Is my senior year schedule too challenging? +angst over classes

Applying to College
1

Hey guys :slight_smile: I’m a rising senior at a small-medium sized public high school who’s looking at schools mainly within the UC system (excluding UCM). The A-G requirements on the UC website say that 2 years of lab science are required, but 3 years are recommended. Today, my counselor told me that “recommended” basically means “required”…which worries me a little.
So here’s some backdrop so you guys can get a fuller grasp of my situation:

Freshman year: meh, pretty avg
H Geo (A,A)
English 1 (A,A)
Biology (A,A)
P.E. (A,A)
Spanish 1 (A,A)
Art 1 (A,A)
(I’d rate this 2/5 for level of rigor)

Sophomore year:
H Chem (B,B)
H English 2 (A,A)
H Algebra 2 (A,A)
AP World History (A,A)
Spanish 2 (A,A)
Beginning Dance (A,A)
(I’d rate this 5/5 for level of rigor, because I took the most advanced courses available to sophomores at my school)

Junior year: I only have 1st semester grades
AP Environmental Science (A)
AP English Language and Composition (A)
H Pre-calculus (A)
Advanced Dance (A)
Spanish 3 (A)
US History (A)
(I’d give this a 3/5)

Senior year: these are classes I was accepted to (our school makes us try out for APs)
AP Calculus AB, AP Statistics, AP Biology, AP Gov/Econ (1 class), AP English Literature, AP Spanish, Small Business

I’m planning on majoring in Econ w/ a focus in accounting, Business, or going Undecided. I’m not too sure…
What’s worrying to me is A) the lack of AP science in my schedule (if I’m applying to mid-top tier UCs, will this have a negative impact on my app?), and B) whether I should take a super rigorous course load that I may or may not be able to handle.

I am not a strong math student–I’m not “math-minded” if such a thing exists. I really need to thoroughly understand what I’m learning, and the AP Calc teacher blazes through lessons, while the AP Stats teacher “doesn’t teach effectively” (according to ~20 seniors at my school that I’ve talked to). The AP Bio teacher is one of the most dreaded teachers at my school because she gives a LOT of coursework and “doesn’t teach”. Most people I know also get Bs in these 3 APs, which worries me because my current UW GPA (not counting freshman yr) is a 3.83 and I want to keep it that way.

So far, I’m looking at dropping AP Spanish, but that’s the only thing I know “for sure” I’m not going to take.

What do you guys suggest? Any help would be GREATLY appreciated! :^ )

2

Some things I forgot to mention:
I live in California, so I’m an in-state resident.
I will definitely take an AP math class next year, it’s just a question of which one or both.
I am “cruising” through junior year; I find myself with a LOT of free time after school.
AP Literature, Small Business, and AP Gov/Econ are classes I’m definitely gonna take. I’m not too worried about these because they’re subjects in areas I’m strong in. :slight_smile:

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If you aren’t strong in math, I recommend AP Stats. My D really enjoyed that class, and it is practical. It is also one for which good study guides can really be helpful. I have heard the some kids really struggle with AP calc if math is tough for them. As for bio, well, I don’t see physics in your schedule anywhere.

Your schedule is super intense. 6 APs is too much. No college is going to say “6 APs in a year are better than four or five.” You already have three APs. Most senior CC posters will say that 6-8 APs are a good number for students looking to get into top schools. My kid has seven total under her belt. She is taking four APs this year, but five exams, due to Micro and Macro. Her stress level is through the roof right now, trying to study for these five exams. She is an excellent student and said that if she had known how intense it would be to study for five exams she wouldn’t have done it.

I am concerned that your schedule lacks physics and I think you should drop AP Bio in favor of physics, honors or reg. I think you should take stats, gov, lit and Spanish. Are you looking at top colleges? Most like to see as much foregin Lang as possible. If you really don’t want to take it, then I guess you can consider calc, but be prepared to go in for extra help. Colleges usually like to see a math and a science every year. Others might have different opinions of course.

FWIW, taking the AP Spanish exam and getting a three or better will prob exempt you from taking foreign Lang in college. My kid wasn’t going to do AP Frecnh, now she is so glad she did. One, it’s her favorite class, two and three I already mentioned. You might want to reconsider that, it seems like you do well in Spanish.

