Senior Year APs

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

I’m a junior in high school. Currently, I am taking 4 AP Classes
APUSH
AP Lang
AP Physics (1+2)

Before junior year I have taken 4 AP courses (I will put my AP Score in parenthesis).

Freshman Year:
AP Environmental Science (4)
AP Human Geography (5)

Sophomore Year:
AP Bio (4)
AP World (5)

I was thinking of taking a few more APs senior year.

AP Stat
AP Calc BC
AP Psych
AP Econ (Macro/Micro)
AP Spanish
AP Lit
AP Physics C (E and M)

Obviously, I do not want to take all of the mentioned APs. However, I do want to take some. I want to have a business related major in college so which of the above APs would you suggest taking?

2

My suggestions, and they may not be the best choice, but they are from where I am from and in my eyes are as following:

Take calculus, economics, Spanish, and physics.
Calculus: math is crucial to business, since handling money, profits, accounting, etc. is all math, although I don’t know how much of it is calculus-related, but this is a challenging class and taking it can prove to colleges you have what it takes.
Economics: business = economics, no brainer there
Spanish: good for international relations, and maybe hiring Spanish-speaking employees in the long-run, but for college apps, if you’ve been taking Spanish for a long time, why stop now?
Physics: it seems to me that you have an interest in physics, since you took 1 and 2 last year, but if you are more interested in other science classes, take those

Lit: unless if you have a dream business about literature, or you like it especially, don’t take it
Stat: I’ve heard from numerous people that college statistics is miles better than AP Stat, but that may be different in your school

3

I have heard the same about AP Stat. ^

I wouldn’t advise you to take Calc BC without having taken AB first, unless you are some sort of math genius.

4

If you don’t like english, AP lit will be absolutely miserable and at most schools its the same credit as AP Lang

5

What math have you taken so far and how have you done? AP Calc BC can be very difficult unless you are already strong in math. In some schools you can only take AP Calc AB or BC. My son is currently in BC and doing fine, but he is more oriented to math than English.

Do you have an idea what colleges you are looking at? If so, you can find out what courses (and exam grade) could give you credit. Some schools do not give any credit while others can cover general ed requirements.Google the school name and AP credit. Good luck!

6

Although I am not very knowledgeable on this topic, I would like to help you because I have a suggestion for you. I do recommend:

Statistics: I have a feeling many people will disagree with me, but I strongly recommend this class to you because economics deals with lots of data and analysis. Even though you will have to take statistics in college, it will help you a lot to be able to learn statistics even before you go to college.

Calculus: This is a class I recommend because math is essential to business, and Calculus is a good way to acquire a high level math class. However, you do not have to take BC. I agree with @mohammadmohd18 . If you have not taken AB yet, take BC only if you are absolutely certain you can handle the material, and you have received As in all your previous honors math courses. If you were previously in regular math courses, I recommend you stick with AB because even though it is not as rigorous as BC, it will be sufficient enough for college, the future, and your life.

Economics: I hope you understand why this is essential.

(Maybe) Spanish: If you love Spanish and think you want to keep learning more of it, then I recommend you take it because for business, it is important to be able to communicate in multiple languages. Spanish will be useful, especially, in that we live right next to Mexico and Cuba. Spanish could be helpful for you in the future. If you’ve already taken four years of it and don’t feel up to learning more about it, it’s perfectly fine not to take it, though.

(Maybe) Lit: If you love English, then this is a great class. Otherwise, I recommend you stick with English 12 Honors because there’s a lot of reading and homework, and you may need it for Calculus, Econ, Stats, etc.

US, Comparative, or Both Government(s): I am aware it is not on the list, and I apologize. However, I recommend this class because knowing laws of the country in the US and the world is crucial to business. Politics also plays a big role in business without us even knowing it. If you are even just a little bit interested, I recommend you take this class.

I hope this helped. As I am a freshman, sorry if my advice is not that good.

Have a good day!

7

I concur with calc, stats, and econ for all the points mentioned above.

I would not take AP Physics C; that really for kids planning to major in engineering or physics.

Spanish is good if you plan on an international career or plan on living in an area with a large Spanish-speaking population. However, it does not need to be AP if there is a non-AP option.

AP Lit: Your choice. If there is a non-AP version (other than just Honors English 12), like creative writing 20th century novels, you could go with that. As mentioned, many schools do not give credit for both Lit and Lang. But it’s your call.

If AP Gov is an option, I’d suggest that over AP Psych

8

@mohammadmohd18 @jcmom716 @anthonytheboy @skieurope I have taken Algebra I and II, Geometry, and am currently taking precalc. I can’t take AB and BC so I would have to pick one. I’m fairly good at math, with my grades being in the mid to high 90s. For not taking science senior year, I have heard that it is not recommended. I have completed all my science requirements, but do you think I should take at least one science? As for AP Gov, it is available but I am not sure if I will have room in my schedule.

9

Sounds like Calc and Stats would be fine. In regards to science, there really doesn’t seem to be a need for AP Physics C, unless you have a strong interest. If you have concerns, you can look up schools requirements. Most schools just want to see a rigorous schedule senior year, it doesn’t necessarily have to be in every subject.

10

I will stress again that BC will take your indubitable (and admirable) confidence and proceed to grind it into the dirt. AB is already fast-paced; BC is AB with the addition of 10-12 weeks of heavy integral work (integrals are Satanic.), and I don’t expect that the AB material covered will be thorough enough–more like review, with an exasperated sigh if the teacher thinks you should know the material already–unless you have taken AB beforehand.

Taking BC over AB will not make or break any of your acceptances–it’ll probably just knock down your GPA a tad. Going from Precalc to BC is ambitious, to say the least.

Think of AB as being the confluence of certain aspects of Algebra, “A,” and differentiation, “B”(A flawed representation, I am aware). By this metric, BC is the junction of “B”, differentiation, and “C,” integrals (…). It wouldn’t be wise to take the latter class without having taken the former.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

11

@mohammadmohd18 totally depends on the schools math curriculum. At my school, kids from presale (honors usually) go straight to BC and do just fine. In fact, my BC teacher has a 100% pass rate on the AP test. If the school has it required to do AB before BC though, do that, but if they don’t, it would be a waste of time to do both.

12

And Integrals aren’t bad. They’re just backwards derivatives. Sequences and series aren’t fun but if you have a good teacher you’ll be fine.

13

It depends upon the colleges you are targeting. Very few require/suggest 4 years, especially if you are not planning a STEM-major. However, even if you do decide to take a year of science, it does not have to be AP Physics, or even an AP.

14

@snowfairy137 Converting a definite integral to an infinite Riemann sum wears you down a bit, though. Anti-derivatives are pretty simple, I agree. I might just be biased against the whole AB/BC thing because: a. At my school, it’s required to take AB before BC, and b. Most of the AB and BC teachers at my school were pretty lackluster.

15

I would recommend calc AB, AP economics (micro+macro), AP gov (us+ comp), AP Spanish (or Spanish 4H or 5 - AP could get you out if a college graduation requirement or you may be done with just one class); possibly stats (but retake in college).
Then, pick honors science of any kind (or AP CS principles if you really want an AP, but not physics C which is hardcore and for future engineers), and any English class that sounds cool to you.