I recently got accepted into my state’s residential STEM high school, and am currently in the process of selecting my classes for junior year. Here is what my schedule will look like for both semesters with the classes I have in mind:
Semester 1:
AP English Language
AP Calculus (not sure as to which one, AB or BC, I will be placed into)
AP US History
AP Chemistry
AP Physics C:M
AP Computer Science
Living Seminar 1
Semester 2:
AP English Language (continued)
AP Calculus (continued)
AP US History (continued)
AP Chemistry (continued)
AP Physics C:EM
Data Structures using Java
Living Seminar 2
This equates to 6 AP classes first semester and 5 APs second semester with two really heavy AP sciences in AP Chemistry and AP Physics C. I have been cruising along just fine at my current high school with 2 AP classes this year (Stat and World) and 1 AP class Freshman year (Human Geo). I would probably be able to handle the classes I plan on taking simultaneously at my current high school, however am hesistant to take such a workload at a rigorous STEM high school.
So for all of you that have attended rigorous STEM-oriented high schools, would you recommend signing up for this many AP classes? Thanks guys!
Going from 2 AP classes to taking 6 and 5 is a big step. I mean if you want to be competitive do it. But don’t sacrifice mental sanity for more ap classes.
@Acceptance101 Thanks for the input, this is exactly what is running through my mind. Part of me wants to take Physics C junior year to take more physics electives senior year but at the same time I want to be able to settle into res life as easily as possible and be able to do more unique EC’s, part of the reason as to why I applied at my state’s residential high school in the first place.
Just remember that your Junior year grades are the ones that most schools are using to determine acceptance. If you are not absolutely confident that you can do well, I’d limit the APs. You quite possibly drop your GPA by overextending. APUSH requires quite a bit of reading so take that into consideration when making your decision .
Unless you’re a workaholic with an extremely high stress tolerance, I would recommend cutting back your schedule. AP US, physics C and chem are generally some of the hardest/highest workload classes offered at most schools. AP lang and calc will probably be a lot of work too, so I would advise cutting it down to 4 or 5 at the very most. I go to a rigorous college prep school as well and the kids who take 5 or 6 APs are stressed out almost to the point of breakdown all the time and either don’t sleep or do nothing but study. Especially since the APs you were planning to take are some of the tougher ones, the average person would probably be overwhelmed with that schedule.
@carolinamom2boys Thanks for bringing that up, completely forgot about how important GPA truly is. And yes, even at my current school I have heard about how time-consuming APUSH is. I am in AP World History right now and easily find that class to be my most time-consuming one. I am thinking that I will just take AP Physics C senior year and take Fundamentals of Physics I & II, the school’s equivalent to Honors Physics at other schools, instead.
@Acceptance101 I want to major in Comp Sci or Engineering Physics and my top choices are South Carolina Honors (in-state), Clemson Honors (in-state), Duke, Georgia Tech, and Vanderbilt at the moment. However, this list is highly subject to change. I am mainly looking into large research universities with good CS departments.
Edit: @annana Just saw your comment. Considering you go to a tough prep school your advice is relatable and helpful!
@texaspg To answer your question, basically the school makes the first semester of APCS required to fulfill everybody’s Computer Science credit at the school. The second semester is offered during the spring for those who want to take the AP Comp Sci A exam, and expands on basic topics like loops/conditionals to include polymorphism, inheritance, bubble sort and the like.
I would be cautious about jumping into AP Physics C if you haven’t had prior physics. It might work out ok if you have had prior physics (or if you had a light enough schedule that you could put a lot of time into it). However, that is a tough schedule and I’d be concerned you might get in over your head with limited time to work on the course if you have no physics background.
APUSH will likely be comparable to AP world in workload. AP chem is also one of the more difficult APs. AP CS can be quite time consuming.
