Senior Schedule easier than Junior Year?

Scheduling for senior year is coming up, and I’m (probably needlessly) worried that my senior year schedule is appears less rigorous than my Junior Year. This year, I’m taking:
AP Calculus BC
AP US History
AP Language
AP Physics 1
AP Computer Science
French 4
Symphonic Band
Gym

Next year, I plan to take:
AP Economics
AP Literature
AP Physics C
AP Chemistry
Leadership (basically community service class, very involved in school activities, counts as government credit)
French 5
Symphonic Band
Gym

I know the difference is only 1 AP class, but I’m just worried that my course load appears to have gone down. It’s probably not a big deal at all and won’t make any difference in admissions, but I’m just paranoid and every little thing worries me. Is this a big deal or am I worried about nothing? Thanks in advance!

Don’t worry about it. A difference of one AP class is not going to matter at all. Can you imagine the admissions officers going, “hey, this kid has great stats, but he only took 4 APs instead of 5 his senior year, so we’ll have to reject him…” That would be absolutely ridiculous!

I personally think that it is a good idea to lessen the course load during senior year, as you need time to write essays and pump out good applications. I wouldn’t give up the potential to send in a good application for an extra AP class that probably won’t even affect the decision anyways. Just remember to keep your grades up, and colleges will not even realize that your course load went “down” in your senior year. Good luck!

Thanks for the input! That makes a lot of sense, and I’m just paranoid about every little possible detail that can go into admissions and I really gotta learn not to worry so much.