Hello everyone!
So I will need to be picking my senior year classes over the next month or so, and I am looking for a little advice. Here’s my current schedule:
AP Physics 1
APUSH
Honors Chem
Pre-AP Spanish 4
Honors Pre-Calc
AP Macroeconomics
Pre-AP American Literature
and for next year, I am planning this so far:
AP Biology
AP World History
AP Literature
AP BC Calc
AP Comp sci (or other AP virtual high school course)
Honors Philosophy
Undecided (either AP Spanish 5, Honors Spanish 5, Community Service, AP Chem)
I was mainly wondering about the AP Spanish. I plan on going into engineering or business, so I want to focus on more sciences and history type classes, but I know some top schools like 4 high school Spanish years (I took 2 years of it in middle school, so I started high school at Spanish 2). I also wouldn’t want my class rank to drop if I took community service in place of AP Spanish, because I really want to remain the valedictorian for my class. Do I have too many APs? Would Spanish be too much? I’m so lost I need some help.
I would strongly advise against taking AP bio and AP Chem together - those are among the most time-consuming and complex APs. Remember that next year you’ll have the equivalent of an extra class when you have to write all these college essays.
Choose between AP Lit and AP Spanish - take one Honors and one AP. If you take Honors Philosophy, most universities would consider it fulfills the English requirement though and you’d beable to take both AP Spanish and Community Service - Community Service would give you a little space to breathe and would allow you to do something different.
So the ideal senior year schedule in my opinion would be
AP Biology
AP World History
Honors Philosophy
AP Calc BC
Virtual HS elective
AP Spanish
Community Service
This would be most rigorous but still give you sufficient time to breathe, sleep and prepare your applications.
If you are thinking engineering AP Chem might be a better choice that AP Bio. In our school he AP Bio teachers are fabulous Chem not so much, so I’d always say go ahead and take the Bio. I’ll choose a good teacher any day. Both my kids ending up not taking AP Lit, and instead took English electives they really enjoyed, but that was the right decision for them. While they both did well in English, they never enjoyed the classes. They are great readers with 800/790 CR scores. I am a big fan of achieving fluency in a language if you can - it’s ended up serving me well enabling me to work in my field overseas. (Of course now with many recent immigrants as clients, I really wish I knew Spanish!) Harvard has a new initiative where they say they are looking for more meaningful community service from their applicants. Other colleges may follow suit.
Do you have SAT or ACT scores yet? Do you know what sort of school you will be aiming for? Do you know what it will take for your GC to check the box that says you took a rigorous schedule? I think having a total of 7 APs should be plenty for most selective colleges, unless everyone in your school takes 12 or 14. (But be aware that is not the norm for most high school students.)
Thanks for all the help everyone!
For some more information: My SAT Superscore is a 2380 (790 CR 800 M 790 W) (highest sitting 2310)
I think @MYOS1634 that schedule would be awesome but I have to take an English class next year, and they have actually gotten rid of the honors level senior english class so it would be AP or college-prep level. However I have heard they may add some semester long electives, but those would also be college-prep level and I really don’t want 2 classes dragging my weighted GPA down.
For the AP Chem AP Bio debate @mathmom I think my school is in a similar situation. The single AP chem teacher is kind of a strange and unpredictable guy (he’s new) and everyone says that the class is the most difficult one offered in the school, which kind of pushes me toward AP Bio.
I do not think I would take both AP Bio and Chem as you guys have advised.
Again, thank you so much!
P.S. I just got a 98 on my Pre-AP Spanish midyear so I’m feeling a little more confident about being able to handle the full on AP!
Check with guidance whether Philosophy would “count” for your credit in English/Humanities. If not, would they allow you to take it via Virtual HS over the summer?
Sorry to disagree here, but I actually suggest taking AP Bio and AP Chem together, especially if you plan to study engineering or business, as you say. Yes it will be a good amount of work, but given your past curriculum and test scores, you should be able to handle it (esp if u r not spending the time on comm Sevice or adv Spanish). Also, you really should have your main essays wrapped up over the summer before senior year.
My daughter was just accepted early to Stanford, and I think a key reason was that she doubled up on science courses junior and senior year (honors Bio and AP Chem Jr. Year; AP Bio and AP Physics Sr. Year). She’s not a URM, her ECs were ordinary, and test scores not quite as good as yours. But she was the only kid in her class to take AP Bio, AP Chem and AP Physics (A or A- in all classes). She dropped Spanish after junior year. Just my $.02
Good luck!
That is definitely something to consider! I think especially (as you said) if I dropped Spanish I would have the time to devote to AP Bio and AP Chem and would be able to pull off at least an A- in each class. Thank you so much! @stanfordmom20
“Doubling up” on sciences would never be the explanation as to why a student was admitted or not. Once rigor has been established within the parameters of the school and of the relevant applicant pool, other factors come in (especially essays).
Check if there is addition lab session for AP Chem. In my D’s school, therebwas an extra hour every other day. My D did not take AP Bio. One should check if the AP credits are useful or not for the colleges you are applying.
I agree with MYOS1634’s recommended class schedule.
as for this_
" But she was the only kid in her class to take AP Bio, AP Chem and AP Physics (A or A- in all classes)"
correlation does not equal causation.
you will never know why she was accepted at Stanford, but congratulations are in order.
IMHO - take the AP Spanish - but don’t take the test. You can also save some homework time if you take AP English Language, instead of AP Lit. Good Luck!
Thanks for all the help everyone! I think I have a schedule in mind:
AP Lit
AP BC Calc
AP World History
AP Bio
AP or Honors Chem (only one I haven’t decided on)
AP Spanish
Honors Philosophy
This will be an expensive year because I am required to take the tests for all of my AP classes, but I feel like I would enjoy this schedule and I think I am prepared for it.
AP Lit, AP World History, and AP Bio are all very reading intensive classes. Why not swap out APWH for AP Gov or AP Psych, which is more typical of a senior schedule?
We don’t have AP Gov (if we did I’d be taking it) and AP Psych has become a Junior Year class mostly. I know it’s a stupid reason to not take the class but I would be one of very few seniors in that class, which I would prefer to avoid.
The only reason APWH is a sophomore year class in our school is because in NYS has a two year Global Studies requirement that is generally (always?) done in 9th and 10th grade and they select the top students to do WH the second year of the sequence. I’ve heard of many schools that do US history first though.
@mathmom Nationwide, 78% of APWH takers are sophomores, while 82% of APUSH takers are juniors. So the most common 4-year rigorous social science sequence is probably World History, AP World/Euro, APUSH, then AP Gov/Econ.
6 AP’s senior year is WAY too many. Limit yourself to 4 - pick the 4 most interesting to you.
Remember that after 8 total for all of HS, the value of APs for admission diminishes, and that you’ll have the equivalent of a writing-intensive class with all these essays you have to write.
I took 3 APs this year and 2 Pre-APs, and I did 1 AP last year. So I’ve done 4 so far.
APWH is entirely a senior year course at my school, you cannot take it an earlier year, because it is required to do world history freshman year, then U.S. history spans sophomore and junior year. Senior year history is not required.
