Questions on my 4 year plan

Pre-College Topics High School Life
1

I am currently a straight A freshmen and I’d love to go to some high tier UC like UC Berkeley, if I don’t make it then UC Davis is fine too because I live close to UC Davis. Is my 4 year plan rigorous enough for UC? And I’m not sure if I can handle them.

4 year plan:

Freshmen:

PE(required)
Jazz Dance 1
Spanish 1
Alg 2 H
Eng 9 H
Biology H
World geography regular (i didn’t know that if I take a dance class I can’t take honors geography and it was too late when I want to change it)

Sophomore:

PE (required)
Spanish 2
Chemistry (AP?)
Pre Cal H
Eng 10 H
World His AP
Psychology 1 & 2
Piano Lab (to fill in space, no more useful or interesting electives that I want)

Junior:
Spanish 3
Cal AB AP
Physics 1 AP
APUSH
Eng (AP?)
Psy AP
Stats AP
Apprentice dance company

Spanish AP
Cal BC AP
Physics 2 AP
Eng 12 (AP?)
Gov & Eco AP
Bio AP
Apprentice dance company

I’m not sure whether I should take Chem AP because in my school that’s the hardest AP class, only 9 people was in there last year and only 12 people are in there this year, and I heard it’s very hard to impossible to get and A, so I’m scared to take it because I’m not that good at science, I’m not bad at it but I’m not like very good. However, only 2 AP classes are offered for sophomore year and I don’t want to jump from 1 AP class to 5 AP classes next year if I don’t take AP Chem. Also, my counselor recommended me to take it because it’ll be useful for me since I want to be in the medical field and I’m pretty hardworking.

For math, would doubling on Cal AB AP and Stats AP be okay? Or should I not?

Also, I’m not sure if I should take Eng AP in junior and senior year because I feel like I’m taking way too many AP classes and English is one of my weaker subjects, but I’m planning to take the SAT II and AP exam on Chinese by self studying (I am fluent in Chinese), would colleges see this and think that I’m not good enough at English?

And my school is on a block schedule, so I would have 4 classes each term and I would have those classes again next next term. Would that make it easier to take more AP classes? Or it doesn’t really matter?

One last question, I’m planning to be in 3-4 clubs of thing that I like (not that time consuming), and in the apprentice dance company, is that good enough extra curricular? Or do I need to join some type of sport?

Thanks! Sorry I’m asking so much questions, I don’t know much but I really hope to get a good education :slight_smile:

2

It’s not common for students to take AP Chemistry without taking regular or honors chemistry first. Is this standard at your school? Does your counselor think you’ll be okay going straight into AP Chemistry?

You could probably get around this rule if you talked to your counselor. For example, you might be able to take AP Statistics in your sophomore year and AP Chemistry in your junior year.

It should be okay (they’re not very similar). Does your school require you to take Calculus AB before BC?

You could take AP English Language in your junior year, see how it goes, and then decide whether to take AP English Literature in your senior year.

Your SAT/ACT scores will give them an idea of your English skills.

That means you take around eight classes and each one lasts half of the year, right? My school had block scheduling and I think it made classes easier because, although the classes moved faster, you had more time to focus on each one rather than spreading yourself thin with eight classes at once.

You definitely don’t need to join a sport, but selective colleges want to see more than just participating in clubs. Almost anything productive you do outside of classes can be an extracurricular (like a job, volunteering, music lessons, etc.). What do you plan to do over the summer?

3

If you are accepted as an apprentice to a dance company, there will probably be little time for anything else other than schoolwork. It can be an enormous time commitment and will likely present scheduling conflicts with school clubs.

4

@halcyonheather
She recommended me to go straight to AP, but when I mentioned how hard that class is, she said I could take chemistry regular first then AP next year (honors are not offered at my school), but that means 6 AP in junior year…I’m not sure about that, but if I ask my counselor, is she allows me to take AP stats sophomore year, should I? Will I be able to pass it while taking pre cal?

I’m not sure about I have to take AB then BC, that was the order my conselor recommended.

I’ll try to take AP eng in junior year and see how it is if I can push some AP classes to my sophomore year if my counselor allows.

Uhh I take 4 classes each term, there are 4 terms, the classes I take in term 1, I’ll take it again in term 3, and term 2 classes will be in term 4 again. So each term I focus on 4 classes.

I volunteer for community services, other than that I don’t have anything else, I’m not sure what I should do during the summer yet, and would being in the apprentice dance company at my school count as extra curricular?

5

@mamaedefamilia
Actually, there’s the actual team and the apprentice team, the apprentice team does not consume much time, we only perform 3 times the whole year, and we don’t have to practice after school unless it’s near the performance dates, so I think I’ll be fine, but would that found as extra curricular?

6

OK, sorry, I thought you were talking about ballet rather than comp dancing. Less time involved.

7

Take Regular Chem in 10th grade and AP Chem in 11th. Take AP Stats in 10th. Everything else looks good.