Hi, I’m struggling to decide what classes I should take junior year. I think I’ll be doing AP Literature, AP US History, Honors Precalculus, Construction Tech 3 (I could get a builders license through this class) and I’ll be a TA for one period. I’m undecided when it comes to my science class, however. I could take AP Chem and that would fill my schedule (it’s a double period at my school). Alternatively, I could drop down to Honors Chem and take a Biotech course alongside it. It would be a LOT less work (biotech has no HW) and I could get a biotech certification by senior year. Besides that, I could drop down to Honors Chem and take the new AP Capstone classes instead of biotech. Finally, I could drop Construction Tech 3 and TA and take AP Chem, Biotech, and AP Capstone.
What should I do ? I’m trying to get into University of Florida (Well, I’d love to go to Stanford or Columbia, but it isn’t happening). I’m strongest in English and history, and my weakest subject is math-I’m not bad, but I barely have an A in Algebra 2. My PSAT score was a 201, up 140 points from freshman year. I know they’re changing the test though, so I’m not sure how relevant that is. Thank you for your advice
To clarify, your confirmed (for the most part) courses are…
AP Lit
APUSH
Honors Precalc
Construction Tech 3
TA
and your choices to fill the other two periods are…
AP Chem (double period)
Honors Chem + Biotech
Honors Chem + AP Capstone
AP Chem + Biotech + AP Capstone (-TA & Construction Tech)
Since most of your options are science based, how are you doing with science (you only spoke about your proficiency with math, english, and history)?
Personally, I wouldn’t advise going directly into AP Chem without Honors Chem (unless you took regular Chem). For that reason, I would rule out the options with AP Chem and anyways, you can always take it senior year if you want to.
If you’re a history/english person, then I think you may really enjoy AP Capstone.
Does Biotech interest you, or are you just thinking about taking the class b/c it doesn’t give any hw?
I’m in AP Bio right now, I’ve maintained an A all year (we’re starting the last quarter). I took honors bio before, but honestly, I don’t feel like it helped much. Science is just behind English and history in terms of performance and enjoyment for me. Sadly, doing AP Chem senior year would mean no Physics in high school, which I’m not sure is a good idea.
I enjoy the labs in AP Bio, and Biotech is pretty much all labs. I’ll confess, the “no hw” things is definitely a factor; In between AP Lit, APUSH, Precalc, and extracurricular stuff, I figure I’ll have a lot of HW. It’d be nice to have a class that is mentally stimulating without adding to that pile of HW. Plus, there’s the benefit of the Biotech certification by senior year.
If it helps, my schedule Freshman year was: English 2 Honors, Honors Geometry, Honors Biology, French 1, TV Production 1, Construction Tech 1, and Gifted Studies.
This year, my schedule is AP Bio, AP English Language & Composition, Construction Tech 2, Algebra 2 Honors, French 2, and AP World History.
Please excuse any typos/bad grammar-I’m typing this from my phone.
I’m thinking that maybe you should take TA out so you’ll have 3 periods to fill - and add AP Chem and Biotech. The reasons I say that is b/c
-it’s not typical for juniors to be TA’s* (which is basically a “free” class that seniors may do).
-If you do biotech, as you say, you can move on and get the certification by the end of senior year. If you wait, you won’t get it.
-If you have any regrets over biotech, you can quit and just do AP Capstone for senior year
-AP Capstone is a one period class that can be added to your schedule easily if you change your mind about any of your classes, unlike AP Chem
*I don’t know how the TA thing works at your school. for ex, at my school - TA’s either just grade work (ex. multiple choice quizzes) for teachers or they deliver notes to teachers from the front office. They don’t receive a grade or credit for that because literally anyone can do that. Interns on the other hand are expected to assist/interact with the students and will probably get some form of work outside of school (ex. proofreading/editing the classes essays). So don’t be insulted when I say that it is like a free class, b/c I don’t know if you’ll actually be doing much work.
You’ll need a 3rd year of language as most selective colleges expect it (and most applicants will have 4 years - I’m excluding the likes of Stanford and co, where the assumed background tends to be AP).
Replace TA period with French 3.
Honors Chem + Biotech = > good choice for you
Honors Chem + AP Capstone => considering your strengths, this would be the best pick
noemii: Yeah, TA is basically a “free” period at my school, most of our TAs are juniors though. You make a good point about AP Capstone being easier to add in in case of a schedule change than AP Chem, but I can’t just take AP Capstone Senior year as it is a 2 year program.
BerkleyGG: Self-studying AP Chem sounds insane, especially without exceptional math skills and no chem background. I don’t think I’ll be doing that.
MYOS1634: My school doesn’t offer French 3, but I guess I could take it online. Do you think I’ll need it for UF? Also, would self-studying for AP Spanish help at all? I’m a native speaker and I figure I could get a 5 on the test rather easily.
After consulting with some friends who are currently in AP Chem, I have doubts about the class. The people I talked to are exceptional students (particularly in math and science) and they barely have C’s. There’s only one person with an A in the class. My teachers and guidance counselors are pushing AP Capstone heavily, and the teacher who will be running it is great. I think I might drop TA and take Honors Chem+Biotech+AP Capstone. I think I could probably pass the AP Chem test, but I doubt I could get a 5 and it would be be a GPA killer, especially since I’ll be busy with Lit and APUSH (both have heavy workloads at my school).
Really? That’s really strange b/c according to Collegeboard, it’s only supposed to be a one year course (1/2 a year of AP Seminar and another half of AP Research)
I’d strongly consider taking both the SAT Subject or AP in Spanish, as well as French3, IF you intend to apply to selective private colleges (UMiami, Rollins, Emory, Tulane, Davidson, etc.) in addition to UF . For UF, I think you’d need to have an actual class and 3 years is definitely better than 2 (you’ll be competing with students who have 4 and if your school is only offering 2 years, it’s actually doing a disservice to its students).
Honors Chem sounds the way to go for you, with AP Capstone and Biotech + FLVS French3. Will you be able to handle all this?
? I’m trying to get into University of Florida (Well, I’d love to go to Stanford or Columbia, but it isn’t happening). I’m strongest in English and history, and my weakest subject is math-I’m not bad, but I barely have an A in Algebra 2. My PSAT score was a 201, up 140 points from freshman year. I know they’re changing the test though, so I’m not sure how relevant that is. Thank you for your advice 
