I’m wondering if I should take AP US next year as a junior. I might be taking US over summer, but I don’t think I’ll be able to get in.
So far I’m signed up for AP English, AP Calc AB, AP Physics 1, and AP Environmental, so I’m not sure if I should add a 5th AP class. I’m also taking Chinese 3 and an engineering class, but those shouldn’t be too difficult. I want to make sure I can handle my schedule next year and do as well as I can in the ones I take. I’m especially worried about AP English and Physics, and I want to make sure I do really well and try to get A’s in them.
I just don’t want colleges to think I didn’t try or challenge myself as hard if I take regular US History. My dream school is UC Berkeley, but I would be super happy to go to UCLA or UCSD as well.
Some people I’ve asked have said that APUSH is really easy, and some say otherwise and that it’s not worth the time. I have no idea if it’s actually easy or not and how much extra time I’d have to put in. Also, this year, I took AP Human Geography for my history/social science class instead of regular 10th grade world history or AP Euro, and I heard that you’re not as prepared for AP US if you take AP Human…
I have no idea what I should do! If you can help me, I’d really appreciate it 
Workload depends on the teacher, so current students can tell you how it is at your school.
As to whether or not to take: 4 AP’s are plenty. College admissions is not a game where whoever has the most AP’s wins. After 6-8 AP’s for your entire HS career, the law of diminishing returns kicks in - each add’l AP will not add significantly to your application.
Well, the structure of the APUSH exam is more similar to the APEH exam, but even without another AP history class, students can still perform well on the exam.
Regardless of whether you get an A in the class, know that 63% of the test takers failed the AP Physics 1 exam LY.
Personally, I would opt for APUSH over AP Env Science, but one over the other really will make no difference in the long run.
It seems like you already have a rigorous course load for junior year, so I don’t think taking APUSH is essential, really, if it’s not pertaining to your field of study. I only took APUSH this year because my school does not offer many APs for junior year. The content is certainly interesting and enlightening because for me, it was more about revealing that the U.S is not all that great, and is a country built on hypocrisy.
APUSH is one of the hardest courses in my school, so take that into consideration when I say that my teacher made us do chapter work for every chapter, which accumulates to 350+ pages of notes, typed. I probably spent almost 400-500 hours doing the chapter work. So I guess it really depends on how your teacher is going to teach APUSH. It’s a lot of writing, reading, and a lot of memorization. If you have other questions, I’ll be happy to answer. (I should be studying for the APUSH exam but w/e lol)