Know who the teachers are
I went from 2 to 5 from sophomore to junior year and junior year was cake. Then I did 5 again and now I might get rescinded ;-;
Thanks guys for your input so far. I am leaning in the direction of taking Fundamentals of Physics (Honors Physics) instead. What are you guys’ thoughts on taking AP Chem and AP Bio, or a 4th year of Spanish?
Semester 1:
AP English Language
AP Calculus (not sure as to which one, AB or BC, I will be placed into) => try to take AB
AP US History
AP Chemistry => save for later. Don’t forget you’ll need a foreign language, so Spanish4
AP Physics C:M => take Fundamentals of Physics instead, it’ll be plenty rigorous at a STEM school
AP Computer Science
Living Seminar 1
Semester 2:
AP English Language (continued)
AP Calculus (continued)
AP US History (continued)
Spanish 4 (Continued)
Honors Physics
Data Structures using Java
Living Seminar 2
This way, no nasty surprise that shoots your GPA for college applications - especially since the colleges you list stop GPA calculations at junior year and weight 11th grade more. So, limit your risks. Pace yourself. You can increase workload and difficulty senior year, but until you know the lay of the land so to speak, don’t do something as insane as what you’d planned. 4 AP’s junior year is plenty -keep in mind that even top schools only expect 6-8 TOTAL (and with that schedule + those you have, you’re already at 7… That means you can take Physics C and AP Chem senior year.)
@MYOS1634 Thanks for your advice. I have decided on taking Fundamentals of Physics in lieu of taking AP Physics, however am hesitant about not taking an AP science junior year. I really want to take AP Chemistry right after Honors Chemistry this year since much of the topics in AP build off of honors. Additionally, APs in all 3 areas in science are recommended at the school, and courses (AP or Honors) are required in the 3 areas. I already plan on AP Bio and AP Physics C senior year, as based off of my friends in AP Bio this year the class honestly is not that work intensive. Furthermore, I do not exactly want to take the entire Holy Trinity of AP sciences all in one year. I don’t exactly think I would get out alive
My tentative senior class schedule (Sem 1/Sem 2):
-AP English Lit (Year Long)
-Mutivariate Calculus/Discrete Structures or MAT-303AP (essentially Calc BC content rolled into a semester)
-Mentored Summer Research (required)/Honors Gov and Econ
-AP Biology (year long)
-AP Physics C M/EM
-Robotics/Another elective
I did notice that you recommended that I take Spanish 4. I will already have 3 years of Spanish after this year, and the colleges I am looking at only seem to require 2-3 years tops.
Is the 4th year of Spanish really needed, and do you recommend I forgo taking AP Physics C even though I plan on doing some sort of engineering in college?
If all your targeted colleges do not suggest 4 years of a language, you’re fine not taking 4 year. I would never suggest forgoing AP Physics C if you plan on majoring in engineering, but I’m not sure I would take AP Bio, unless you are going into some type of biochemical engineering, but that’s your choice.
However, since you are attending some type of magnet school, I’d suggest talking to your GC; they are more familiar with what backgrounds other accepted students from your school have had at your targeted college. Good luck.
You should absolutely take physics c senior year, but you don’t need to take AP bio. You can if you wish. You could take AP chemistry next year indeed if you just had honors chemistry but you should limit your number of AP 's for your first year at the stem academy to 4.
I assume you’ll be targeting top engineering programs such as MIT, Harvey mudd, Olin, plus flagship engineering programs with honors college/scholarships. There, physics c will be more important than Spanish 4 but if you can have Spanish 4 it’d be a differentiator, something that proved that you’re excellent at stem(=academy) and intellectually versatile. It’s a Plus, not a must-have.
Your senior year may not have a foreign language, but no foreign language and no social science are likely to be a problem. AP English lit is not necessary - it’s good if you love reading, but honors English is fine. But your overall curriculum rigor would be much stronger with spanish junior year and one social science senior year.
Woah, that’s a lot of APs. I’ve heard that taking the exams are much easier than actually doing the course. If you’re taking the courses for college credit, it might be easier to just self-study for them. But if you can handle it–sure, go for it!
