APUSH
AP Lang
APCS A
AP Chem
Spanish 4 honors
AP Stats
I plan to take these classes senior year, which would be the maximum rigor:
AP Lit
AP Gov/ reg Econ (semester each)
AP Spanish
AP Physics C
Multivariable Calc (semester long at community college)
As you can see, I am just barely maintaining the same rigor as junior year, but its the most that’s possible at my school. The issue is that the AP Lit teacher basically gives B’s to the whole class except a few exceptions. For this reason, I’m worried about getting a B and lowering my GPA.
I thought about dropping AP Lit for regular Euro lit, but I’m not sure if this is a good idea because I don’t want it to seem like I’m taking it easy senior year.
What do you guys think?
I’d really appreciate any feedback
Generally, schools want to see you maintain rigor. One B is not going to break you. You don’t mention where you are applying or your test scores but it seems to me that you are a very strong candidate. Good job!
Your rigor is fine. I say protect the GPA at all cost. Remember your competition will also have a 4.0. Think outside the box…what do you have other than academics, that makes you the student selective schools will want over the other 4.0?
Since you can take classes at the community college, take MV one semester and a literature class at the CC the other semester. Then you don’t have to take AP lit but level of rigor is kept (since DE= AP for college admission purpose.) List both on your SRAR.
DE is not = to AP in the minds of adcoms from selective schools. Many times DEs are seen as a workaround to avoid a harder AP, when both are available. Be advised.
What do you want to major in? If it isn’t humanities, then I personally wouldn’t worry about taking an AP English class.
It also depends on what type of colleges you want to apply to. For the top colleges, probably everyone else is taking AP English too. But for many otehr very fine colleges, it doesn’t matter as much.
@MYOS1634 I’m not allowed to take literature or history classes at the community college Only math because they have a program where they come to our school and teach it.
@bopper I’m probably majoring in Chemistry/Biochemistry and I will be applying to some tippy toppy schools (Rice, Duke, Upenn, Stanford).
@VickiSoCal It isn’t about rescinding because I’m talking about first semester senior year
Would they allow online dual enrollment for a course they don’t offer such as philosophy or comparative literature?
If not, I don’t see the harm in taking honors or regular literature. Your schedule is already quite challenging as it is.
For those level of schools, not having an AP English course on your transcript may be riskier than potentially getting a “B”. Would it help to drop or lower one of the other AP/DE courses to make more time for AP Lit, like Spanish? You already have completed Spanish 4 honors so the foreign language box is already checked off. Also remember this, if you drop AP Lit to a lower level English course which is not equally weighted, then you will hurt yourself in your weighted GPA and class rank if your school weights courses and ranks accordingly. Simply put an “A” in an unweighted course = “B” in a weighted course in most weightings.
@MYOS1634@momofsenior1 I understand that there is a good amount of rigor for Senior year, but its not nearly as much as how rigorous my junior year schedule was
I would think twice against all APs Senior year, and this is why.
In the fall, you are in college application season. You may be taking the SAT again. You may want to visit some more colleges. You have to write college- specific essays (hopefully you already wrote your common app essay over the summer.). You have to fill out your Common App and get recommendations.
Also you may be in marching band or Sports or be a leader of a club. College Apps is like another timesucking EC on top of that.
Then in the spring, you may have senioritis. You are been accepted to college and are looking toward the finish line. You have to study for the AP tests…it will be difficult to study for too many at once.
Stanford U says:
“We expect applicants to pursue a reasonably challenging curriculum, choosing courses from among the most demanding courses available at your school. We ask you to exercise good judgment and to consult with your counselor, teachers and parents as you construct a curriculum that is right for you. Our hope is that your curriculum will inspire you to develop your intellectual passions, not suffer from unnecessary stress. The students who thrive at Stanford are those who are genuinely excited about learning, not necessarily those who take every single AP or IB, Honors or Accelerated class just because it has that designation.”
But it depends on you and your desires and which colleges you are interested in
Ask your GC - if you do not take AP literature would he/she still check off the box that says you took the rigorous course load on the LOR.
My kid was in the IB program. She took SL rather than HL for math/physics and her GC still checked off that box.
Remember, as Stanford famously put it “it’s not a game if who has the most APs, wins”.
Most colleges consider that having EITHER AP Lang OR AP Lit is sufficiently indicative of ability in English. Obviously for a Humanities/social science major both are better but for a stem major stem should be the focus.
Colleges don’t use weighted GPA because colleges weigh so differently. They recalculate.
The B isn’t a problem - but rather the fact you’d be overwhelmed and senior year as an extra, hidden writing-intensive class in the form of college applications.
Colleges such as those you listed would consider that 4aps is perfectly ok as long as you have 5 academic, core courses.
this is what Stanford says it “recommends” i.e. expects:
"Academic Preparation
Academic preparation is the foundation of your college application. Throughout your high school years, we recommend that you:
take advantage of the opportunities available to you in high school
work hard and achieve at a high level all four years
consult early on with your secondary school counselor
Recommended High School Curriculum
We respect the responsibility that high schools, principals and teachers should have in the development of courses and curricula for their students. For that reason, we do not have a set of required courses for admission to Stanford. We have found, though, that a curriculum emphasizing depth and breadth across the core academic subjects is the best preparation for the academic rigors at Stanford. Our experience has suggested that students who excel in a curriculum like the one below are well-suited for the demands of college academics:
*English: FOUR years, with significant emphasis on writing and literature.
Mathematics: four years, with significant emphasis on fundamental mathematical skills (algebra; trigonometry; plane, solid, and analytic geometry).
History/Social Studies: three or more years. Such courses should include the writing of essays.
Science: three or more years of laboratory science (including biology, chemistry and physics).
Foreign Language: three or more years of the same foreign language. Your study of a foreign language ought to include the development of four basic skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening comprehension."
Only math because they have a program where they come to our school and teach it.