sacrifices you’re willing to make? Best of luck OP. 
I took 8 APs this year (senior)
AP Calc AB
AP Psych
AP Comp Sci Principles
AP Physics C Mech
AP Physics C E&M
AP English Literature
AP US Gov
AP Comparative Gov
It was a lot of work, I’m not gonna lie, but it is definitely doable. I’ve stayed up until like 3 a few nights (I’m a procrastinator though). My one regret was not taking Calc BC, but if you want the college credit it’s not a bad option! Plus, it looks great on college apps.