I don’t understand why everyone is so confused about why @deeeznuts is taking APUSH after already having taken honors US history. At my school the AP courses in subjects that are already taught at the honors level use the honors curriculum as a mere base for the AP material.
Because at my high school the social studies track is very well defined and there’s no repeating and very few choices in the sequence. I expect most schools are similar.
Honors:
F- APHUG
S- APEuro
J- APUSH
S- AP Econ or AP Gov (both subjects are state required, most kids take one AP and one online)
Regular:
F- Health/Careers one semester each (honors kids take online or over summer)
S- World History
J- US History
S- Econ/US Gov one semester each
Only 2 of the 12 schools at my county offer econ at all, and taking a course online/summer is basically unheard of, so definitely different. Your system looks really interesting though…
California requires 3 years of social studies
1 yr World History or Geography
1 yr US History
1 sem US Gov and 1 sem Econ
So California high schools will have a honors and non-honors track that each meets that 3 year requirement. Schools will vary on what they do with the fourth year. Most around here do health/careers freshman year as those are also required but not part of the Social Studies sequence.
FWIW: My son took APUSH at his school, and it was (by far) the hardest/most work of any course he took there – and also the most interesting/rewarding. (That will of course depend on who teaches it and how it’s taught). That’s coming from a math/science kid.
Also, as I recall, he did take regular US History the year before.
Why would writing a 5 page paper on Forrest Gump be a waste of time? On google scholar, you can see that Forrest Gump is the subject of many scholarly studies. You could write a crappy paper or you could have higher aspirations for yourself.
Its a bit petty and arrogant to say I’m being PC off of a very personal definition no one seems to understand.
" I have a very slim lead in the valedictorian race for my class"
And this thread is all that is needed to demonstrate how the pursuit of Valedictorian is a worthless enterprise. Colleges, take note! Oh, yeah, you have already! The problem with this kind of game is that it continues in college for those who don’t know there is even a way to go through school without playing.
" I took it sophomore year, and enjoyed it… mostly because we do nothing most of the class."
What an attitude! That’s what happens when the game involves pursing grades rather than involving oneself in important topic areas about the world and beyond.
“Would this negatively affect my application, or would it not matter? I have a feeling that colleges would view me as “do-anything for a high-gpa” type of student, which would hurt my app.”
And that’s what you are right? Let’s hope colleges can see the real you!
Careful! According to the OP, by telling him this you’re too “PC”. Although no one seems to understand what this has to do with political correctness in the slightest.
Retaking a class you got an A in makes you look like an obvious grade grubber.
While grade grubbing is implicitly encouraged by college admissions (and even more so by law and medical school admissions), it can backfire if you are too obvious about it.
And why is an essay on Forrest Gump useless? If you read the book/watched the movie, you know that he was coincidentally involved in many major historical events…I imagine this is just a method of learning modern US history.
I agree…Taking a class again that you already had will do nothing for you and would look odd to admissions .
How are Dual Enrollment classes handled w/r/t GPA?
@ucbalumnus Yup, I definitely realized how dumb my plan was. I honestly don’t know why I was considering it.
@bopper I wouldn’t mind if the Forrest Gump essay was the lone project, but there’s 11 other projects as well. This is summer, and maybe it’s just me, but it feels completely unnecessary. The teacher is a first-time AP teacher next year, so I think he’s just going overboard lol. Dual-enrollment is weighted the same as an AP class, so 5 (out of 4.0 scale), but I’ve taken both classes (Linear Algebra & Calc 3) that are offered.
@bodangles They’re not helping me at all, especially you, as you’ve contributed nothing related to my original question. Nice to know that you’re checking back on this thread though 
Can a moderator close this thread? My question has already been answered and I’ve acknowledged this.
If you had took the time to read my original response, you would know that I advised you to take APUSH. I also tried to explain how retaking APES would be an indicator of laziness and poor ideals about work and truly earning valedictorian. While I was slightly rude, I was honest, and didn’t cross the line into direct insults.
I will be the first to admit that many of my comments aren’t very encouraging and could be viewed as negative. However, this isn’t meant to be mean spirited (as your above comment was), but to give OPs realistic ideas of chances. College admissions at top schools is brutal, and I believe many on CC coddle people too much.
Also, my previous posts have nothing to do with the topic at hand. Why would a college accept someone who uses blatant logical fallacies and ad hominem attacks when they disagree with someone? At this point, you are just trying to make me angry, which is the epitome of pettiness; therefore, I refuse to be bothered. I’m confident in my stats, extracurricular activities, and ability to write good essays. Many on CC would agree that I’m a very viable candidate for CMC with or without track. So I refuse your offer of luck, it isn’t needed. If I get accepted it will be off my own hard work and abilities, not due to the fact that I tried to take shortcuts.
@bodangles (just including you so you see this)
Finally, if you wish to further insult me or provoke me, please message me; people don’t come to CC for this.
Why would your school give you credit for a class you already took? That’s very strange.
Even if you’re allowed to, the others on this thread are right- colleges will not look kindly on it.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
That’s not the way it works. You asked the question. As long as people are answering politely, the thread stays open. However, for future posters, please note that the OP has stated that sufficient feedback has been provided.
On a related topic, I’ve edited/deleted several posts from different members that contained snarky responses. Let’s abide by Terms of Service and keep it civil please.