Hello! I want opinions on my junior year schedule.
AP English Language
AP Environmental Science
AP Psychology
AP Statistics
Honors Chemistry I
Honors American History II
Forensic Science
Photography II
We are on the AB Schedule which means I’ll take four classes each day and rotate them every other day. I want to know if it’s manageable?
This was my schedule last year
Honors English II
Honors Physics
Honors Precalculus
Honors Spanish III
Honors Biology
Honors Law and Justice
Photography.
I end last year with all A’s except Spanish III. It was an easy year haha. That’s why I’m not taking world language next year(I didn’t have a Spanish teachers all three year)
I will participate in about 3 clubs and volunteer every saturday.
Do you think my junior year schedule will be too challenging and time consuming or it’ll be fine? I’ve already started preparing for the ACT(Taking it in Feb) and planning on retaking the SAT(1st score was horrible )
Junior year is tough and I learned that the hard way last year. I had all AP/A level and honors classes with my only free class being dance. I was burned out like crazy and my mental health suffered.
It’s tough to say if your schedule will be too challenging because every teacher teaches a subject in a different manner. Do you have any idea about how upperclassman held up with those type of classes? While you shouldn’t take everything they say to heart, it’s a good indicator of what you will be dealing with. I have the same AB schedule system in my school. I liked it but with having so many AP and A level classes and only seeing teachers 2-3 times a week meant more homework. The workload became unbearable at times and I would purposely stay home to finish my homework.
So overall you need to evaluate yourself as a student and see if you can handle it. No Matter what junior year is going to be super stressful and you don’t what overload yourself even more by taking on a courseload you can’t handle
Sounds like a rigorous enough schedule but I would personally change a few things.
Three sciences? I have never heard of anyone taking that many science classes. I would probably take one of them out and replace it with Spanish (even if it is isn’t your strongest class, 4 years of world language is preferred)
AP Stats is a good class, however do you plan to take calc your senior year? Most competitive of schools expect calc but don’t mind if you do not have stats.
Overall your schedule looks challenging, pretty time consuming, yet manageable. I would definitely reconsider the 3 sciences though. Taking two sciences sounds like a lot! You could always move one to your senior year.
I do plan on taking Calculus BC senior year. I didn’t learn anything from Spanish 2-3 so I feel like I’m setting myself to failure if I take Spanish 4 with the same teacher that teaches Spanish 3. I think I’m going to drop Forensics science to Creative writing(My friends said it’s the easiest class to take to get an 100).
Sorry to hear about your junior :(. How many AP classes did you take junior year? At my school, Psychology, Statistics, and Environmental Science is known to be the easiest AP Classes as long as you do all the assignments. For English, it depends on which teacher I get.One of the teacher is great and the other one… . I’m still undecided about my schedule. I know if I’m gonna drop an AP Class it would be Environmental but I’m still undecided.
I just finished my junior year, and I also took 4 AP classes (AP Lang, AP Physics 1, AP Calc BC, & AP US history). AP Lang I found to be one of the easier AP classes of the four, so I wouldn’t be too worried about that class. All I can say was that it was pretty hectic taking such a courseload and despite getting really good grades I found myself to be stressed out a lot (I was also a fairly busy individual). So if you do go down this path it is definitely possible but it’s going to take A LOT of determination, dedication and time management skills. Also, don’t expect to get a lot of sleep (I usually got 6 hours most nights, on really busy nights maybe 2/3). I’m not trying to scare you away from such a courseload, just letting you know how hard it was. It is definitely worth it though if you are willing. Best of luck!
I can’t take APUSH without AP Gov(For some reason it’s a prereq) and Gov is for Sophmores only. I transfered to this school late so I wasn’t able to take AP Class. I passed Spanish 3 with barely a B so I don’t think it’s smart to take Spanish IV.
It’s my first year taking AP so I don’t want to jump right into hard AP Classes. For senior year I’m planning on taking AP Calculus AB+BC(At my school you take either Honors Calculus + Calculus AB or Calculus AB + BC), AP Lit, and AP Bio.
You’re right to worry about the rigor of APs. Most ppl on CC will tell you that some APs are easy, and for them, maybe that’s true. But everyone works differently, learn at different paces, and do certain subjects better. Even APES and Psych are harder than regular classes, so don’t expect them to be a breeze (initially). The reason why most classes are hard is because of the workload- not necessarily the difficult material. If you are good at memorizing facts, reading textbook material quickly, and managing time, junior year could be a breeze. If not, you can still handle it, but the first few weeks or months will be challenging.
In my experience, sophomore year was difficult for me and drained my mental health a lot more than my junior year. I took 3 APs sophomore year after taking 0 my freshman year. The transition really hurt me and I was stressed out all year long. My junior year, I relaxed some on my ECs, didn’t care as much about getting bad grades (as long as I could correct them in the end), and overall could manage my time a little better. Even though I took 6 APs last year, I knew how the system worked, was more comfortable with reading textbooks and learning on my own, and knew the fastest way for me to study.
Basically, how you handle the workload is up to you. The faster you learn how you work and find the best place/method to study, the faster you will be able to cope with difficult classes. The 1st few weeks will without a doubt be challenging in some way. You will get used to it if you keep pushing through. 3 APs felt like a lot until the 1st semester ended. Then 3 APs felt like nothing in comparison to 6. Once you get acclimated to the class and understand how your teachers grade, you will still be able to manage straight As (although you will have to struggle a bit more).
I would suggest keeping all 4 of your AP classes as they are some of the less challenging AP courses. Or maybe jump down to 3 and take a more rigorous AP such as calc BC junior year. I know a B in Spanish isn’t great but colleges would really prefer 4 years of world language or AT LEAST 3. Could you prepare for the course over the summer? That may help you get a better grade!
I want to save Calculus for Senior year because next year there will be a new calculus teacher and I want to get to know the teacher first before taking the class. We have a great Statistics teacher so I think I’m gonna take Statistics first. As for Spanish, I honestly did not learn anything from spanish 2 and 3! I was surprised I passed spanish 3 with a B! I feel like if I take spanish 4(It’ll be the same teacher), I think I’ll struggle more than I did in Spanish 3.
I plan on doing a similar schedule (I also have the 4 period block scheduling) for next year (junior year). My friend in my AP Computer Science class was taking similar APs and he didn’t seem too stressed out. I know that a lot of people in my school take 4 or 5 APs in junior year. I obviously don’t know how much work your teachers will give, but expect a fair bit of work from English.
The fact that you have Honors US History is making me jealous. One of the history teachers in my school said that if we had that course, almost no one would take AP US History.
Here is my schedule for junior year (letter = day, number = period):
A1: PLTW Principles of Engineering
A2: PLTW AP Computer Science Principles
A3: French 2 Independent Study
A4: AP Calculus BC
B1: UCONN ECE 1201Q AP Physics 1
B2: AP US History
B3: Band
B4: AP English Language and Composition
I’ve taken Honors Earth Science, Honors Biology and Honors Physics. I was suppose to take Chemistry before Physics but they messed my schedule up :/. I do plan on taking AP Bio senior year.
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