Question about APs

Hi! I’m a freshman, and I’m currently taking all honors classes. (Civics/econ, health/pe, biology, french 2, english, pre calc, strings, physical science). Some classes I take are normally not allowed for freshmen, but I’ve been breezing through and getting distinguished honors. (Not bragging, I swear! I include this information to ask about my overall question.) I was thinking of taking AP Calc AB, AP Bio, AP Euro (almost all sophs take it at our school), and AP Chem (studied chemistry at home.) Would this be too much, and is there a HUGE difference between honors and AP courses? I want some more challenge, but do not want to overwhelm myself, as I have other extra curriculars that take a bit of time out of my schedule. (About 20 hours out of week on average?) Thank you so much!

The difference between an honors and an AP class varies from HS to HS. I’d suggest you talk to your current teachers and your guidance counselor about what would be an appropriate schedule for next year. Offhand, I’d wouldn’t take two science APs as a sophomore. Also I hope you have English and a foreign language on your schedule as well.

Along with English and French 3? and Strings? Why the rush to take AP Bio and AP Chem the same year?

I’d be curious how people answer you.

I think this is actually a very school-specific question, even though the exams themselves are obviously standardized. For example, I’ve read on CC that so many kids find APUSH to be a huge time commitment because of all the reading, but at my D’s school APUSH is really easy because the teacher is so great and there isn’t much homework at all.

Besides differences between schools, it’s also very specific as to what you are good in. For example my D has an AP class where her classmates are struggling and she’s breezing through it because she’s naturally good at it, but last year she had a class where she had to put about 5x as much effort into it as some of her classmates.

Thank you for all your replies! To answer the question about the strings, the school I wanted to attend also happens to be a liberal arts school- so I need to choose a “major”. Mine happens to be strings. The reason that I would want to take AP Bio and Chem would be that I really want to do some lab work in junior year, and found that many universities nearby require those two APs. (Perhaps ap chem is pushing it, however.) I will also talk to people at my school to ask about what the APs are like.

You may want to check around for other research opportunities. I know of an eighth grader who is being mentored by a post-doc/research prof at our local university and she is only currently enrolled in honors bio at the high school. I don’t think it’s worth giving up your EC time unless you have an guaranteed research spot that absolutely requires both APs. Two science APs will be tough and time consuming. You want to enjoy your high school experience and be able to nurture all of your interests.

Thank you! I believe that you have a strong point. I forgot to mention, I just realized, that I am preparing for the chemistry olympiad. (Perhaps just take AP chem in that case?)