<p>My D took 4 Aps in her Sophomore (10th) year and has signed up for the following course load for the junior year (11th).</p>
<p>AP English Lang
AP US Hist
AP Biology
AP Physics C
AP Stat
AP Environmental Sc</p>
<p>I'm asking her to cut down the load as it is more important to work/have time for research and for PSAT/SAT I/ SAT IIs.
What is more important; having good SAT/PSAT or the above curriculumn? She thinks it is easier to get a 5 on AP than 800 on SAT.</p>
<p>How did she do in her sophmore year? if she did well on those APs (4s and 5s) I think her schedule is just fine. The last two are fairly easy, btw. She will have 11 APs (physics C counts as two) for college aps. If her sophomore year was a struggle, then she shouldnt take more than 4 this year. </p>
<p>For SATIIs, she should obviously take the May (or June) tests for Bio and USH. Careful of Physcis SATII because the subjects covered do not match the physics C curriculum - more like the physics B. She should also consider an early SAT date for one of the math SATIIs, and study this summer. For SAT/PSAT, I think just 30 mins a day should be fine. No need to sign up for prep classes - just get some books, or do some online stuff. </p>
<p>I think that less than stellar SAT scores can be overlooked if there is an impressive academic record. Great SAT scores will rarely overshadow anything. </p>
<p>My son has an impressive academic record. Last year, when preparing for the SAT I told him that if he got a good SAT score, it really wouldnt help him, it would just confirm that he is a good student.</p>
<p>It all depends on the school and how much workload the teachers give. Next year I'll be taking 7 AP's and I don't expect to have much trouble. Some AP's (music theory, spanish,gov) will be a joke</p>
<p>it IS easier to get a 5 on the AP than the SATII, just because the AP is graded out of 5 while the SATII is graded out of 800. It's important to have both on the curriculum, though. However, doing well on the SATs might be more important... for example, taking another AP isn't going to make or break your acceptance to an ivy league school, while a 200-point difference on the SAT might, especially if the applicant is Asian (basically, perfect scores don't guarantee anything for Asian applicants, but they're generally expected to begin with... okay, maybe that's a little harsh, but it is sort of true that Asians are held to slightly higher standards, especially in terms of standardized testing.. and in general).</p>
<p>It is generally a lot easier to get a 5 on the AP than an 800 on SAT II. It really depends which would be better, extremely challenging courseload OR high test scores. Ideally, one would like both. However, you know your child's limitations better than I do. If she can handle it (and still get high test scores...I would hold off research until next summer), she should take that courseload. Otherwise, I would cut down on "frill" APs such as Environmental and Stat. Also, you should consider her class rank. I do not know how your school ranks (weighted or unweighted) or how generous the weighting is. If the weighting is generous she might want to take those courses maybe have a 3.5 UW yet a high weighted GPA that pushes her ahead in class rank. Ultimately though, even though people may flame me, do not sacrifice test scores for "school work". Those test scores, IMHO, are extremely important and much more important than any ADCOM will ever admit.</p>
<p>Did she take Calculus yet? If not, I'd worry about AP Physics C without calculus (since she's not taking it as a junior). I'd think that would be ridiculously difficult.</p>
<p>Remember, AP tests do not replace SAT II tests. If SAT IIs are required for admissions, she has to take them regardless of how she does on her APs.</p>
<p>Only the first 4 APs you've listed are of any challenge. Stats and Enviro Sci. are a JOKE. I usually aim for about a 5 AP course schedule/year + several community college classes to be a competitive student. Since you have 2 "easy" APs to compensate for 1 decent one, I'd say your schedule is on the right track.</p>
<p>I don't think you should regard it as an either/or decision. SATs are important and so are APs, you can't just focus all your attention on one thing and hope it will make up for a deficit in the other, especially if she is hoping for an Ivy. The important things are to be balanced and realistic. </p>
<p>Only you and your daughter know if she will be able to cope with that schedule, because it would involve very different amounts of work in different schools and to different people. You could ask other people in her school who have done something similar how much time it took and whether it did involve a sacrifice of other things or not. Also, how did she cope with the APs she already did? Do the subjects she plans to study come easy to her or will they involve lots of work just to make a decent score?</p>