4

You posted: “The A-G requirements on the UC website say that 2 years of lab science are required, but 3 years are recommended.” This does NOT say that you have to take AP sciences… so take an Honors course in an area that interests you - maybe you can dodge the bad Sci teachers you posted about. BTW - upper level Econ is a LOT about math - so keep that in mind when you try to balance your interest in Econ with “not math minded”. :slight_smile:

5

It really depends on the college. For Stanford, I’d agree. For UC’s outside of UCLA and UCB, I’d interpret “recommended” as “recommended.”

No. I would suggest H Physics, but any science is fine.

If it’s a question, don’t do it. As mentioned above, 6-8 AP’s over the course of HS is plenty; more than that will not help your application. College admissions is not a case where whoever has the most AP’s, wins.

I’d suggest taking calc or stats, but not both. Pick the class you can do better in and/or has the better teacher.

A fourth year of Spanish is not needed for mid-tier UC’s, but you also have done well in the class so far. I’m assuming you live in CA, so you know that there are many Spanish speakers there, and I personally think another language is a good life skill. If Spanish IV is an option, you could do that instead of AP, but I would not drop it altogether.

6

The prevailing advice I’ve seen on CC is take the best teacher. If the AP Calc teacher is good, then take AP Calc, even though AP Stats may be better suited for you. If you have access to a tutor or a study group, then maybe AP Stats (in other words, make a plan to learn outside the classroom if the teacher is that bad) Do you have to take AP Bio? Can you take Honors Physics (or even Regular Physics) instead? AP English is a lot of reading but if Honors Lit is the same amount of reading, then that may be a toss-up.

I suggest a schedule like this:
AP Calc (better teacher)
Honors or Regular Physics
AP Lit
AP Gov/Econ
Small Business
AP Spanish? Is there another dance course? Another elective?

7

1° I agree: for math, take EITHER Stats or Calc, and choose the class with the best teacher.
2° You need science classes, not AP science classes. Having the trifecta (bio, chem, physics) is seen as more important than similar classes (ie. Honors Bio, APES, and AP Bio are in the same “area” of science). Since the AP bio teacher isn’t good, save yourself some grief AND make colleges happy, and take Honors Physics (or even regular physics!)
3° Keep taking Spanish, either Spanish IV or Honors.

So, final schedule (agreeing with above posters!)
Better teacher Math
Honors or Regular Physics
AP lit
AP Gov/Econ
Small Business
AP Spanish
1 elective - a class you always wanted to take and you find fun

You’d have 4 AP’s, which is really the maximum you’ll be able to handle effectively since you’ll have the hidden written-intensive “class” called “writing college essays”.
Also, don’t apply JUST to UC’s: this year some students were shut out of UCs… For residential CSUs, you have Sonoma State, Chico Honors, and SDSU (Honors) + Cal Poly SLO. There are private universities - run the NPCs on Chapman, LMU, McKenna (if you’re in the top 5% of your class), Pitzer (if you’re in the top 10% of your class), Occidental, URedlands…

8

Ha, love it @MYOS1634 ! Hidden writing intensive class: college essays. Funny!

9

Thank you so much for your replies!! Sorry for the late response, I’ve been busy studying for subject/AP tests and with schoolwork, all that jazz. I’m definitely going to drop AP Bio now and take regular physics; wasn’t too sold on Bio anyway. And I’m looking to take AP Calc AB instead of Stats, since the Calc teacher is “better”. The reason for dropping AP Spanish is that I’m not especially good at Spanish–in the sense that I often forget past lessons as soon as we move onto the next chapter in class and I have to review every single time we start a new chapter.

SlackerMom, there are no dance classes beyond Advanced! :frowning: I’m also sad about it.

My schedule right now (tentative):
AP Lit
AP Gov/Econ
Small Business
Physics
AP Calc AB
??? gonna need a 6th class

Again, thank you SO MUCH for your help everyone. :slight_smile: I really appreciate it!!!

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MYOS1634, I am applying to CSUs as well :smiley: I’ve learned not to expect too much from UCs…acceptance rates drop every year!

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Depends, I got all A’s first semester and I took 4 AP classes. But second semester I got really lazy and stopped trying and turning stuff in late and stuff. I just didn’t care anymore, I also just finished college apps and was just so burned out. I kind of knew I was going to slack second semester so I guess it is up to you because you know you best.

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@glassmill , great job! Looks like a sane schedule. I think a fun class that you have always been interested in would be good as your 6th class.

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I agree with Lindagaf , for your 6th class pick whatever you’ve always wanted to take - this is a very rigorous schedule and taking a 'fun’class you’re excited about will make senior year even better. :slight_smile: not to mention colleges love students who love to learn for the sake of learning and can prove it through course selection and essays.