<p>I just recently dropped my honors Pre-Calculus/Trigonometry class to the regular class (which is still a little above grade-level) and also added a Study Hall. So now my schedule looks like this:</p>
<p>AP English Language & Composition
Gym/Sexual Education
AP Biology
AP United States History
Trigonometry/Pre-Calculus (the regular class)
Study Hall
Spanish IV Honors
Band/Choir</p>
<p>My guidance counselor said it wasn't the wisest thing to take a Study Hall (because I had to rearrange my schedule a bit to take the regular Trig/Pre-Calc class) because other students in my grade would now have similar credentials as me, but have a fuller junior year schedule.</p>
<p>But - the thing is, I decided to take a study hall so I can study to take three more AP exams at the end of the year and to have a class to finish homework in so I can add more extracurricular/volunteer after school.</p>
<p>If I go by that reasoning, is the study hall okay to take? I've been freaking out about this all day and I feel like I've just failed at life :( By being in the regular Trig/Pre-Calc class, I can't get into AP Calculus next year but I'm planning on independent study to get into it anyways. Any advice? My parents weren't really happy about me switching :/</p>
<p>First. Welcome to CC.
Second. Yes it is weak.</p>
<p>Drop the study hall. Take AP spanish, skip precalc and take AP calc. Drop gym/sex ed or test out of it.</p>
<p>You still have a very strong schedule. Your grades in these classes and your test scores, ACT/SAT, will matter more than the appearance of the schedule. Just do your best with the schedule you have now and prepare for the AP exams.</p>
<p>Drop trig, drop study hall, drop Spanish, and drop gym if it’s not required. Take AP Spanish and AP Calc BC.</p>
<p>In the future, listen to your guidance counselor. When you are involved in competitive admissions, every class counts. I would not recommend a study hall, but you have to deal with the schedule you have now. If you have an option, get a class instead of the study hall.</p>
<p>Don’t listen t0o advanced lawlz- he’s just wrong.
After all, you can’t take AP Spanish without taking the honors 4 Spanish.
stop listening to these crazy people!
Don’t AP Calc if you aren’t good at it Don’t drop your study hall if you need it. You still have a better schedule than a lot of people i know. Its better to have an A gpa with these classes than a 3.3 GPA because you were overreaching. Colleges don’t want to see someone taking all these classes that they are not ready for and not contributing anything to the world.
plus, you’ll never get to college if you have a mental breakdown in the middle of the year. god! I get so mad at CC!</p>
<p>Meh, I think 5 APs is pretty doable. I mean, he/she doesn’t even have a sport, so he/she won’t have to commute between schools and whatnot for games. Having a sport (or worse yet, multiple sports) is extremely time consuming.</p>
<p>Get a 4.0 in every class.
Second. Not being good at math does not mean you shouldn’t have basic fundamental math exposure (ap calc). Also, if you have a mental breakdown, you are clearly weak and unfit for the intense workload of making a difference in the world.</p>
<p>Also, saying that you “know a lot of other people” with worse schedules does not mean much.</p>
<p>I mean, I know a lot of people who skipped spanish 4 and went directly to college spanish.</p>
<p>your schedule is fine! if it’d be better to fill your study hall with a class instead, but it’s still fine as it is. don’t worry too much- your outside stuff is important too :]</p>
<p>p.s. don’t listen to advanced Lawlz.</p>
<p>that’s my point- he/she should get a sport so that she can have a different experience. THe free time in that schedule could be used for he/she to join a new extracurricular which look good on her/his application.
5 APs - James Chang may be doable for you, but not for other people. Furthermore, she/he may go to a hard magnet schooland the Ap classes may be harder than yours.
Last, lawlz how do you get a 4.0 in every class if you don’t have time to study?
Furthermore, what if your school ranks on a numerical scale. Guess what- to be at the top of my class I have to get upwards of 98 in evey subject…
Not just a 90. So, acknowledge that some situations are harder. Finally, ap cacl is not a fundamental basis of math one does not need calc in many professions- calc is more superfluos/or for thosewho really like math. Most people in my school don’t even take calc.
