I was looking to see if I could get some advice regarding my schedule for next year.
Right now as a junior, I’m taking
AP Chem
AP Physics 1
AP Lang
APUSH
AP Calc AB
Health
and I got 4 A’s and 2 B-'s in chem and physics My interests change constantly, and when I was a sophomore I could have sworn I wanted to be a STEM major so I stupidly decided to double up on the AP sciences. Over the course of this year though, I’ve started to lean more towards the liberal arts/politics/business…which partially explains my poor performance in chem and physics.
Now that this year is starting to come to a close and as I’m thinking about next year, I’ve always wanted to learn computer programming since it’s so useful in jobs (my sister landed an internship at the UN for knowing how to program) and I wanted to take AP Bio because I feel like its an important subject to be familiar with in college (but correct me if I’m wrong)
Keeping that in mind…
My projected classes for senior year are so far:
AP Lit
AP Gov
AP Calc BC (I’m actually doing pretty well in AB)
AP Comp Sci
AP Bio
Internship (our school offers an empty class period where seniors go off-campus and work at an internship of his/her choosing)
I’m a little iffy about my schedule since I’m piling on the STEM-related subjects again even though I feel my interests have changed, and after so many sleepless nights and being tired 24/7 and losing motivation, I’m not sure if I want another year of 5 AP’s (on top of all my EC’s, anyway, since I know many users on here might scoff at 5 AP’s). I was thinking about maybe possibly switching out comp sci for a business class offered at my school like Business Law. But then again I’ve heard that seniors should really work their hardest in regards to classes and “push their limits” …a.k.a. 5 AP’s > 4 AP’s, and I feel when comparing my work with AP Bio/Comp Sci kids’ work, AP Bio and AP Comp Sci are slightly easier than AP Chem and AP Physics.
Ultimately, do you think my senior AP’s are a little easier than the ones I’m taking now? What (if any) changes would you recommend for my schedule? Also, is comp sci generally one of the harder AP’s?
Update: I now realize it would probably be helpful if I mentioned which schools I’m interested in; at the moment, I will most likely apply to most of the UC’s, and my dream schools are UChicago, Georgetown, Columbia, and Cambridge (King’s college)
You shouldn’t apply to a British University unless you are very sure of exactly what you want to study. You already have science credits, and you say you don’t like science so why take AP bio?
@collegemom3717 , it will most likely be HSPS! My extra-curriculars are politically/business inclined, so I hope they would give me something to add in a personal statement (yes, I know they don’t care much for EC’s in the application.) and I have always been very interested in these subjects. I appreciate that the course gives you wider subjects to explore before you zero in on one of them. I also thought it was nice that the school noted that for HSPS, there isn’t really a specific subject focus needed to apply as opposed to other subjects like Physical NatSci where I’d probably need to focus on physics/maths/ the works…
@mathyone, I know it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to switch degrees at British universities without starting completely over - so if I am still iffy on what I want to do before applying I will probably hold off on doing so until post-grad as to not waste money… I see your point with Bio;I thought about taking it just in case my interests switch for the thousandth time and I end up loving bio and wanting to study it more in college, since I was into it freshman year. Do you have any suggestions? if I didn’t end up taking AP Bio, I would probably fill it with Business Law…
Honestly, take classes you want to take; Trust me from my experience taking all AP is just awful. I’m doing 7 AP’s this year as a junior and want to cry every morning I wakeup.
My schedule:
AP: Chem
AP: Eng Lang
AP: Calc AB
AP: Psychology
AP: French Lang
AP: Physics C Mech
AP: US History
I sleep 2 hours a night and spend my life in my room alone. Take the classes you want to take and stop worrying about what looks better. Anyone can handle all AP classes and a tough schedule physically, however, mentally that’s a different story. Talking to your guidence counselor and see what he/she thinks.
