Hey! I’m looking for a bit of advice regarding my senior year schedule.
I may have gone a bit overboard…
I’m currently taking
AP Physics 1
AP Statistics
AP Literature
AP US Government
AP Macroeconomics
AP Calculus BC
AP Computer Science A
AP Biology(?)
I was thinking about dropping AP Biology because it’s currently taking up most of my time. I’m trying to balance all these APs with my extracurriculars, but I need some extra time to focus on perfecting the other aspects of my application.
I plan on majoring in Math/Computer Science. Would top-tier schools care that I never took AP Biology? I took AP English Language (5), AP Spanish(3), AP Chemistry(5), AP Psychology(5), AP Calculus AB(5), and APUSH(4) my Junior year, so clearly I can handle this workload, I just don’t have the time…
Thanks!
You have sooooo many APs. This could negatively affect the quality of your applications. I would consider dropping at least one, if not 2 or 3. Colleges don’t want to see you take every AP offered, even the top colleges.
You really only need one science, AP Physics or AP Bio, as long as you have covered the class you drop at a regular/honors level (top colleges like to see the “holy trinity of sciences” covered). So yes, you can drop AP Bio and it won’t hurt you.
You’re not in an arms race to bulk up on APs. Colleges will analyze your decision making skills too. If you take all this and end up with a 3.5 for your senior year, that’ll look bad.
Drop AP Bio and not worry about it at all – who are you trying to impress by being crazy?
@Coterie, I disagree with your anecdote. In my senior year, I took 6 APs out of 8 classes. I was able to handle it and got a lot of of the classes and got straight As. “balance” depends on the individual – although I agree that the OP has gone overboard
Surprisingly enough, this schedule isn’t too bad. After taking 6 APs my junior year, I’m kinda used to this. AP Macro and AP Gov are only semester courses, so those 2 APs only occupy one period a day. I take AP Computer Science online so I leave after 5th period every day. I have 2 hours to do my homework before school even ends. The only course that is really challenging is AP Physics. The issue here is trying to balance extracurriculars and improve my application with all of these classes I have to deal with
my sincere advice would be to prioritize your classes over superfluous ECs. Some ECs aren’t superfluous, I fully acknowledge that. But your senior year isn’t time to be wasting on thin ECs or do-nothing clubs. Seriously.
Wow… That’s some actual advice for once. Thanks! People on this site have the tendency to stress the importance of useless ECs. I’ve never understood that.
The overemphasis on ECs over academics is one of those myths that, after being repeated enough, have taken on a veneer of truthfulness. Certainly some ECs are great. The vast majority aren’t. Yet HS students lose their minds over them. Colleges don’t want to admit events planners or professional volunteers. They want students and community members.
I wouldn’t drop AP bio for a “top tier” and a math/CS major. They’ll look for AP in chem, bio and physics. Drop AP stats, especially since you have AP calc in there.
Unfortunately, I can’t drop AP Statistics. I’m Vice President of national honor society and my stat teacher runs the club. I’ve known her for years, so I can’t really drop the course. Also, I took Biology Honors my freshman year and received an A, if that’s worth anything.
Drop AP stats and AP bio as they’ll do nothing for your application .
Have you reached level 4 in a foreign language? Ever taken an art class such as digital arts?
Yes, I took AP Spanish Language and Culture (which comes after Spanish 1-3). I’m taking AP Literature which is kinda artsy, but no, I’ve never taken pottery/digital arts etc. Those classes aren’t AP and would lower my GPA
Ivy League colleges will expect honors Bio, chem, and physics, + one of those at the AP level, plus CS since it’s your interest. Because AP bio is a huge time sink for you and you do not need it, you’re better off dropping it. Since you can’t drop AP Stats due to your relationship with the teacher,
Top colleges will use your unweighted GPA, so whether a class was AP or not will not affect the way they see your GPA. Please understand that 'i can’t take these classes because they’re not AP and would lower my GPA" is exactly the opposite of what Top 10 universities/lacs are looking for.
I agree that you ought to prioritize your most important EC’s and cut down on those where you’re just a follower/member, unless you have fun with friends there.
Out of curiosity, what’s wrong with sticking to all AP classes? Will colleges care that I spent the last two years taking all AP? I agree that I should be exploring fields that I enjoy regardless of whether or not they have AP courses, but I honestly have no desire to take classes like pottery/digital arts. I took regular electives my freshman and sophomore year and I was ridiculously bored.
@lhw1998 - Short answer, there’s nothing wrong at all with your schedule. Longer answer, I think you can safely ignore those who would dissuade you from taking a lot of AP classes. There are a lot of reasons to take a lot of AP’s, such as: avoiding the slackers in the standard classes, preparing yourself for a rigorous college experience, being in classes with your high achieving friends, saving tuition dollars by pre-earning college credit, and more.
My kids took boatloads of AP’s, both earning State and National AP Scholar designations. I don’t specifically recall, but I doubt either of them took a non-AP class junior or senior year. And it worked out well for them; they’ve had excellent experiences at Princeton and Duke.
You don’t have to take a class that you’re not interested in but you shouldn’t remove a class from consideration just because it’s not AP if it’s of interest.
(for top colleges the law of diminishing returns kicks in at 8 AP 's total.)
In short, drop AP bio, you don’t need it to apply to colleges, and with so many AP classes it won’t hurt you. You could take a study hall, late arrival, or early release, or take a class you’ve always been curious about.
How many of these classes do you need to actually graduate?
I think you could drop AP statistics which is often taken by those not on the calculus track. You could drop AP bio. Do you need AP government to graduate?
I don’t think this list of AP’s that must take up a lot of your time, will help you with admissions as much as you might think, However, if the subjects interest you and the AP level is better for you in terms of avoiding boredom, go ahead. Just don’t take them to game you gpa.
While the above posters have all offered helpful information, none of them asked what other college bound students at your high school are taking. To me, that’s the MOST important criteria, as your guidance counselor will ultimately be rating the rigor of your course load as it compares to all other students at your high school.
For me, your course load seems top heavy in AP courses, however to really zero-in whether I’m correct, you should look at your high school’s profile that is sent to colleges. For example, if you attend a high school like Stuyvesant, one look at their Profile would indicate you are taking an appropriate course load for student’s at the top of their class (6.86% of students take 10 or more AP classes). If that’s the case, you should not drop any of those AP classes without consulting your GC: http://stuy.enschool.org/ourpages/auto/2013/3/7/37096823/Class%20of%202016%20profile%20PDF.pdf