These are the classes I’m considering for next year and 12th.
Junior Year: American Lit; Pre Calc/Trig H; US Gov/Economics; AP Bio; AP Chem; Orchestra
Senior Year: ACP Literary Interpretation/creative writing; AP Calc AB: Physics H; AP Environmental Science
I can take 7 classes each year. Any other suggestions? My school only offers American Lit or AP Lang, no honors. Would it be better to get an A in AmLit or possibly get a 3 or lower on the AP Lang test? I’m very into science and plan on having a chemistry-related major. Would taking AP bio/chem in the same year be very difficult? Is taking 3 science AP tests overkill?
Sorry for so many questions, obviously I have a while to decide.
If you’re looking into majoring in science, it’s not overkill to take 3 science APS. If you’re looking into T10/T20 schools, you should take AP Lang, since there’s no middle ground between that and standard level. Schools like to see rigor in your schedule, rather than taking “safety” classes, because it shows that you are challenging yourself. You might not want to take AP Chem and AP Bio at the same time since they’re both a lot of memorization. Obviously prioritize Chem over Bio for college sake. Good luck, you have a lot of time left, so don’t freak out!
Take AP Bio the same year as physics honors, AP chem on its own because it’s one of the hardest APs. Take AP Lang also.
You need a foreign language junior year and a social science senior year, and 6 academic classes each year.
If you’re into STEM, why not take CS classes Digital art/communication?
Have you taken US history already? World or European or global history?
High school is the time for a strong, well-rounded education in all the core subjects; you can specialize in college. At most, double up in your favorites senior year. If you’re aiming for a less-selective college you may be able to get away with taking ony two years of foreign language (you do have at least two years, don’t you?) but stronger schools want to see at least three. As @MYOS1634 suggests, you need US history and World or European history at some point whether you prefer science or not.
It’s hard for people to comment on your schedule when we don’t know what you have taken freshman and sophmore years. It’s the overall pattern that counts.
@izrk02, it IS overkill to take three science APs if a student can only take six classes and would have to leave out other core subjects in order to do so. We don’t know if OP is aiming for the T10-20s you refer to, but those schools definately want to see a strong curriculum in ALL cores. We’re talking about education, not tech vocational school.
I would agree on switching Physics with one of the AP science classes. And only if you’re targeting a science major and have 3 years of foreign language taken care of (or are targeting schools that only require 2).
All 3 core sciences and one AP are sufficient for any school. So yes, 3 is overkill and APES doesn’t carry a lot of schedule rigor with it.
AP score isn’t really important - grade in the full year of coursework is. And yes, AP Lang would be much more impactful than a standard course.
I’d suggest AP Lang and one AP science junior year (Chem is my preference, but I don’t think it really matters vs. Bio) plus a foreign language. Or APES if you already have completed a language to level 3.