I was wondering what everyone thinks about my senior year schedule, I’ve been putting in minimal work so far and manage to get mostly As with the occasional B. My main classes this year are AP Chem, AP Lang, Honors US History, Pre Calc regular.
My senior year schedule so far is:
AP Literature
AP Statistics
AP Art History
APEX Psychology
Honors Physics
Calculus
Gym
Im kind of worried about Stats and Physics. Do you think this course load is manageable? Do you think I should take AP Calc AB even if it means taking two math courses + physics? Just wanted your thoughts
Personally, I would worry more about AP Lit than either Stat or Honors Physics. Lit has a reputation of being one of the most difficult AP Classes (The other being AP Physics C: E/M). I’m taking Stat this year, and honestly, the class is a joke. Just make sure you have at TI-83, TI-84, or TI-Nspire. These calculators do all of the work for you.
As for Honors Physics, there are approximately five different equations you work with throughout the entire year. I took it Sophmore year and it was pretty easy also.
Lastly, If you’re scared of AP Calc because you took regular Pre-Calc this year, don’t be. I took regular Pre-Calc my freshman year, and jumped right to AB my sophmore year. The only thing relevant for Calc from Pre-Calc are trig functions/the unit circle. However, keep in mind that to appriciate AP Calc AB, you will need a strong liking for math. I wouldn’t reccomend taking it if you despise Pre-Calc this year.
I really like pre calc this year, but the class is very easy. We are much farther behind our school’s honors course. But if you’re saying that trig functions and the unit circle is the most useful, then I think it should be fine.
Id drop the AP Stats. Its known as an AP “light” class and AP Calc is the only math class you should need to take next year. leave an open period for doing your college applications, homework, etc,etc.
AP Art History and APEX Psych / Sociology are what I plan to be my BS classes haha
why are you NOT taking any History/ Gov or / Fr Language classes your Sr year?
Id substitute them for your BS AP classes.
If you intend to apply to colleges you wont fool any college admissions officer with a transcript full of “light” AP classes and lacking in 4 years of core classes.
I need to fulfill one year of practical/ performing art in order to graduate, and AP Art history is the most rigorous course I can take at my school which is in this category. I have no choice there besides taking Theatre or TV or something like that.
After I complete US History this year, there is no other rigorous history course my school offers, I already took US and World History. We have a Government class, but it is CP. No rigor there.
I could take Spanish 4 instead of APEX Psyc/Soc, however it would be a CP class, which is much less rigorous than an easier AP class.
I am not trying to fool any admissions officer, Im just trying to fulfill my graduation requirements.
CP is college prep; which means its a regular course.
It is better to have a transcript that shows 4 years of the 5 CORE areas[ english, math, science, History, foreign lang] in college prep OR hard AP classes , which is what colleges DO want to see, AND have achieved at a high level, instead of a transcript with a bunch of BS AP light classes and no FL or Hist. during your SR year.
So take Spanish 4 and Government as well as AP Art History.
And get A’s!
So Spanish 4 regular would be looked at better than AP Psyc?
I don’t think it is BS, i just think it’s substantially easier than some of my other classes such as AP Literature and AP Calc
Calc AB is pretty easy; the hardest material is at the very end of the course, and if you have a decent teacher, you’ll be fine. If Honors Physics is all mechanics, you’ll be golden, particularly if you think precalculus is easy. AP Stats is AP Learn How to Use a Graphing Calculator. Lit will probably be difficult–it is at most schools. AP Art History is technically a fourth year of a social science, so it might be okay for college purposes? Gov is a required course at most schools, so I can’t speak to how it looks if you don’t have it.
I agree with @menloparkmom we were told colleges want to see 4 years of foreign language, even if Spanish year 4 is CP and not AP. All of our seniors are taking a government class, it’s mandatory, many who want rigor take AP US Gov’t & Politics senior year. My sophomore daughter is taking AP Art History because she needs a practical/ performing art class, don’t kid yourself, APAH is a very enjoyable yet quite rigorous course. Please talk with the AP Art History teacher and any senior year students currently enrolled in that class.
Have you taken AP Chemistry and AP Biology already?
If you were my daughter I would suggest:
AP Literature
AP Art History
CP Government class
Honors Physics
AP Calc AB
CP Spanish 4
Gym (do you need gym this year to graduate?) otherwise get a Study Hall
Most of the posters on this thread are saying take a 4th year of Languagen and tkae Government. But honestly, it depends on what major you’re thinking about. If you’re leaning towards STEM (Engineering, Pharmacy, Pre-Med), I would avoid taking either of these classes. Colleges would prefer to see AP Maths and Core sciences, over things that they would give Humanities elective credits for. However, If you are leaning towards Humanities (Psych, Liberal Arts), I would consider taking both Spanish and Government.
All of my senior friends going into STEM got into really good schools (Illinois, Georgia Tech, Carnegie Mellon) without taking a language or taking a history class senior year.
@doublebach By any state law you are required to take gym every year you are enrolled in high school.
‘Colleges would prefer to see AP Maths and Core sciences, over things that they would give Humanities elective credits for’
utterly false.
MANY COLLEGE dont admit by major and state clearly that they prefer students to have a well rounded HS education. And They KNOW that students often change their minds about majors in college.
Read this from Stanford’s admissions page if you want to get a true picture of what colleges WANT to see.
What you WONT find is any preference of math and science courses over humanities, because there IS none.
"Recommended High School Curriculum
We respect the responsibility that high schools, principals and teachers should have in the development of courses and curricula for their students. For that reason, we do not have a set of required courses for admission to Stanford. We have found, though, that a curriculum emphasizing depth and breadth across the core academic subjects is the best preparation for the academic rigors at Stanford. Our experience has suggested that students who excel in a curriculum like the one below are well-suited for the demands of college academics:
English: four years, with significant emphasis on writing and literature.
Mathematics: four years, with significant emphasis on fundamental mathematical skills (algebra; trigonometry; plane, solid, and analytic geometry).
History/Social Studies: three or more years. Such courses should include the writing of essays.
Science: three or more years of laboratory science (including biology, chemistry and physics).
Foreign Language: three or more years of the same foreign language. Your study of a foreign language ought to include the development of four basic skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening comprehension."
"We want to be clear that this is not a case of “whoever has the most APs wins.”
http://admission.stanford.edu/basics/selection/prepare.html
For our state students are required to earn 0.5 physical education credits (120 hours of course instruction) in order to meet the graduation requirements. Usually our students take 1 semester of gym during their freshman and sophomore years. A semester of health and a semester of public speaking round out their schedule.
Thank you for the advice! I am currently taking AP Chemistry. I do need gym to graduate. My school does offer APEX AP Government, which is an online AP Course which means totally self studying. That could be a possibility. It is a semester long course and I would be taking APEX Psyc one semester and APEX Gov the other.
I am planning to go for business. Although I love Spanish (it is one of my favorite classes), it appears that taking AP Stats would be more useful and would look better.