Hey,
So i’m going to be in eleventh grade this fall and these are the classes i’m taking:
AP Language and Composition
AP Calculus BC
AP US History
AP Biology
AP Environmental Science
AP Seminar
AP Spanish Language
I still need an 8th class. I was thinking about taking 1 semester of AP Psychology (it is only offered as 1 semester course at our school) and 1 semester of Early Release or Teacher Aid. Or my other option was AP Art History of AP Physics 2
(I hate physics btw)
First of all, do you guys think that that many APs are doable? Will I still be able to live? (lol) Do you have any tips?
Also will taking Early Release look bad on college applications? In that case, would it be better to take AP Art History or something else?
Your schedule is already rigorous enough, so early release should not be a problem. I find it strange that juniors can get early release/late arrival. At my school, only seniors have that option.
I’d drop apes and take late arrival + not take an 8th period and take early release. That’s a super rigorous schedule and many schools only have six periods so pu’d be just fine for colleges. Having a bit more time to sleep will likely be handy.
You can definitely opt for the early release- 7 APs is an insanely rigorous schedule, and colleges will not look down on taking an early release.
As to whether you’ll be able to live…Junior year is when you do standardized tests, so you have to make sure you have time to study for those, and the grades from 11th grade really count for college. Be careful of how much you take on.
No offense, but your schedule is really all over the place. I don’t think it can be any more evident that you’re only taking most of these classes because they’re AP, and colleges have already said that college admissions aren’t a matter of number of AP’s. You’re perceived as an AP junkie by taking all these classes and top colleges tend to stay away from that group. Also, your class choices don’t reflect you as a person. I can’t decipher what your interests are or what you might major in. (In other words: You have no electives.)
APES and AP Psych do you no good if you aren’t going into those fields or don’t express interest in them. AP Seminar/the AP Capstone program requires an immense amount of writing and research. Of course, it varies between schools, but AP’s are usually already hard as it is and, from what I’ve read, this course should not be taken lightly. If you want to earn the AP Capstone Diploma you have to complete AP Research as well, and, at the end of AP Research, you’re expected to write a 4000-5000 word essay (8-10 pages) ([source](http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap-capstone/ap-research-course-overview.pdf)), all the while dealing with college apps and essays. I highly discourage you taking this course unless you plan on going into journalism.
I highly doubt you can handle your course load while still having time for EC’s and SAT/ACT prep. My advice: Drop all courses you’re taking because of its AP status. Fill up your open spaces with electives/classes that reflect your interests. Make sure with the classes you have you can handle your homework, have at least seven hours of sleep, can participate in EC’s, and have time set aside for SAT/ACT prep. AP’s are not the answer to college admissions and a schedule like yours isn’t necessary to prove that you’re worthy of an acceptance letter.
@pinklinks I’m not going to deny that my schedule does make me look like an AP junkie but i don’t really have any other classes to take. I want to do premed in college and I already took Medical Terminology (freshman year) and Health Science (sophomore year). Those are the only medical related courses my school offers. Additionally, if I take an on-level class(not AP) it will hurt my gpa a lot and bring my rank down. In Texas, top 7% get automatic admission into UT schools and i’m already borderline. Even then, I don’t know what other electives to take. Anatomy and Physiology?
THANKS for the info about AP seminar. I’m still not really sure what that course is, but I do like writing and I want to do some sort of research but I definitely do not want to major in journalism.
As for ECs and SAT/ACT, I already have a 1510 out of 1600 on the SAT and i’m probably going to take it again to improve my score. I’m also the vice president of HOSA (health related club with over 200 members) and the vice president of our school newspaper and VP of a Habitat for Humanity chapter (both of which I founded with a friend). I have over 150 hours volunteering at hospitals and nursing homes in addition to over 5 years of piano. In my opinion, I think that these ECs show that I want to go into medicine/public health. I’m trying to find some way to do research but I wasn’t sure how high school students even find research opportunities at universities.
Note that being premed is not medical. Medical terminology may help for nursing but not premed.
Premed is a set of required classes which you take in addition to your major and where you must rank top 10-20%. You take 2 biology classes with biology major, and must be better than them. You take 4 chemistry classes with chemistry majors and must do better than them. You take 2 classes with physics majors and must be better than them. And on top of it you must be excellent in English, sociology , psychology, take a diversity -related course and do very well, etc.