is 6 AP's Junior Year spreading myself too thin?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
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<p>So I'm currently a sophomore at a fairly good public high school in southern California. I've already chosen my classes for next year, which will be all AP's:</p>

<p>AP English Lang
AP Chemistry
AP Calc BC
AP Physics C
AP US History
AP Comp Sci (TBD - AP Pyschology as backup if Comp Sci isn't available next year) </p>

<p>Right now, my schedule is this:</p>

<p>Spanish III H
Chemistry H
AP World History
Math An/Calc A
English II H
PE II</p>

<p>I'm concerned if I will be stretching myself too thin next year? All I've heard from people, even teachers, is that "You're screwed" or "you're gonna fail, you're crazy", but to be honest I don't really understand...I know that I will have to work very hard next year, but maybe I don't have a proper sense of the workload that will be thrown at me. Right now I am basically taking 2 AP's since in Math An/Calc A our teacher gives us the same homework and tests as the AP Calc AB classes, so it's the same as Calc AB (many people from my class are taking the AP Calc AB exam this year), along with AP World History. And our Chem H class has been pretty rigorous, and I've heard from AP Chem students at our school that AP is a mostly a review of material covered in Chem H, with only a bit of new material. So far I am still a valedictorian, and to be honest none of my classes have given me too much trouble so far...I have tons of free time while still maintaining A's in my classes, so that's why I chose to challenge myself in junior year.</p>

<p>What I do have going for me is that I have a lot of experience with programming in Java and I write Android Apps that I publish to the Play Store, so AP Comp Sci shouldn't be too much of a problem for me, or at least I hope :P. And also, since this year I had free time, I self-studied and finished all my SAT II's and ACT with good scores, so that's one less thing to worry about next year. However, AP Physics is the "legendary" class at our school because it is so hard, and I heard APUSH is difficult too. </p>

<p>I know that next year will be extremely challenging, and I might not be able to stay valedictorian. I'm totally fine with 1 or maybe even 2 B's next year, but I'm afraid that I might be underestimating the work load and end up spreading myself too thin and get multiple C's and D's. I want to challenge myself, but I want to be able to handle my classes as well. Do you think I can handle them next year? Does anyone have experience with taking 6+ AP's junior year? How hard was it? Did you survive?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>I’ve taken/am taking all those classes except comp sci, but not in the same year. The workload is beyond insane. If the adults in your school are telling you its suicide, believe them.</p>

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<p>Try to takes one of the harder one(not the hardest ap) during summer so you can take the hard and easy ones during the school year to lessen the work.</p>

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<p>Lang, Calc, and Comp Sci are quite easy and don’t require a lot of work to get a 5. If people are telling you it’s suicide, it means you’re doing something right. </p>

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<p>Physics and Chemistry at the same time is unwise.</p>

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<p>Haha, I’m signing up for all of those except for Calc BC and Physics (but I’m taking AB next year). As far as spreading yourself too thin goes, in my opinion, I’d probably regret it more in the long run if I didn’t try as hard as could’ve in high school, you know? Not to say that I won’t hate my schedule next year. :)</p>

<p>Out of those, the ones I would be the most concerned with are Chemistry, Calc BC, and maybe Physics. For all of them, I’ve heard a range of opinions though. I guess it depends on what things come naturally to you, and whether or not you feel if you can do it. If you think you can, I say go for it. </p>

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<p>I’m with awakeningvenus, it depends on what you think you can do. If you’re a STEM-y person, it’s probably doable. It also depends on how hard your school teaches the courses, but as it’s a public school, I’m guessing it’s not too bad.</p>

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<p>Yes, I am a very STEM-y person. I would take a science/math class any day over a history/humanities class. That is the reason I’m not taking AP Spanish next year in favor of AP Physics C. But then I heard that AP Physics is the toughest class at my school, with only 2 people who got an A last semester :/.</p>

<p>Out of all the AP’s I’m taking, which exam is the most difficult?</p>

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<p>I’d say probably Chem or Physics. (Not that I’ve taken those courses.) But with the entire AP curve, over 70% is pretty often a 5.</p>

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<p>My sister took both AP Chemistry and AP Physics, and she got a 3 on Chemistry and a 4 on Physics. I heard from her that AP Chemistry was the hardest class she ever took, but it could’ve just been her.</p>

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<p>Do you know the workload for all those classes at your school, because it depends in the teachers?</p>

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<p>All of those APs at my school (with the exception of comp sci) are killer individually let alone taken together. Especially if you get the wrong teachers. I would try to ease up the schedule, keeping in mind how the workload could affect your grades.</p>

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<p>Find juniors or seniors at your school who are comparable students to you and get their opinions. Hard for anyone else to say how much work those courses may be in your particular school. Also, from what you say, it seems that kids in your school take only 6 courses. I would think taking 6 APs out of only 6 courses (do you have a study hall?) is significantly easier than taking 6 APs out of 8 classes. The other classes may or may not be very difficult but they’ll still consume 1.5 hours of your day. On a 6 class schedule you have more time in and out of class to cover the same AP syllabus. My guess is that you will find it manageable, assuming you don’t have super-time-consuming ECs.</p>

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<p>You’re probably fine if you think you can do it. I took seven my junior year( APUSH, APLang, Physics C, Comp Sci, Stats, Calc BC, AP French) and I have had more than enough free time. Teachers and peers told me the same thing, but they honestly don’t know what they’re talking about. You are the best judge of yourself, so if you think you can do it, do it.</p>

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<p>When you say good, what are your ACT/SATII scores?</p>

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<p>apkid3:
I got 35 on ACT, 780 SAT II Chinese, 780 SAT II Math 2C, 720 SAT II Bio E.</p>

<p>Awittyname:
Thanks for the reply. Was it very difficult for you? Did you end up doing well in the class and on the exams?</p>

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<p>I think that is a little too much. AP CS is easy so lock that in. The chem/physics/calc combo will be the killer. If you absolutely want to do STEM, those 3 combined are possible, but I would drop the other two. Personally, I would delay one of chem/physics for the following year. Take one of those away and if you work insane, you could do it.</p>

<p>Chem (Junior Year): Lots of material, very good class to take but it is a handful. I took honors chem first, and got a 4.
CS: Easy though I plan to go into CS, very knowledgeable going in. Expecting an easy 5 based on practice tests.
Calc BC: I am in AB, which is very easy, but BC is a lot harder. A lot more work at my school, which is why I elected not to take it. That said, everyone at my school gets 4’s and 5’s if they do take the class.
Physics: Simple plug and chug, easier than chem for sure but it takes time.
AP World: TONS of memorization, a class I found useless for me and did not enjoy. A 4 or 5 will require time spent again. I elected to not care about the exam and got a 3, which I am completely fine with as I will be using a 4 on AP US for credit.
AP Lang: The most variant from school to school, depends on teacher.</p>

<p>I am a STEM person with a 33 ACT, 34 Superscored to get an idea of my background.</p>

<p>Long story short, drop one and you should be good. You may be smart enough easily for all of them on their own, but the workload is crazy when combined. You have senior year, use it. I would drop Chem for senior year if I were you.</p>

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<p>I’d say drop at least 1-3 of those classes. There really is no purpose IMO of taking so many APs. If you want to challenge yourself find a more meaningful way pertaining to your major. Like do science research or something </p>