I am a current sophomore, attending a catholic school, and my schedules for next year are due next week. I am really unsure about my schedule, because I am not sure if it will be overwhelming or not. My main issue is this: Should I have a “free period” (50 minutes do to HW, etc) or replace this with AP Comp Sci (took the intro to comp Sci freshman year, so I qualify for this course) or a photo 2 class (art is a requirement at our school). The main reason that I think a free period would be helpful is all the APs that I am taking next year, but maybe this isn’t such a wise choice. Also, I am not sure how hard taking this many APs will be, as I am only taking one my sophomore year. If you all can give me some advice on my schedule, I would really appreciate it.
Current schedule:
English
AP World History
Chemistry
Algebra 2 Honors
Spanish 2
Photo 1
Religion
Draft of next years schedule:
AP Lit
AP US History
AP Chem (popular class, seniors get first priority. If I do not receive this class my backup is AP Env Sci)
Pre Calc Honors
Spanish 3 Honors
Religion
Free Period or AP Comp Sci/Photo 2??
It really depends on the type of colleges you’re interested in. If you’re thinking of applying to extremely competitive colleges, it would be in your favor to make your schedule rigorous. I know you’re a sophomore, but are there any colleges you’re thinking of checking out? You’re already thinking of taking 3 other AP classes next year, which could be a big change from only 1 AP this year. If I were you, I would take Photo 2 because art is a required class. Since you’re worried about how AP Comp Science would be with your other classes, I think it would be best to not take it. If you’re really interested in taking that class, you may be able to take in senior year. You don’t want to overload yourself; junior year is an important year in terms of grades and college. I wouldn’t take a free period unless you feel like you really, really need it because it would make your schedule less rigorous (which is what you don’t want if you’re planning on applying to competitive colleges). Good luck!
Thanks for the reply, I am looking at UCI, UCSB, UCLA, and USC. I am a California resident. Also, an opportunity popped up for me yesterday, which was to take Spanish 3 at a Community College. If I were to take that offer, I would replace Spanish 3 Honors with AP Stats, and since the UCs only take 8 semesters worth of APs, I would most likely drop APUSH because it would take up way to much time, and have heard rumors that this was one of the hardest APs in my school. Is this a wise decision (taking Spanish at a community college)?