How ‘hard’ a subject is has a subjective component: it might be easy for you and hard for your friend.- or vice-versa. But, CompSci is not typically seen as a ‘hard’ AP, and for the UK is only considered 1/2 an AP (ie a semester class) (btw, so is AP Gov).
King’s has a pre-admission test for HSPS, but they haven’t said yet whether that will be the TSA or an hour-long essay (they post that in March). Stay on top of that, b/c if it’s TSA you will have to organize where you are going to take it if you don’t live near a testing site.
The only comment I would have on your course selection wrt Cambridge is that you seem to be short on classes that require long-form reading and writing (ie, essays of 3-6 pages or longer) (USH & LIt seem to be the only two). Be aware that reading academic texts and writing essays are a big part of HSPS, and if you have course options that will give you practice that could be useful prep. It’s important to remember that the goal isn’t just to get in, but to be able to thrive once you get there! Cambridge is extremely intense, and I would imagine* that you would be researching and writing on the order of 3 papers over every 2 week period.
*(not sure exactly for HSPS- drawing from the courses that I know better- @alcibiade has a daughter just finishing Arch @ Cambridge, which is one of the HSPS subjects, so may be able to speak better to the amount of essays she does)
@collegemom3717 sorry for the late reply - thank you so much for the info! Do you know if the TSA (or essay test) results would be sent in along with my initial application, or if that would be done at the same time as interviews? I know that sometimes they request written sample essays as part of the admissions process, I will definitely need to stay on top of that too.
I agree that I will need a lot of prep for writing essays/reading; I’ve heard about the intense amount of essays students studying subjects like HSPS have to do! But I’m not sure if there are any other AP classes (at least from the ones offered at my school) other than USH or Lit (I would mention lang, but the essays are fairly short and not extremely text based) that would help me prepare accordingly which worries me a bit. I’m planning on doing a ton of outside reading this summer though, which hopefully will help me in the long run.
Thank you for putting things in perspective. I think many times I focus too much on how to get into the college instead of if I would even be able to handle the intensity of the course if I do get in (and I doubt I’m alone in doing this). I would hope that my interest in/passion for the subjects would keep me motivated to work hard, since I’ve learned from this year that the subjects I have zero interest in are the ones I tend to slack off on and do more poorly in, and the classes that DO interest me are the ones I really excel in. (another thing that attracted me to Cam - the fact that I would be taking courses related only to HSPS, no general core classes etc.)
@PsychicPanda2 I feel pretty much the same way with 5 AP’s, I couldn’t imagine taking 7! I would go mental. Hang in there, only 2 more months to go. Are you going to take fewer AP’s senior year?
@lamebridge, if it’s the TSA it is only offered on one date, in November, and you have to have be registered by Oct 15. The results go straight to the university (in fact, you won’t be notified of your score unless you request the score after the fact). The Essay test is more variable.
I’m not taking 7 AP’s next year no, but still a good schedule
AP: Biology
AP: English Lit
AP: Calc BC
AP: US Gov Pol
Virginia Commonwealth University French 301
Virginia Commonwealth University Journalism 101
AP: Computer Science
@collegemom3717 Thank you for all your insight! I’m doing a lot more research on the TSA now. Also, regarding AP Euro, I took the test sophomore year and unfortunately received a 4 on the test instead of a 5 One of the main reasons I considered King’s, because they request 3 AP’s with a score of 5 rather than 5 (and 2 SAT II over 700) and I will most likely only have 4 AP tests with a score of 5 by the time I apply.
My interests change constantly, and when I was a sophomore I could have sworn I wanted to be a STEM major so I stupidly decided to double up on the AP sciences. Over the course of this year though, I’ve started to lean more towards the liberal arts/politics/business…which partially explains my poor performance in chem and physics.
One of the main reasons I considered King’s, because they request 3 AP’s with a score of 5 rather than 5 (and 2 SAT II over 700) and I will most likely only have 4 AP tests with a score of 5 by the time I apply.