I had above the grade in honors to go to APUSH but I decided not to. I don’t really like history and I want to major in computer science in college. A lot of the upperclassmen have said that it was the worst class they’ve taken and it requires a lot of work on the weekends. I don’t think I could dedicate that much time to one class.
Almost all of my friends are taking APUSH and I’m getting worried that it was a bad idea to not move onto APUSH. Will colleges think I’m not pushing myself?
GOOD CHOICE! Almost everyone I know who’s in a STEM field and took APUSH regretted it. It was a huge time suck and took away resources/focus from their classes that colleges actually cared (AP chem, BC calc, etc). I first felt a lot of pressure to take APUSH too, but not taking it was one of my best high school decisions.
Also, it just really sucks if you don’t like history.
It depends on what type of college you are aiming for. If you are hoping for top programs, they are going to want to see rigorous courses, and not just in STEM. If your peers within your school are taking these courses, it could impact how your guidance counselor describes your course rigor.
I have a STEM kid too. She’s in her second year of chemical engineering. Taking the non STEM AP courses helped meet a bunch of gen ed requirements and opened up her schedule to take exactly what she wanted in college. She’s thrilled she took them in HS.
I would reconsider your decision if you can.
My D is at the same school as above, MechE, dropped APUSH after the first week, and it was the right decision for her.
Yes, rigor is important, and AP is more than Honors. But how many and in what areas is important. Dropping AP CS as one of three APs as a CS applicant is very different than dropping APUSH with 8 other AP’s.
Your current teacher and guidance counselor should be able to provide additional advice based on your specific track record. But other students who have been through the course are often a very valid source of data too.
I think dropping APUSH was the right choice, especially since you’re going into STEM and not the Social Sciences. APUSH has a reputation of being one of the hardest and most time-consuming courses at my school.