Our first schedule was excellent, not sure why you changed it. Are you especially good at English and love literature? If so, stick with AP lit. If not or if you’re getting a C, switch back, but it was a dumb move to take classes you’re not prepared for just to ‘impress colleges’ …
I guess it depends upon what kind of student you are, how time consuming these courses are at your school and what other obligations you have, like social life, work, sports, home chores, volunteering etc.
I think you need some Physics but you can drop a class that is not essential and has the worst teacher, worst grading or most busy work.
*your
(stupid auto-correct replaced your with our every single time, and I don’t always catch it.)
@MYOS1634 Yeah, I guess it was stupid to switch to just make my schedule look better to colleges…but the reality is that a lot of people are taking Physics C and AP Lit, so I’m not sure if missing both classes would put me at a disadvantage in admissions at schools like Duke and Dartmouth. Hence the change to AP Lit…:-(((
I would keep AP Lit and drop Enviro but I’m just really unsure about my grade in that class. We haven’t gotten any graded assignments yet, but the entire grade is based on timed in class essays…yikes…
Anyway, does anyone else think I should just revert to my original schedule?
Physics C is taken after Honors Physics by hardcore future-engineering/physics majors. It is NOT a requirement in any way for STEM, as long as you have some form of Physics, and Physics 1 fulfilled that.
APES doesn’t “add” anything to your schedule, it’s an AP Lite, whereas AP CS actually pertains to STEM and is academically strong.
AP Lit is great for future humanities majors and all those who love to read. English 12 is fine, or, you could take AP Lang instead of AP Lit (AP Lang applies to all).
@MYOS1634 So if I were to return to my original schedule, not having Physics C or AP Lit will probably not have an effect in admissions? I think our school doesn’t allow seniors to take AP Lang nor juniors AP Lit…(weird) I don’t particularly enjoy reading and am soso at writing. I was really willing to take Physics C though and work hard in it since I like the subject more X-(
Physics is sequential, unlike literature. You need to have had a level of Physics before you can take Level 2. You couldn’t take Physics C, so, no regrets.
No, returning to your first schedule won’t harm you, and in fact may be better (because it’s stronger for what you’re interesed in), except your GC may be :s so you’ll have to be apologetic and admit s/he was right the first time (not an easy thing to do but one that’ll ensure no hard feelings for wasting his/her time.)
@MYOS1634 Thanks for all your advice :-))) Yeah I’m pretty much decided to go back to my old schedule, but still a little worried about how it will look to colleges in comparison with others’ schedules (which are very scary)
Also, another question…>.< If there was an AP class that’s supposed to be difficult but in reality is a free (I mean FREE) A at a certain high school, would colleges know about it? At our school it’s AP Bio…which is a core and supposed to be difficult AP, but the teacher makes it so even if you get an absolute 0 on the tests, you still get an A at the end of the semester. EVERYONE GETS AN A Does that mean it’s meaningless to take the class?
@dontknow123 Definitely speak to your counselor about what is best for you and your goals. We don’t know what your other commitments are (fall sport/ part time job), how you handle stress, what your transcript looks like in terms of courses taken or GPA.
With that said, knowing you are interested in STEM I would recommend you go back to your counselor and tell her you’ve made a mistake and want to change back. Explain to her that the pressure of college apps had you worried and you understand the advice she was trying to give you that you couldn’t see before. Remember this is the person that is writing your school recommendation letter so be respectful and honest. It will go along way.
To take it one step further, I would not only consider going back to the original schedule but I would also consider dropping Enviro and Psych. As a STEM major, neither one of those courses add value to your area of interest. You are want to make sure you do your very best in Physics and Calc so don’t spread yourself so thin by taking alot of classes and maybe not doing your absolute best. Enviro is supposed to be the answer to providing a 4th year of science to kids not interested in STEM or who have a genuine interest in environmental science. It’s all what the student is going to take from it. AP psych is a lot of reading. I believe most AP psych courses around the country are using the same textbook so I feel comfortable telling you it will be time consuming. Post #30 about AP Bio makes me think you are still trying to find ways to make your schedule look packed but don’t confused having a lot of classes with rigor. ONLY take the classes you are interested in. The schools will get a mid-year report with your 1st semester grades. Check their websites or common app and you will see this is listed there. Have you taken any foreign language courses in HS? If you have and are dropping it this year in lieu of courses that you believe look more rigorous, I’d consider adding it back in if it’s not a course you were struggling with.
One last bit of advice, which I give my son, do take time to enjoy senior year. Attend school functions, enjoy the excitement of preparing for a new chapter and best of luck to you!
@paveyourpath Thanks for taking the time to give me advice. 
I already took AP Bio last year but I was always wondering about that so I asked the question.
I’ll think about it some more in general…
Colleges don’t know each of the classes that the thousands and thousands high schools offer. So, no, they wouldn’t know AP bio is an easy A at your school.
@MYOS1634 Thanks for answering my questions
Drop physics and you should be able to handle all the others just fine
So an update…my parents really wanted me to take AP Lit (although I’m most likely getting a B in that class) and so I just dropped AP Enviro to a free period. So now my schedule is
AP Physics 1
AP Lit
AP Psych
AP Econ
Art
Free
Calc D
Argh but now I’m obsessing over having a free period in my schedule. Will colleges look down upon it? :-///
No because you have so many AP 's.
@MYOS1634 Thanks for the reply. I’ve read that the elitist colleges kind of don’t like to see free periods…I guess that’s probably true but to what extent? Should I consider taking an additional off campus course?
No they don’t, but your other option is to take a “fun” class, which you could do also, or takean evning class at a CC. What would the “additional off campus course” be?
BTW, as long as you get a B, it’s better to take a harder class than an easier one where you get an A. However no one’s impressed with a C in an AP class. It’s a fine line.