I’m a junior in high school, and we’re programming classes for senior year right now. [I’m currently taking Acc US History 2 (1 semester), Acc English 3, AP Spanish, AP Psych, Pre Calc, Calc A (1 semester), AP Chem, and AP Physics 2.]
I’m debating between taking 4 APs next year and 2 youth options courses OR taking 6 APs and being an aide for my physics teacher. Aiding for a teacher counts as volunteer hours for a service cord. I’m not exactly sure how the credits system works when you take youth options, since you’re taking college classes at an actual college.
The classes I will be taking FOR SURE next year are AP Lit, AP Bio, AP Stats, and AP Calc BC. If I do youth options, it would be 1 semester of college chem and 1 semester of college psych. If I continue to take classes at my high school, I would also take Anatomy & Physiology, the Nursing Assistant class (you do get certified as a CNA at the end), and Med Terms 1 & 2 as well as being an aide for my physics teacher and getting extra volunteer hours.
On top of this, I’m currently ranked #1 out of 500+ students in my class. It would be really nice if I could stay on top and be valedictorian, but if I do youth options, it might not happen.
I want to major in biochem to do something (not quite sure exactly what yet) in the medical field, so I’m trying to figure out if I should do youth options or stay at my school. Would youth options help me at all or would it be a waste of my time? Help!!
Yes, that program will help you stand out amongst others.
You could always take classes at the local CC if you can’t figure out a way to get them into your schedule. I’m in a similar program, except it is just STEM-but I loose a lot of class periods for transportation.
My solution is to take CC classes online, that way they are still college credit, even if they don’t have the AP labels. Classes at community colleges are seen as rigorous as AP classes, and colleges will understand that more APs couldn’t figure into your schedule. And if you can’t do all of those classes over there, then I would think about taking classes in summer if you really want the credit.
@equationlover Thanks for the advice! However, wouldn’t you have to pay on your own if you wanted to take CC classes online? I know that with youth options, everything is paid for you.
@bhavyad2018 I take classes at a local community college for free through a dual-enrollment program at my school and students can choose whether to take them in-person or online. Check with your school to see if they have that option. Also if your school is anything like mine, college courses will affect your high school GPA and they can be used for specific high school credits such as English or math. Otherwise, they are just counted as electives. Finally, check with the local community college. Sometimes they have specific programs for current high school students that are either free or a lower price.
Dual enrollment is another name for Youth Options.
I’d go with youth options. It’s stronger academically and it’ll help you more with the college program you are aiming for.