Is this AP Combo a sane strategy?

My son, junior, wants to major in either Computer Science or Computer Engineering and wants this schedule next year as a Senior:
Current unweighted GPA 4.0 (Not sure if this will hold at the END of Junior year…)

AP English Lit
Linear Algebra (first semester Above AP* level) )// AP Calculus BC (second semester)
AP Bio
AP Physics C
Spanish III
Data Structures using Java (Above AP level) (first semester Above AP* level) )// Game Design, Prototyping and Production (second semester Above AP*)
*Above AP just means that an AP level course was a prerequisite.

Is this sane? He is high achiever, but I don’t want him burnt to a crisp by the time he hits freshman year of college. The alternative would be to take Physics down a tic or two and swap out the maths to AP Statistics OR Stretch Calc BC to a full year instead of a semester.
Thanks for your input.

Some questions:

What sort of colleges is your son planning to apply to? Has he checked their ‘recommended’ or ‘required’ HS curriculums?

Will he be applying ED? if not (or if that doesn’t go well) 1st semester grades will be considered, and a drop in 1st semester senior year can be problematic.

Is BC Calc usually a 1 semester course at his school (or is he the level of math gifted that BC Calc will be a walk for him)? if he is following a usual progression, the previous classes will have prepared him; if not 1 semester for BC Calc is seriously intense.

I’m a little confused by the sequence of Linear Algebra and then Calc BC- I would have thought it would be the other way around?

Has he already done Calc AB?

Is AP Physics C E&M or Mechanics or both?

AP Bio is labor-intensive: if strong students have trouble with AP Bio, it is usually b/c of the sheer volume of material covered (particularly in the context of an overall rigorous courseload).

Is it essential for him to do both Bio and Physics in the same year?

imo, if he is going any way CompSci, Calc >>> Stats

@collegemom3717
Thanks for your reply!


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What sort of colleges is your son planning to apply to? Has he checked their 'recommended' or 'required' HS curriculums? He has a variety of colleges from MIT (stretch) to University of Alabama Honors

Will he be applying ED? if not (or if that doesn’t go well) 1st semester grades will be considered, and a drop in 1st semester senior year can be problematic.
Yes. He is Applying Early to MIT, Georgia Tech, Clemson, USC, Bama, and UAH.

Is BC Calc usually a 1 semester course at his school (or is he the level of math gifted that BC Calc will be a walk for him)? if he is following a usual progression, the previous classes will have prepared him; if not 1 semester for BC Calc is seriously intense.
At his school, he can take it either way. He got an A first semester of AP Calc AB and is doing well second semester.

I’m a little confused by the sequence of Linear Algebra and then Calc BC- I would have thought it would be the other way around?
It may be the other way round. However, do kids take AP exams for a class they took FIRST semester? You would think they would forget some of what they learned. Tough!

Has he already done Calc AB?
yes.

Is AP Physics C E&M or Mechanics or both?
Good question. Yes. Both. AP Physics C:M (First semester) AP Physics C:EM (Second semester)

AP Bio is labor-intensive: if strong students have trouble with AP Bio, it is usually b/c of the sheer volume of material covered (particularly in the context of an overall rigorous courseload).
No choice on this course. It is required. I would love to pull him from this.

Is it essential for him to do both Bio and Physics in the same year?
Yes. Required. STEM school fun!

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imo, if he is going any way CompSci, Calc >>> Stats
Thanks!

That’s actually quite common, esp in some paired classes (eg, micro/macro econ; comp/US gov), and is what he will already be doing with Mechanical and E&M.

(sidebar: never underestimate what schooling systems will do to students: when my lot were in secondary school overseas they were required to take 3 languages, and the exams for different languages were on the same day; and one of our kids had final exams in a UK university that covered 3 years of work!)

To me it does look like a serious stretch, even if only in terms of raw time: M + E&M in one year is a real push. Bio is time heavy. Depending on the school, AP Lit can be time heavy (lot of reading/writing papers). I don’t know about the Data Structures / Game Design classes specifically, but the people that I know who play in that sand box like them a lot, and seem to sink a lot of time into them.

Moreover, a lot of people round these parts suggest considering writing college applications nearly a class in itself. It takes a lot of time- and it is not easy time. Getting started on essays in the summer is fine, but your son is (developmentally) morphing right in front of your eyes at this point, and I have yet to see an essay written in July that doesn’t need re-writing in Sept / Oct. Given that for some of the schools he is applying to, it is the essay(s) that really differentiate one high-achiever from another, it’s not an area to shortchange. Moreover, I’m assuming that there are ECs of depth and commitment that will require time.

On the other hand, a STEM school that will both require some of that and will allow that schedule suggests that there should be some good local data sources (older students & their parents). If the acceptances match, the GC should be able to tell you how ambitious that schedule is, and how other students (in general, obviously) have done in handling that sort of course load and in navigating college sweepstakes.

So, the best I can offer is: you know your son, and with any luck his GC knows him and how those classes play out in his school (there is a lot of variation between schools). How does your son sit in his cohort?

Also (what I should have asked first): is he looking forward to this schedule, or is he doing it because he thinks he ‘should’ or even that he ‘has to’?

Also also, in real life, if he gets into the term and is overwhelmed, is there a realistic escape clause (ie, schedule adjustment process)?

Is he doing any EC? What is the time commitment for the EC?

He is. He has st least 2 clubs, one that he founded and possibly 3 with a requirement for an additional 50 hours of volunteer.