Is AP Psychology worth taking anyway?

Applying to College
1

<p>I'm a senior hoping to major in math/ physics/ engineering. </p>

<p>My school does not offer many AP classes, so I only have 5 AP scores (all 5s) currently
(Calc AB, Calc BC, Chem, Physics C -Mech, Physics C- E&M)</p>

<p>I am taking AP Psych this year at school just because obviously 6 APs is better than 5, but after several classes I figured I have no interest in this subject at all, and actually hate it so much. There are just too much thing to memorize. </p>

<p>(I would rather use my brain than memorize stuff that I don't even have interest in)</p>

<p>My ECs already show the adcom that I'm quite well-rounded (concertmaster & art awards).
And my senior year schedule is already quite rigorous.</p>

<p>So, is AP Psych worth taking with all these stress & workload?
Would it bring a huge difference to my application?</p>

2

<p>i took AP Psychology & i am not that “smart” , i was interested in it last year, my GPA is 2.9 & 1430 sat’s . i got a 5 on the exam. It’s pretty easy. i didn’t study , but went to tons of reviews. like everyone my teacher had. The concepts are pretty easy. Not too much work.</p>

3

<p>My school tends to make every “easy” subject very rigorous and challenging. My teacher gives us 50 long questions everyday for homework and to me it’s just too much.</p>

4

<p>It is one of the easier AP classes</p>

5

<p>What’s your alternative? Study hall? If you are applying to competitive schools, then you better fill your schedule with something substantial.</p>

6

<p>It’s not THE easiest AP, from what I’ve heard (I mean, I’ve taken it, but I haven’t taken that many others), but it’s one of the easier ones.</p>

7

<p>I was gonna put Art or Music would that be too lame?</p>

8

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<p>If it is a continuation of prior years (like orchestra every year), then that would be ok (assuming the rest of your schedule is solid).</p>

<p>What are you other classes?</p>

9

<p>As others have noted, AP Psych is among the least demanding AP exams. At my kids’ school, this is the class that the students take when they want an AP listed on their schedule (and the added weight for their GPA) but are not able to handle a more rigorous AP class.</p>

<p>Because of this, I believe colleges look at AP Psych with a skeptical eye. It sounds like you have taken a rigorous course load and don’t really need Psych. If Art or Music is consistent with other interests of yours (and reflected in your application), I would switch to those.</p>

<p>Another way to look at the situation is that you only go through senior year once. It would be a shame to spoil it with a class that makes you miserable. There is a good chance that this decision will not impact adcoms view of you at all.</p>

10

<p>Great class</p>

11

<p>I learned a lot</p>

12

<p>“I am taking AP Psych this year at school just because obviously 6 APs is better than 5”</p>

<p>Nonsense. If you have a rigorous course load, one AP class more or less isn’t going to matter. You don’t like the subject? Drop it and do something more intellectually engaging with the time. No reason not to try art or music if you are interested. Don’t be falsely seduced that because something has an AP after it, that means it’s inherently going to get you brownie points. It probably won’t be noticed. The only way this class matters is when your guidance counselor has to check the little box on the recommendation form about whether your coursework overall has met his or her criteria for ‘most rigorous’ or not. Ask you GC if dropping AP Psych for something else would make any difference. I’m almost certain the answer is ‘no’ - but get it from the horses mouth.</p>