<p>I would think about what her timetable might look like: x hours for study to get good scores on the APs, x hours for study to get good scores on SATs, x hours for work, x hours for research, x hours for fun, etc. When you have that drawn up, does it look realistic? Or does it seem obvious even at this stage that she will constantly be cheating herself in one area to make up time in others?</p>
<p>Also, I notice she isn't taking a language? If it was me, I would drop at least one of AP Env or AP Stats and add a non AP language, since it is difficult to pick up a language again after a year off, unless she has already made other plans?</p>
<p>If she got all A's in soph year, she's fine.</p>
<p>i havent looked at any of the other posts, but i just have to say that 3 sciences is excessive.</p>
<p>is it bad if you only take 4? I mean, I'm taking the hardest courseload but my junior year schedule and guidance counselor will only permit four APs. Somehow, my school always gets about 30+ people into the ivy league, though... =/ , so it's a competitive school. .. so is it bad?</p>
<p>Oh yeah, and is your daughter taking calculus AB or BC, or another math class? I know that Stat is considered math, but it's not one of those "real" math courses, and that might look strange. She might want to take AB or BC instead, unless she's already finished those.</p>
<p>explode, thats not a very intelligent question. obviously if it's the most your school permits, and it sends 30 people to the ivy league, then it's not bad. why do people panic so much?! you're a stereotypical CC'er.</p>
<p>Chedva is correct - Calculus should be taken before, or concurrently, with Physics C.</p>
<p>what about foreign language instead of Enviro?</p>
<p>anotherparent: "How did she do in her sophmore year? "</p>
<p>She did well and got 5 on all her 4 APs
AP Calc BC: 5
subscore AB : 5
AP Chemistry : 5
AP Comp. Sc: 5
AP Euro hist: 5</p>
<p>and that is why I'm unable to convince her. But I think she has PSAT and SAT I also to worry about and 6 APs might be too many.</p>
<p>explode: "However, doing well on the SATs might be more important... "
THat is what I think too, she is not a great test taker as she has taken two SAT IIs but couldn't score 800 on any even though she consider Math as her forte.</p>
<p>tli83 : "Also, I notice she isn't taking a language? If it was me, I would drop at least one of AP Env or AP Stats and add a non AP language, since it is difficult to pick up a language again after a year off, unless she has already made other plans?"</p>
<p>Her original plan was to take AP spanish but she choose a wrong language, she would have been better with Latin though. She had a hard time with Spanish II and Spanish III during the last 2 years, so she would like to take it in her senior year if required.</p>
<p>GPA is important not just AP scores. I think the last 2 APs are fluff. I would stick with core academic subjects.</p>
<p>I guess I'm going to part from the crowd here, but only based on a contingency. In my mind it depends partly on what kind of extracurriculars she is also committed to -- how much time, realistically, is required to do well in all the classes, GPA-wise, as well as doing well in e.c.'s. Those are separate considerations from AP Exam preparation or SAT preparation. So, you have 5 major elements to consider:</p>
<p>performance in the courses themselves
performance in the AP exams
prep time for SAT's
performance/commitment/involvement time in e.c.'s
sleep/physical health/mental health factors</p>
<p>My d was signed up for 6 AP's originally in Jr. Yr. She is a very mellow person, not prone to excitability or overreaction. Yet one more than 5 tipped the scale for her, temporarily changing her personality & making her unhappy & unpleasant. She would have to have abandoned one, if not both, of her e.c.'s in order to maintain the high level of academic achievement she had at the time. It was not worth it to her. She was instantly much happier with 5 AP's, which was still a rigorous schedule with other classes being Honors level. When e.c.'s require daily performance and/or practice, this is a major consideration. The move from 6 to 5 had absolutely no negative effect on her admissions results, and a big positive effect on everything else.</p>
<p>JMO.</p>
<p>TooRichForAid :The reason for AP Stats:</p>
<p>The other choice is to take multivariate cacl/differential equ. but she insists that since she would like to take calculus again at college level it will be better to take this in senior year.</p>