The mental breakdown nonsense ir ridiculous. Lucy stone had a mental breakdown, so did Betty Friedan and albert Einstein and Malcom X- mental breakdown frustration/sadness are human! You need that pain for periods of renewal and just because you undergo a human difficulty doesn’t mean youcan’t change the world.</p>
<p>Yes, knowing others with worse schedules does mean something . I’m just reminding thatmost people out there are normal/don’t necessatily have all of these :“extras:” and honestly after taking a certain number of Aps and Honors how much does this extra AP padding help? It would be better for he/she to volunteer instead self study Spanish 4
That would suck.</p>
<p>No, don’t listen to these other people.
Good advice encourages achievement and improvement of skills, be it time management/etc.</p>
<p>They are instead telling you that “oh its fine, you can’t do anything else.”
While WE believe that you CAN do those things.</p>
<p>^You do not know this person. To the OP- if you believe your schedule is challenging enough for YOU, then I encourage you not to listen to some of these people…ex^ haha</p>
<p>Do what YOU can handle and don’t do so much to the point in which you become overwhelmed. Best of luck:)</p>
<p>Oh, well extracurriculars - I’m in a few clubs, and am in cheerleading, marching band, the school play, and volunteer outside of school. That’s a bit of the reason why I took the study hall (especially since SAT classes are now taking up my entire life) but now I’m freaking out again. 
Should I just go ask if I can switch back into my honors math class and take another class?</p>
<p>Your (advanced Lawl’s) last post makes it seem like school is the most important thing in the world… but what about his/her other activities? Extracurricular activities and volunteering can teach a lot about achievement too. Different people have different priorities, and it’s important they balance what they want to do. That doesn’t mean that the OP is underachieving at all; also, not everyone who has changed the world has thought AP Calc was a fundamental math or has never had a mental breakdown. You CAN still be extremely successful and get into top colleges even if you don’t take 50 million APs.</p>
<p>pre calculus and trig are extremely important for calculus. I went from Algebra II to AP Calc BC, and it was mistake. You CAN get an A, and manage a 5 on the exam (like I did) but doing so is painful, unless you’re very good at math. Since you’re taking “regular” and not honors, I assume that is not that case. Do not do that. Taking calculus your senior year will not negatively affect you as far as admissions. That’s ridiculous.</p>
<p>Your schedule is fine. It is NOT impressive, but AP Bio, US, and English are challenging enough. Manage 4s and 5s, and make sure to devote enough time to your SAT to do well.</p>
<p>ilCO2011- listen to peachpuff, wartsandall and Techy233
Maybe, I can help you with a personal experience.
Last year, I took a pilot program and was in an accelerated class therefore when every one was doing Honors Bio- I did Honors Chem in sophmore year. It was hard, painful and i got a 92 which in my school is not an A -its a B by one point.</p>
<p>What did this teach me?
That i had to know my own limits and realize that I do what I need to do instead of taking an impressive schedule to make my self look awesome.
So I had the chance to take AP CHem in my junior year without the Calc background. I also could take 4 Aps instead of 3.
I didn’t - I took up a sport instead of taking another AP. My sport has definitely taught me so much about discipline and the world in general - I won’t give it up for anything in the world. And because I don’t have a schedule chock full of classes I hate- I only took Aps I love- my grades are thanking me too- as is my peace of mind.
I’m twice as happy as I was last year so I’m giving you this advice not b/c as advanced lawlz says , I don’t believe you can do it. I’m giving you this advice because it worked for me and I hope it will work for you.</p>
<p>Bottom line is this: what schools are you trying to get into?</p>
<p>The schedule is not that weak. Advanced lawlz, it’s not that easy to just change schedules like that. If PE is a requirement then she has to take it. Plus many schools (mine included) are rigid in their systems, so it’s difficult for people to skip ahead. While I do agree that people have more ability than they realize and can achieve great things if they work at it, don’t imply that only difference-making people take Calculus. Furthermore, circumstances vary from person to person. That is why colleges compare schedules/achievement relative to school and region. Your pretention is not helpful.</p>
<p>ultimately the bottom line is this: do what you want, but make sure you are challenging yourself to be even better. AP Calc and AP Spanish could be part of your plan but there are other things out there that can show your depth of personality and skill.</p>
<p>yes. show your depth of personality and skill WHILE taking the most rigorous classes.</p>