<p>Last year my junior year I took a schedule looking like this-</p>
<p>AP Chem
AP Eng. Lang
Spanish 4 Honors
AP U.S History
AP Stats
Acc. Pre-calc Honors</p>
<p>This year, as a senior, I am currently registered for the following classes
AP Physics C: Mech/ AP Physics C: E&M (Difficult classes)
World Literature (BS on-level class)
U.S History in Film/ 20th Century Germany (BS on level classes)
AP micro/macro (Pretty tough classes)
Constitutional Law/Sociology (BS classes)
AP Calculus BC (very hard class)</p>
<p>I have never taken an on level class, but i know that the AP'S im taking are among the most difficult, so I thought throwing in some fun classes would be good. Also, I'm getting a job with a company to tutor kids with math 4 days a week so I need to make time for that. Would the on level classes turn colleges away?</p>
<p>Thanks for any feedback.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t qualify your choice of “on level” classes as “BS”. They seem perfectly respectable - so my issue isn’t how colleges would see them, but how you see them.
Note that AP macro/micro isn’t that hard, unless your high school makes it so.
Your schedule looks good overall - what colleges are you shooting for and what general area would you like to major in?</p>
<p>I’m shooting for colleges like Emory, Umich, Northwestern are probably the top 3 I want to get in to. And I wouldn’t say on-level classes are BS, but those classes are known to be super easy at my school, but I’m still interested in those electives. I want to do a double major in Economics and Marketing. I’m just not sure if not taking all AP’s would turn colleges away. Would you suggest taking a 4th AP?</p>
<p>If AP World History is available and a likely A-B, yes you could substitute something. But it looks like you have 7 AP’s right now so going up to 8 will help, taking more than that is unlikely to push things your way. You have to remember that your 1st semester it’ll be as if you had an extra class, because that’s how time-consuming essays and applications are.</p>
<p>My gut tells me you are probably fine, although I have no idea what your SAT or ACT test scores are. But to be a bit more confident, I would agree with the prior poster and either take an AP lit class instead of world lit (not sure if the homework amount would be equivalent) or take AP World History instead of one of the two social studies classes you have. I noticed that you aren’t taking a 4th year of Spanish - I am assuming you have checked your list of potential colleges and they aren’t recommending 4 years? Lastly, if you do take 4 AP classes senior year, would your school let you only take 5 academic classes? That might be another option – because the four APs you would be taking would be difficult, plus with college applications…</p>
<p>I think you’ll be okay! You seem to have a rigorous enough course-load. Just make sure you don’t start slacking. Many people here think it’s okay to stop working so hard their senior year because the work they did the previous 3 years, but that can bring your GPA down TREMENDOUSLY</p>
<p>Well so far I have taken 6 coming into senior year because I took AP U.S gov in freshman year and I already took APWH as a sophmore. Technically, in the current situation these AP’s would add up to 11 (technically 5 senior year) so would adding something like AP Compsci or AP Spanish really make or break my chances?</p>
<p>No, after 8 APs the returns level off. AP Spanish may make a difference, but if you reached Level4, you’re fine. </p>
<p>Wait, sorry I don’t know much about AP classes- What do you mean “the returns level off” or “ive reached level 4”</p>
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<p>There is a law of diminishing returns after 6-8 AP’s in your HS career. The difference between 9 AP’s and 15 to colleges for admission purposes is nil.</p>
<p>Level 4 means 4th year of a language</p>
<p>For foreign language, it’s not number of years but level reached. So if you’ve reached level 4 (4th level of a language, which can be demonstrated by a high SAT subject score for instance, and reached in 3 years, 4 years, 5 years…) you’re good. AP is typically seen as Level 5.
Very selective colleges like to see 6-8 AP classes for your HS career. Fewer than that and you better have a good excuse and try to compensate with dual enrollment classes. However, anything above 8 doesn’t yield returns in keeping with the amount of work required, your odds don’t increase proportionally at all. So, if including senior year you have 11, you’re fine and an extra one wouldn’t make a difference.</p>
<p>Wait, but in reality if a college was looking at two students who were the exact same in every way, except one had 8 AP’s and the other had 12, then that wouldn’t be a factor?</p>
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<p>The probability of that happening is close to zero.</p>
<p>Add in the quality of EC’s and the strength of the essays and then you will have determining factors. 8 AP’s vs.12, not so much.</p>
<p>Colleges rarely pit two students against each other and then pick one except maybe at the very end - it’s more like have they passed a certain academic threshold, checkmark, now have they made a compelling case through essays, ECs, etc. to be admitted. It’s the subjective parts that make it tough to get in, not the academic ones.</p>
<p>The number of APs would depends on your school profile. You are taking 4AP in Junior and you should be at the same or higher rigor level in senior. Your schedule looks fine to me. My D was accepted to NU and UMich with only 6 AP classes while the school offers 14 including 4 for foreign languages.</p>