Next year I will be a junior in high school and I wanted to ask about my classes. This is what I am taking next year:
-AP Art History
-AP Micro-Economics
-AP US II
-Honors LAL III
-Honors Precalculus
-Honors Physics
-Honors Anatomy and Physiology
I am taking a large range of elective because I am not sure of what I want to do in college and for thst reason I am trying to find where I have certain interests. I have the feeling I would like to go into medicine, but this is how I have my schedule set. I have taken Biology and Chemistry, but not at the AP levels and I know that I will eventually have to and I plan to my senior year. Do you think that if I do apply to medical school thst my junior year schedule may affect my chances of getting into a premed school. I am not certain that I want to go into medicine which is why I am taking these other classes, but if my mind is set on it, I want to make sure that this schedule will not affect my chances of getting into a premed I ne school of some sort. Please let me know. Thank you!
If you’re planning to go on the pre-med route, is AP Art History necessary at all? You should just replace it with AP Chem/Bio and uncover what you truly like. Beware that AP Chem is a very rigorous class, but with your planned schedule, I don’t think it should pose a problem.
When planning for my classes, I’ve been cautioned by many not to take AP Chem and AP Bio in the same year, as it would be extremely rigorous. Unless if AP Art History can only be taken in junior year, swap it with either AP Chem or AP Bio.
Although you are taking two science classes already this year…
@raventhemage I think it just depends on the person. One of my close cousin who lived with us took AP Chem, Physics C, AP Euro, AP Comp Sci A, Honors English, and AP Calc BC all in the same year and ended the year off with a A’s in those classes, alongside with four 5s. Not too long ago, he got accepted to UMich (full ride), Stanford, Cornell, UVA, UCB, and Caltech. He got rejected from MIT (his dream school) and Princeton. He’s pretty much who I aspire to be one day…
Anyways, to put it short, it’s possible to take a combination of hard classes and still do well.
^Your cousin is impressive. But it’s not necessary to take that many intense AP’s together and it can come at enormous personal cost (ie., fewer than 8 hours of sleep, high level of stress, no time for EC’s/enjoying life…) As Stanford puts it and your cousin’s results for MIT and Princeton shows, “it’s not a game of who has the most Ap’s, wins”.
It is indeed NOT recommended to take AP Bio and AP Chem the same year and both are really good to have for premeds.
Suggestions:
-AP Art History
-AP Micro-Economics => replace with Foreign Language level 3 or 4 unless you’ve taken it already
-AP US II
-Honors LAL III
-Honors Precalculus
-Honors Physics
-Honors Anatomy and Physiology => replace with AP Bio
Senior Year
AP Calculus AB
AP Chemistry
AP Micro Economics (or, if taken junior year: any class of your choice that’s not too hard)
AP US/Comp Gov
Honors LAL IV
Honors Anatomy and Physiology
@MYOS1634 8 hours of sleep? I’m in middle school and I barely get 7… And trust me, middle school in the U.S is a breeze…
In middle school, you need 9 hours, or you hurt your brain, body, and growth. The effects can be really bad, especially regarding mental health. Lack of sleep will “break” your growing brain. In high school, 8-9 freshman year, then 8. 7-8 senior year with catch up sleep on the weekends.
Barely 7 in middle school is a HUGE RED FLAG that something’s off with your schedule.
What do you take, what EC’s do you do, how come 7 hours…?
If HS is a breeze, how come you don’t sleep enough?
@MYOS1634 Its really nice of you to care, but literally no teenager gets enough sleep even if they’re schedule’s not busy. It’s because teenagers naturally don’t get tired until later (10-11ish) and school starts early. Technology doesn’t help.
Snowfairy137 is right about the not getting tired until later. I don’t know a single person over the age of 11 who gets 9 hours of sleep, no matter how easy their classes are, and most of us are fine. I mean, we probably should get more sleep, but I doubt that is going to happen.
Yes, I realize that. No electronics in your room after 10pm is a first step :). But falling asleep slightly after 10 and waking up around 6:30 leaves enough time to have a full night of sleep. And in middle school kids should be in their room with no TV/no electronics by 9:30. Melatonin can help falling asleep for those who really, really can’t.
But some students literally stay up till 10 or 11 or even midnight, not updating their Snapchat story or watching youtube… but doing homework. That’s a problem.
And a middle schooler who “barely gets 7 hours of sleep” has a problem.
Agreed. Each class is a ton of work. In addition to the inherent rigor from being an AP class, each requires additional time to conduct labs and write up lab reports. Many schools double block these classes or require attendance at before- or after-school sessions to get everything in.