I’m trying to decide between applying for a school newspaper or signing up for an extra AP class. Which one do you think would benefit me more on my college application? If I took another AP class I could potentially get a 5.0 weighted GPA next year because the rest of my classes are weighted. If I joined the newspaper, I could be an editor by senior year, which would be a leadership position on my application. So what should and do and why? Thanks 
Too much information is unknown. It depends in part on the rest of your schedule and what other EC’s you have.
Oh sorry
Rest of my schedule:
Honors Pre-Calculus (Weighted)
APUSH
Honors English (Weighted)
AP Biology
AP Statistics
Other EC’s:
Debate (Very serious)
Violin (Play in orchestra)
Track and field
HOSA
Medical Explorer’s
Internships with scientist at Stanford
Volunteered for City Council campaign
Newspaper. It teaches you so many more real life skills than most AP’s. You learn how to better effectively interact with others, including principles/teachers/etc, through interviewing. You learn an immense amount of technology skills on In Design and Photoshop. You learn how to take photos with high quality cameras that don’t always look like poop. You learn how to be a professional in a working environment. You have articles PUBLISHED. You have a meaningful experience that another AP class could never offer.
***Check and see how your school newspaper ranks in comparison to others. If it is high quality and students actually read it, definitely think about applying. However, if it’s literally a piece of printer paper that never reaches competition, the AP class could be better.
Our newspaper is just read by the student body
So the staff doesn’t send it off to any statewide or national competition? Most states have some organization that ranks high school newspapers in some way. If this isn’t the case, your school’s newspaper could still be high quality.
Do you enjoy reading the school paper? Do you get excited at the prospect of contributing to it? Do you feel the experience could be beneficial not only because of possibly of attaining some title but because you truly think it could be a fun, enriching part of your life?
If so, apply now.
I mean, even if your school paper was only printed on HS printer paper and was overall lacking, you could have an opportunity to massively improve the paper and it could still be a great experience. It’s what you make it. What first made you interested in joining the staff enough to ask this question? Do you want to pursue journalism or even have a vague interest? Do you want to grasp knowledge in regards to photography, article writing, maybe even advertising? Do you just want to be a part of that close knit staff feel?
I really feel being on your school newspaper is a great way to get more involved and gain some invaluable skills, but it’s not for everyone. If you’re more concerned with having the better GPA and would rather devote your time to that, that’s your personal choice, but in my opinion, you could potentially be missing out on a lot.
Sorry for babbling. Brevity is not my strong suit.
I’d say Newspaper, especially if you have a shot at being Editor.
Honors Pre-Calculus (Weighted)
APUSH
Honors English (Weighted)
AP Biology
=> keep, those are 4 of the 5 core courses you need to take.
AP Statistics
Unless you already completed Level 4 or AP of a foreign language, you need one for competitive colleges.
AP Statistics is fun but is considered an AP Lite so if you’re taking it “to impress adcoms”… it won’t since you’re in HPrecalc and I suppose will be in Calc senior year? If you love statistics (or even if you don’t, really), take Stats in college.
I faced a similar dilemma except it was assistant editor vs 2 AP classes lost
Of course my decision was a lot easier(Took the AP’s). Both your GPA and E.C are already very strong.
Really depends on your shot at Editor and how confident you feel about the AP class in question
Oh my gosh…you don’t join the newspaper staff to become editor-in-chief. You do it because it’s one of your passions and you find it fun and exciting. A high position can just be an added plus that comes with devoting yourself to the paper. If you solely want to join the newspaper staff to get a good position to impress colleges, don’t bother.