I’m a current sophomore trying to figure out my course selection for the next two years.
For my senior year courses, I plan to take: advanced topics (post AP calc BC math), AP Bio, senior english intensive (required), AP Latin, AP Art History, and Classical Greek at my local community college. idk I’m kind of nervous bc I’ve heard there’s a lot of info and memorization for all 3 of them and there’s only so much I can cram into my brain lol
If it’s too hard, I would have to take one of them my junior year and consequently not take a scientific research class, which results in a summer research internship. I know there are many outside programs for this but I’m scared of risking rejection lol, especially since many of the kids that take my school’s class go on to do research for Harvard and JHU and such. Any thoughts?
thanks c:
hmmm seeing ur rigorous activities I feel like you’ll definitely be fine! I took four AP tests my junior year and got all 5’s and im taking 3 APs this year for my senior year. also imo APs senor year don’t really matter because its not relevant to ur college application u just need it to get college credit
Fall of senior year you will have essentially an extra ‘class’ to take: college apps. No matter how much you think you will do the summer before, they are still a time-suck. Your EC obligations are also likely to have stepped up a notch (usually via leadership roles). And, unless your HS & CC are on the same campus, you will have extra travel time taken out of your day.
And while the AP score doesn’t matter, unless the SCEA/ED powers that be are kind to you, your 1st quarter/semester grades may matter very much indeed.
Making choices that reflect ‘wants’ v ‘needs’ is one of the less-fun parts of adulting, but it is what you need to do. So, some questions:
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the research class that leads to an internship: is this something you really want to do for itself, or one that you want to do mostly because you want to the boost to your apps to highly competitive colleges? (you don’t have to answer here- just be honest with yourself)
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You seem to be running a strong STEM side (advanced math, STEM research) and a strong classical humanities side (latin, greek, art history). One of the glories of the US system is that you don’t have to choose one side or the other (yet), but do you already know which you would choose? (again, you don’t have to answer here- it’s about making decision trees).
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What do you know about each of those classes at your school? ime schools vary markedly in the workload that they expect for each class. In the first HS that collegekid 1 went to, AP Art Hx was a soft subject for seniors- considered an ‘easy A’ by the students. At the second HS collegekid 2 went to, AP Art Hx was known for having an amazing teacher- and amazing amount of work. That’s an extreme example, but you see the point: you have better info than anybody on CC about what the teacher and the workload are like for each of those APs in your school. You also know more about your ability to memorize, as all three of those have high data loads.
Doing a quick & dirty look at your post, from here the most obvious thing to postpone is Greek and/or Art History (depending on what your social science options are at your school) b/c both of those can be done in college. They are also probably the ones that you are most excited about…
I wouldn’t drop the Greek or Art history in favor or STEM ( at all) And I have STEM kids. The art history and especially the Greek are very unusual and show interest in something other than the norm. That being said, no one can answer your question without knowing you or your school. I know schools where it could be easily done and others where it would be near impossible. Look at your work to date and ask teachers specific questions. I’d also ask students you know who have similar abilities to your own. They might be able to help answer.
Personally, I’d front load in Junior year and keep some time open for Senior year to spend on essays and applications.