Junior Schedule // 3 AP Courses?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

I scheduled an appointment to talk to my guidance counselor about my schedule for the upcoming school year, but seeing as course cards are due this Friday and I still have not heard back from her, I have no idea when I’ll actually be able to sit down and chat about this hence why I am making this post.

The rundown:

I am a hardworking student (meaning I never turn in an assignment late, always try my best, etc) but I’m also a trained procrastinator. I truly do enjoy school and learning but sometimes procrastinating can get the best of me and then I kind of just have to rush something in order to get it done. I study for all of my tests and I’ve received straight A’s both semesters of freshman year and as well for first semester sophomore year, and hopefully, the same for the end of this semester.

APs I have taken/currently taking:

AP Human Geography (Freshman year; got a 4)
AP Psychology (Currently – Expecting 4 or 5)
AP World History (Currently – Expecting 4)

Projected Junior Schedule:

AP English Language & Comp
AP US History
Journalism 1 (Either Newspaper or Yearbook, haven’t decided. This is to satisfy fine arts credit)
Spanish 3 Honors
Pre-Calculus Honors
AP Chemistry

Are three AP classes too much? I haven’t had much trouble with taking two AP classes this year, it’s more-so been just getting adjusted to different types of AP classes and teaching styles. I know that three AP classes is something that I could handle, but I would just like opinions based on the workload of the courses as well as course content. People tell me that I’m crazy for wanting to take APUSH and AP Chem as they’re both rigorous classes, although I’ve gotten recommended by my Honors Chemistry teacher and AP World teacher for them.

Any opinions/advice is appreciated! :slight_smile:

Summary: Incoming junior who is hardworking and has already taken three AP classes before. Considering taking AP Chem, AP English Lang, and APUSH based off of teacher recommendations. Is this a good idea?

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You’re probably the best judge of whether you can handle it or not, but I’d say you’ll be fine. I actually had a similar schedule myself last year and it wasn’t too much trouble.

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It really depends on how strong you are in the various subjects and whether you think you can discipline yourself a little better.

In both Spanish and pre-calc, as long as you do the daily homework assignments thoughtfully, which it sounds like you are prepared to do, you’ll master the material. AP English Language is really just basic English, so no biggie. APUSH has a lot of material, so you’ll have to be diligent about reading, taking notes, and reviewing during the year. If Chem comes easily to you, you’ll be fine with AP Chem. If it doesn’t, you could find yourself doing a TON of work just to get through it, which will make it hard to keep up with the other courses. Only you know the answer to whether this makes sense for you or not. It looks like you have a good balance, though, in terms of the kind of work – some reading, some writing, some problem sets – that should make this doable.

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Do you have heavy time commitments with a sport, job, other? My son is currently a junior and also a sometimes procrastinator so you are not alone. He is handling 4 AP’s including Calc BC and AP Physics. If you are a science/math person that may help you stay focused on the AP Chem. If not, you will need to be sure and not procrastinate next year. Maybe start in small steps. What helped my son was he found others would turn to him and ask about homework, how to do a problem, help with a lab, etc. My son likes to help others so he started doing hw a bit earlier, for example not waiting until 9pm at night, maybe start at 3pm, lol. Now when he’s online with friends and they ask for help with something they don’t understand, he’s already done it and can help. If you can find something to get you started earlier, it can help you in college. Good luck to you!