Course selection day is coming up and I am having a hard time deciding which classes to take next year. If I take 5 AP classes, would it be too much of a workload? Also, is taking AP Chem and AP Bio a good decision if I want to go into pre-med? These are the classes I want to take:
AP Calculus AB
AP Biology
AP Chemistry
AP Literature & Composition
AP Psychology
Intro to Latin
Economics/Participation in Government (required for all seniors)
In addition I will be taking a science research class but that is out of school and does not require too much work. I will also be volunteering at a local hospital on the weekends. Please let me know how this schedule looks. Thank you!
I would not take AP Chem and AP Bio together since both will be a lot of work. How many AP courses did you take last year? Only you can decide if you can handle the workload. Remember college applications will require a decent amount of your time during Fall Semester, so you may want ease up a bit on the workload. Also, do not overwhelm yourself Senior year since colleges offer provisional admission and you need to maintain good grades. Do not fall into the trap of watching your GPA slip or worse fail a class which could result in being rescinded.
Thank you for your prompt reply. This year I only took AP US History. Which AP science course would you recommend for pre- med? Also, instead of taking AP English I can take two half semester English courses ( I was thinking senior composition and contemporary literature). Would that be a better option than taking AP English?
I would keep AP English and drop either AP Bio or Chem. Either would be fine for pre-med, so just choose based on your interests and the teachers for those classes.
My DS is currently a senior taking 5 AP classes- though not as many science ones as you- he is in Calc BC; APES; Lang, macroeconomics and statistics. The hardest part was all the summer homework requirements. He is up late most nights studying. it can be done with good time management skills.
Thank you all for your input! It has certainly helped me. Should I keep AP Psych too?
First of all, you do know that Pre-med is not a major but a group of required courses needed to apply to Medical school? Since you only took 1 AP, jumping into 5 for Senior year would not be recommended. I would take AP Biology and if you want to take Chemistry, just take a regular Chemistry class instead of AP Chem. Having prior exposure to both classes (Bio/Chem) will definitely help with these courses in college. If you think you can do well in AP Lit, then I would still keep that on my list. If not, the alternative you mentioned with the two half semesters of English, sounds like a good plan. Not sure why Intro to Latin is on your list, but have you fulfilled your 2-3 years of foreign language?
I have found myself doing well in English classes so I think I will keep that class. I have taken 3 years of Spanish but I wanted to take Latin since middle school. I couldn’t because my old school (I moved to a new school district for junior year) didn’t offer it so I went with Spanish. Then this year I’m taking Intermediate Spanish and I find it difficult for me so I’m not planning on taking Spanish next year.
Agree with the others, you will have a tremendous amount of work if you take APBio & APChem together. With a course load of 5 AP classes, I highly recommend you choose one or the other … But not both.
Your course load is fine Im about to take 8 AP classes next year and 2 dual enrollment courses so you should be fine
Going from 1 AP to 5 is not wise. Drop either Chem or Bio and drop Psych. A lot of students struggle to stay motivated after they have gotten into all of their colleges and have committed and you will still have to worry about all of those exams. Give yourself a little break. Choose something fun like art.
@perryxperry You should make a thread for yourself because that is a HORRIBLE idea.