I am one month into my senior year of high school and currently taking three AP courses and three non-AP courses. I am taking AP Physics 1, AP Calculus AB, AP Literature, Forensics Science Honors, Government and Civics Honors, and 4th Intermediate Ensemble (strings orchestra). I want to drop AP Lit.
I want to drop AP Lit because
The class is structured around group presentations.
Group presentations are weighted as test grades, and a fifth of that grade is how well I can engage the class.
The class is already causing me a lot of stress and I feel uncomfortable when I am in the classroom.
AP Lit plagues my mind and then I can’t think straight.
If I drop AP Lit, it will be replaced with my school’s on-level 12th Grade British Literature and Composition class. I’m worried that if I get rid of AP Lit, it reduces the rigor of my schedule, but I really do not want to continue to handle the stress that it is already causing me. If it helps, I took AP Lang in junior year and scored a 5 on the exam. I also have taken APUSH (4) and AP Psychology (4). So, should I drop AP Lit or just stick it out for the year?
Dropping AP Lit will reduce the rigor of your schedule, but the real question is if it matters. Only your GC can say how your schedule will be rated and whether this will knock you down a notch. You don’t say anything about what types of colleges you are applying to. You don’t need to load up on APs for the vast majority of colleges.
Finally, and most importantly, if it is causing you that much stress I think you should drop it regardless of its affect on college admissions. It’s better to take a lower level class and do well than to take an AP and be miserable.
I do not think that there is a “right” or “wrong” answer here. This will depend upon what is right for you, which is tough for the rest of us to say.
However, if it were me, I would drop AP Literature.
In my family, we have taken the classes that were a good fit for us, and attended the universities that seemed like a good fit and that accepted us (and that were affordable). This has worked very well for us – and has led to degrees from several highly ranked universities.
Getting great grades in courses that are a good fit for you while avoiding excessive stress looks like a good plan to me.
Feeling uncomfortable in class probably isn’t a good reason to drop, and neither are the other reasons you gave. You’ll probably take at least a few classes in college which are going to rely on group effort and might make you uncomfortable. If a class plagues your mind, that seems a great reason to meet with your teacher, so you can figure out what’s making it difficult for you. You’ll need to meet with professors in college for the same reason.
Being really stressed out is a good enough reason on its own, though. Drop it sooner rather than later. Yes, you will lose some rigor, but that’s preferable to being really stressed out.
Think about the other reasons you gave and work on your feelings about those reasons. Focus on applying to colleges where you have a realistic chance of acceptance. Good luck.
Sorry, it appears I made it seem like I dislike group work. I don’t mind doing group work, it is the group presentations that I disagree with. I did not expect AP Lit to be a class that I have to constantly do presentations in groups and have majority of my grade depend on it. My first presentation was less than ideal considering I ended up to majority of the work in my group. I recognize that I can discuss with my teacher, and I have, but frankly I am bad at presentations. I do see that this is a chance at learning and developing a new skill, but I care about the number that is attached to it. And again, was AP Lit all about presentations?
Neither of my kids took AP lit (after doing well in AP lang). They opted out because the teacher was a known problem. Both kids ended up at schools in the top 25 with merit scholarships. If the class is causing you stress and there is an alternative, seems reasonable to drop it. I would (and did) advise my kids to take courses that they enjoyed.
One question: what are you looking to do in the future? I see a big STEM effort, I see arts, I see a lot of movement in a lot of directions, mostly upwards but not towards any identifiable goal. If you are heading to a STEM degree they probably won’t mind. If you want a top English program you maybe need to buckle down. If you just want All Of The Best Schools you’re going to go mad chasing every opportunity at once.
My DD was in a scheduling bind her senior year and called her first choice, a service academy, to ask if she needed a fourth year of Spanish. They said “We’re a STEM school, you can learn Spanish later if you need it.” She got in without the fourth year and might take more Spanish later, if she needs it.
And consider this: if you kept AP Lit but only end up taking seven or eight APs would you still make it to the top of the mountain? Does dropping to six or seven really move that needle? The fact is rigor for rigor’s sake won’t serve you well beyond a certain point, and more heaps of AP isn’t that impressive once you prove that you can repeatedly do AP coursework and score well.
