Hello! It’s course selection time! I’d appreciate any advice you guys have to offer. For context, I want to double major in communications and biology. Here is the current plan:
AP English Language
AP US History II (second part because it’s a two-year class at my school)
AP Environmental Science
AP Calculus AB
AP Psychology
Honors French III
Free Block?
Would it be too much to add a 6th AP in my free block? I'm currently taking AP Biology and APUSH I, and I have an A+ in both. The additional AP would either be Economics, Chemistry, or Physics 1.
Should I take TV Production II (did first part in 9th grade) and Marketing as my free block? They'd drag my GPA down, but demonstrate my interest in communications.
My least favorite class is math, so I think I'm going to wait until senior year to take Physics 1. However, then I wouldn't ever get to take AP Physics C. Is this ok for my prospective major? I worry that colleges won't find it rigorous enough. In the same vein, will taking AP Statistics instead of AP Calculus BC senior year put me at a disadvantage?
APES is seen as an “easier” AP class. AP Chem aligns more with a bio major, IMO. Have you taken any version of Chem yet? Most colleges want to see a year of physics, bio, and chem for STEM majors. Make sure you have some form of chemistry to fulfill this requirement. I think keeping AP Psych is fine, and you might find it really interesting!
2/4. I would opt for a lighter, elective class if you REALLY don’t want a free block. However, free periods don’t look bad, and they are a nice break to compliment a rigorous schedule.
You don't ~need~ to take AP Physics C in high school, but it might be nice to take it concurrently with calculus. After all, Physics C is calc-based and taking physics c at the same time as calculus might help you understand calc better and vice versa. However, AP Physics 1 probably will not give u valuable college credit. For STEM majors, the physics requirement is usually Calc-Based Physics (University Physics). AP Physics C may allow you to get rid of this requirement if you perform well. It's a good idea to look at potential schools and see if this applies to them.
AP Stats is seen as a “lighter” AP Class. You’re going to need Calc I and II in college. AB is Calc I, and BC is Calc II. By doing Calc BC senior year, you can get credit for a full-year in college math! It might be harder to go into Calc II in college if you take a break from your math track for Stats.
I am taking Honors chemistry this year, but I am wary of taking AP chemistry because we haven’t really learned anything this year. It’s my teacher’s first year and she just gives everybody an A+ (which is nice, but obviously I’d like to learn some actual chemistry). By contrast, the AP chem teacher is a notoriously tough grader. All the upperclassmen at my school have warned me not to take the class because it is a GPA destroyer and the “hardest AP” at my school. What would you do?
IMO that’s more reason to take AP chem. You want a solid foundation in chemistry for majoring in biology. Remember that the end game of HS is not simply being admitted to colleges. It’s having the foundation to succeed and thrive once there.
Drop either APES or AP psych or both if you want to take electives.
If AP chem is a GPA destroyer save it for senior year and take AP physics1 next year.
You do not need to take physicsC for a bio or biochem major.
Considering how rigorous your schedule would be, a free block is okay.
All right! Thanks for your advice everyone! Everybody seemed to dislike AP Psychology and AP ES, which is funny because those are the two I think will be the most fun. I mean, any college would probably consider five APs a year “rigorous” even if some of them are “AP-Lite.” It’s important to still have fun in your high school classes!
AP Psyc and AP Euro might switch places based on how many seniors sign up (Psyc is a lottery for juniors to get in).
Anyways, here is my proposed schedule for the next two years:
Junior:
AP English Language
AP US History II
AP Environmental Science
AP Calculus AB
Honors French III
AP Psychology
Honors Bioengineering
Senior:
AP English Literature
AP European History
AP Physics 1
AP Calculus BC
Honors French IV
AP Chemistry
Free Block
I made most of the changes to senior year! Any other thoughts? Is this more aligned?
AP chem should preferably be taken alone and you clearly anticipate difficulty for AP physics so stick to AP physics and ditch AP chemistry. Take a fun elective related to your academic interests, instead.
Remember that for highly selective universities and LACs one more AP doesn’t make a difference - what does is how you spend your time when not busy with school: can you hold a art time job? Do you help others? Have a positive impact on your school, your community?
I would move AP chem to junior year instead of environmental science and then take AP physics as planned senior year. No reason to double up on sciences if you expect to have difficulty.
If you’ve already taken AP Bio and plan on AP Physics Senior year, I don’t agree that there’s a need to take AP Chem next year. Covering all three sciences with one AP level is typically sufficient to meet a rigorous expectation.
They didn’t have APES back when I was in school, but I took Earth Science, which is probably similar, and I agree it was a fun class. I had all 3 sciences plus AP Chem so an “easy” science was fine IMHO.
Calc AB plus Stats should be fine for your intended major.
I’m not a fan of free periods/study halls. They show an active choice to not take another class. An elective/fun class, especially if aligned with your intended major, would be better.
^ this looks like an 8-period day though. Free periods in a 6-period day are definitely frowned upon, but taking6 classes is good and 7 classes is plenty.