As I am in the midst of course registration, I am conflicted on which classes I should take next year. I have everything figured out, but I am not sure whether to take AP Euro, Psych, or Stats. I don’t want to go into the STEM field, but I also heard that AP Psych isn’t well regarded by colleges. Also I don’t have much use/interest for psych. I am considering taking AP Stat because I will not be taking Calculus in high school. I can handle math, but I am not sure if I want to take two math classes senior year. Finally, AP Euro would be preferable, but would it look weird and be too challenging taking 2 history classes consecutively? My major of choice is history, so maybe that will look good to colleges, but I don’t know.
Will have have the expected well rounded high school base curriculum?
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1995563-faq-high-school-college-prep-base-curriculum.html
Beyond the expected well rounded high school base curriculum, choose whichever academic electives you like. If you are aiming for the most selective colleges, ask your counselor whether your choices will affect whether s/he marks that you chose the “most demanding” curriculum on the counselor report/recommendation that many of them use.
Can you list ALL the classes you’re sure to be taking and the classes you’re thinking of?
About history, do you mean consecutively (one after the other) or concurrently (side by side)?
@MYOS1634 Oops, I meant concurrently.
AP Lit
AP US. Hist.
AP Envi. Sci.
Hon. Pre Calc
Physics
French 5
–then the classes I’m not sure about.
yeah I would not recommend that you take AP Euro with APUSH, as both courses are very reading and memorization intensive
Art History (AP) would be an obvious class to bring up for a Humanities major; is it offered at your school?
Keep in mind that it is a very demanding class.
Your schedule is good but you’re right that you need one more class. I wouldn’t change any of the classes you currently have.
AP Lit
AP US. Hist.
AP Envi. Sci.
Hon. Pre Calc
Physics
French 5
+1 more class
Unfortunately, none of the three you listed would be optimal: AP stats or AP Psych are a bit too light and not in Humanities, and AP Euro is too hard to take alongside APUSH.
So… what are ALL humanities classes offered at AP or Honors level (or pre AP or Accelerated or DE or AICE…) at your school? Do they offer Philosophy? World Religions? Western Civilization?
Not sure why, in the context of the rest of the schedule, AP statistics or AP psychology would make it “too light”, since the OP has five courses normally seen as high rigor already (AP English literature, AP US history, honors precalculus, physics, French 5). Or would the counselor not mark the curriculum as “most demanding” if the OP had two “light” courses (out of AP environmental science, AP statistics, and AP psychology) in the schedule?
That the OP is a future humanities major does not mean that s/he has to avoid other subjects in high school or college.
No, but having a humanities class would help, and none of the AP options listed are humanities. The three options are either two “AP lites” that don’t help build a coherent picture of the student’s academic strengths and interests… or a double up core AP that would make the schedule very very hard. There has to be an intermediate path.
Hello,
I would suggest you to take AP Statistics if you can handle double math. There is nothing wrong with taking two history courses. Indeed, it shows your interest in history. My reasoning behind recommending AP Statistics is that it shows the college that you are a holistic person while exempts you from general education credits in Freshman/sophomore year of college. It is important for the colleges to see your achievement in many subject areas since math/science shows the college your problem solving skills and evidence analysis. This can eventually be used in history. A lot of colleges recognize AP Statistics. A good score on the AP Statistics Exam is likely to exempt you from a natural science/mathematics requirement for General Education in college. By doing so, you can focus more on your major track without worrying fulfill those requirements. In addition, AP Statistics is a great fit for humanity majors as it requires a lot of skills applicable across discipline.
Hope it helps. This is just my personal thoughts, may or may not apply to your ideal case.
Best,
-A.
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An issue is that AP stats is lighter than a college statistics class. It can be a good introduction to that essential branch of math though.
However keep in mind that it’s one of these classes that goes under ‘relevant coursework’ on your resume regardless of the position applied for and thus needs to be taken in college.
Can you take a dual enrollment class in philosophy at a local community college? That would reinforce rigor in humanities and your genuine interest for that field.
High school humanities courses tend to be limited to English, foreign language (and literature at high levels), history (which is also a social science), art, and music. The OP’s schedule already has three of these categories at a high level in it (English and history at the AP level, foreign language at level 5), along with two other rigorous courses (honors precalculus and physics), and one “light” course (AP environmental science), with one more elective to fill.
Also, humanities majors (other than art or music) are rarely those which are additionally competitive admission beyond admission to the school. (But even for those trying for competitive majors in other areas may not have to load their schedules with more than three high level courses in those areas.)
I would not take two sciences nor two maths if you want to be a Humanities major. I would take Precalc.