Your happiness might start coming together sooner if you begin shaping your dreams a bit. Don’t think in terms of specific schools or even majors, but STEM or liberal arts, is medical school or law school in the cards, do I have any sports or activities like music I want to focus on or keep playing on the side, and a bunch more questions like that. Trying to stay rigorous for Princeton or GA Tech might involve different things, so knowing what your long term goals are might make a lot of decisions much easier as you make choices in the coming year or two.
My son dropped AP Lit and got into a top school. But there are many factors involved in admissions. This could be an opportunity for growth, but senior year has enough stress. Honestly only you can decide.
I would not base your decision on college admission factors. I would base it on what you want to learn, including working in teams, and making presentations- which you will have to do in college.
I understand you may have concerns about the grade and GPA etc. Is that the main source of stress, or are you kind of phobic about public speaking?
Is the teacher understanding and fair?
If it is really stressing you out and you feel that won’t change, by all means drop it!
I will be contrary here. In the working world, you actually work with the team on a frequent basis. In these high school group projects, you are randomly assigned, and really….this isn’t like the real working world.
Our high school no longer does group presentations or projects because almost all the time there was at least one participant who didn’t do the work required.
To the OP…if you are uncomfortable with the class, then drop it. Just make sure you excel at the English class you will be taking instead. Dropping one AP course isn’t a death sentence for college admissions.
Yes you work in teams in the real world on a frequent basis. And yes, not all pull their weight. Just like here.
And unless you hire everyone at work or pick who you are working with then it’s random as well.
I’ve had this discussion with my kids.
I’m not advocating OP not drop but I also see the reality that this isn’t the last time they will experience this. Rather it’s the first of likely many.
Not disagreeing that all kids should equally participate and it’s a lot to put on a hs kid…as you say the teacher should ensure but it’s a group project and the teacher likely doesn’t care. A college prof certainly won’t. . Some are leaders and if this student is, they’ll figure it out and it will help them down the road due to their work ethic. Of course not everyone leads and that’s ok too.
If the student somehow gets it done, forget school. This bodes well for success in life.
If the others are slackers, it will catch up with them eventually.
The point from here on with the limited time is to 1. PROTECT the GPA. 2. Focus on well-crafted admissions essays that have gone through many revisions 3. Enjoy life so that happiness shines in interviews, essays, teacher interactions (for recommendation letters), etc.
Look at it from the other way…
…the schools will always get applications from baby geniuses that have done all that and more, five years younger, but even top schools are not filled entirely with them.
Poor mental state affects all the noted negatively.
Thank you for all your responses. I have opted to drop AP Lit for my school’s on-level Honors British Lit. I already feel a lot better and the stress has disappear. Though I do feel a bit guilty of leaving my AP Lit teacher after 6 weeks and then suddenly put the load of a new student on my new teacher.
Now with the commitments of AP Lit gone, I have more time to focus on my other two APs and can now consider joining my school’s guitar club too, something I always wanted to be apart of.
Anyways, thanks everyone, I appreciate your responses.
This isn’t the first time I pulled all the weight by myself. I have done it successfully many times in the past, and perhaps a trend of this might suggest a problem with me, but this time I have given up. This class is taking way too much time and energy and is eating into my other classes, and that is mainly attributed to the amount of group work that is assigned. Group work takes a lot of energy to keep everyone together and on the same page. A lot of coordination and planning. Put this on top of the workload that is already coming from AP Lit makes the class a really demanding.
I recognize that I could discuss with my teacher about the students who slack in my groups, which I have. Their grades have been dumbed down accordingly, but that did not make a significant change in their efforts. They simply do not care and are in for the ride. I refuse to work with students like this for an entire school year. Once or twice is manageable, not all the time. And again, I am fairly sure CollegeBoard did not intend AP Lit to be a class about people skills and presentation skills. Other comments have convinced me that the stress is simply not worth it.
I’m looking towards civil engineering. It was never my intention to be the best at everything. My schedule simply worked out the way it did. I took AP Lang because I was recommended for it after being in the 99th percentile on county and state exams. I took APUSH because, again, I was recommended for it. I didn’t even sign up for AP Psych, but it was put into my schedule and took it because it filled an elective slot. I am in a strings orchestra because I like music, but it’s not my focus. I was signed up for AP Lit because again, it was recommended to me.
As you can tell, I had no idea what I was working towards. It was only this year that I decided to work towards engineering. I’ve always had a interest in specifically civil engineering. Those bridges are real interesting man. It might have been a little late, but that’s why I am taking AP Calc and AP Physics this year.
