Junior year course load

Also, if she really wants to double up on AP sciences, it’s probably better to do it senior year where she can get good grades but not worry about getting the highest grades possible like she will probably want to do junior year, if that makes sense.

Seems to me doubling up on the sciences is all downside risk (workload/GPA) with no upside, given that junior year is so important to college admissions and there’s no discernible advantage rigor-wise overall.

I think strong STEM kids should be ok double down on science courses. Adding on top other AP humanity courses might challenge them. As long as they are very strong in humanity also, they should be fine.

D17 and S20 both doubled down on AP Science courses their Junior year. D17 had AP Chem and AP Physics 1 together with Calc BC, AP Eng, and APUSH. She did well on both science courses with no issues. APUSH was probably the only one that gave her a little hard time. That being said Chem comes natural for her like OP’s DD. She took Physics C (M, & E&M combined) her senior year along with other 5 APs.

S20, a junior now, is in AP Bio and Physics C M ( E&M is next year) with MultiVal, He is cruising along as Physics comes natural to him. His HS is a strong competitive STEM HS (different than D17’s), a LOT of Juniors are doubled down in AP Chem and Physics C M along with either Calc AB or Calc BC. Since they are not allowed to take any AP Eng/History their junior year, I think they have more time to focus on their STEM study.

Edit: I think this is definitely a hard decision for each individual situation. Her own competitiveness, her school’s class rigor itself and the teaching styles, and how much rigor she needs to standout from her peers. Her counselor should be able to give her advise for her best course.

It depends on the student @SJ2727 and what else they are taking.

Mine doubled up junior year and tripled up senior year but not necessarily all APs. Junior year she took AP Stats (very easy), H physics (prereq at her school for AP), H precalc/trig, and engineering. She was also taking AP language, APUSH, and her mandatory theology course. (She had an extra spot because she took college Spanish sophomore year and DE college Spanish IV conflicted with precalc. As a STEM kid, precalc obviously won out over FL. She also wasn’t applying to any schools that required more than level III. I wouldn’t recommend that to students who are gunning for LACs or Ivies).

DD did do both AP chem and AP physics C (both mech and E&M) her senior year and it was a ton of work but doable for her (her GPA actually climbed). What she did not take senior year was AP lit. She dropped to H British lit because her GC told her she’d be nuts (she also had AP Calc, H Organic Chem/CS (one semester each), DE Gov/Econ (no AP option at her school), and theology. She would never have managed with AP Lit or AP gov.

DD feels that her HS academic rigor set her up for success at college and she did very well in her first semester of engineering.

Every kid is different. Every school is different. What works for one, doesn’t work for another. We just need to use our own judgement about what’s right for our kid and let them make their own decisions.

Most schools also give students the opportunity to drop down a level if it’s too much. It’s much harder, if not impossible to move up.

I guess I was just assuming that if there was no question about the courseload being a problem, OP wouldn’t be on here asking. I now realize that with no idea of context other than the kid “doing well” …and that the jump to AP bio was “harder”… but not knowing precisely what any of that means, where intending to apply to college etc …it’s not that useful an answer.

Hi. A number of the “STEM” kids in her HS double up on science junior year. In order to this they take an online summer social studies class to clear up their schedules. She is also quite a strong writer so she is not worried too much about AP English, and French has always been her easiest class (never studies). So it is really the 2 science courses that will be challenging and maybe Calc (but since she is taking AB this year, BC initially will be easy as they will start with a review of AB). She would definitely not throw in something like APUSH to this mix! She is looking to apply eventually to Ivies and other top 20 schools, so her GPA needs to remain strong. It is not an easy decision but she seems ready for the challenge. Since she is running strong As in her current AP courses, I think she may be ready for another “jump”. Her social life will be non-existent for sure, since she also spends anywhere between 14-16 hours a week on her main extracurricular (ballet). That is something she may need to reconsider. Thanks again for all the thoughtful replies.