<p>I'm planning on applying to HYP (baseball recruit), and then some lower-ranked schools, so I decided that I'd take a difficult senior schedule to show that I can keep up with Ivy work.</p>
<p>-AP Macro/Micro
-AP Psych
-AP Calc BC
-AP Physics C
-AP English Lit
-AP Comp Gov't (1 sem)
-AP US Gov't (1 sem)
-Honors Italian II (took like ten years of French prior to beginning Italian)
-Newspaper (editor) or Honors Band</p>
<p>Am I going to end up shooting myself in the face? I had my most difficult schedule this year with APUSH, AP English Lang/Comp, Honors Math Analysis, etc., and I had my best grades thus far this semester. Thanks, brochachos</p>
<p>At my school, Calculus is a period and a half and Physics is a period and a half as well, these just wouldn’t fit in my 9 period schedule. Whats it like at your school?</p>
<p>Not to patronize on this wonderful schedule or anything, but “keeping up with Ivy work” is hardly comparable to AP classes. Most Ivy Leagues don’t accept credit for most AP classes (with a few exceptions on the AP side) and force you to retake them. You’d be surprised at how a “5” and “A+” in high school translates into a “C” in college. I don’t see why you’re taking all those classes given the fact that you’re a baseball superstar. I believe it doesn’t have too much of an impact on your acceptance (this may be complete ********). </p>
<p>And if you think those classes are hard (difficulty-wise, not workload-wise), prepare to get “rolled” in college if you plan to take “difficult” classes again. Even if they may be “the hardest classes” in your school, they are probably nothing in comparison to Ivy League work.</p>
<p>Putting this in perspective, at my high school, the pre-calc teacher teaches multivariable calculus and linear algebra in the course labeled “Pre-Calculus Honors.” No **** people are going to think this is hard. Taking linear algebra at Stanford (again), you’d be surprised how many had to study their asses off despite learning most of the material through the afforementioned teacher. </p>
<p>Well, I guess since you’re an athlete, getting a 4.0 doesn’t really matter too much. You have a hook and I suppose you should “have fun” with high school, and maybe this is your way of “having fun.”</p>
<p>it mainly depends on what’s reasonable at your school. i have an 8 period day including lunch, so like mixedmediaman this wouldn’t ever fit into my schedule, so i’m unable to judge. it’s good to be challenging yourself, but you shouldn’t give yourself so much work that you’re miserable and your grades suffer. if other people at your school take workloads like this, then i’d say go for it. but if people at your school say it’s unreasonable, it probably is, and you should drop something so you have time to have a life.</p>
<p>hahah i’m not a “superstar,” i just happen to have an in-demand skill set (makes me sound like an assassin, lolzzz). and it’s not difficult in terms of actual content, as content’s never been much of a problem for me… it’s just work. i hate schoolwork; i think it’s pointless and repetitive, but i realize that it’s completely necessary if i want to go to a decent school, so i do it begrudgingly.</p>
<p>@mixed, yeah, we have a 9 period day and both are a period and a half. i’m not taking a gym class and i don’t have a lunch period… lolz. i also decided that, because the AB teacher is 100000x better than the BC teacher, i’m going to drop down to AB. that’s not terrible, is it?</p>
<p>I’m currently a senior. I’ve basically got an equivalent schedule to what you’re planning–only yours has the addition of one AP and an honors class. Like others have said, it depends on what your school’s like, but I know for me that if I had more than my five APs I would die. It’s not that the classes are hard conceptually, but that there’s a lot of work–much of it busywork, I’m sorry to say.</p>
<p>Have you considered self-studying Psych and/or Gov as a Junior, and then taking the tests this May? They’re supposed to be pretty easy, and then you wouldn’t have to take them next year.</p>
<p>And is the AB teacher better because s/he’s easier, or because s/he’s more interesting and explains stuff better? This may just be my cynicism talking, but if you feel you can get an A in BC with the worse teacher, I’d suck it up and go for it.</p>
<p>One AP class more or less isn’t going to be the difference between getting in and not getting in, so don’t do it just to show that you can. You’ll be short on time fall semester of senior year anyway. Pick APs that reflect your interests. A lot of AP classes, unfortunately, are memorization fests without time for much intellectual depth. (College Board has recognized this and is changing the content of the curricula in US History and Bio for fall 2011 - but won’t get to the others until subsequent years.) </p>
<p>And yes, take AB math with the better teacher unless you are applying as a potential engineer, math or physics major. There really isn’t a need to suffer through bad teaching. Sounds like, if you are an athletic recruit, most schools are going to be looking to see if you meet the academic baseline. (Neighbor’s athletic recruit son was told that Middlebury expected a 3.5 UW, for example).</p>