I’ve been reading a lot of stories on CC about people handling 3 or more AP classes. The problem is, I don’t think I’m one of those people.
Here’s my dilemma:
This upcoming school year, I wanted to sign up for three AP classes (APUSH, AP English Lang, and AP Computer Science) for my junior year. When I told a few of my friends who were juniors, they told me that I was crazy for attempting to take that many AP’s, especially considering how stressful junior year is already with college applications and SAT’s. I also talked to a few of my friends in my class doing something similar and they told me to go for it. At the end of last year, I switched to APUSH from honors US History. In my school, you have to get signatures from your parents and your teachers if you change your recommendations. When my AP World teacher saw that I wanted to change to APUSH, he was enthusiastic about it and encouraged me to do it, so I did it.
The problem is, I don’t think I can handle it. I was already stressed trying to handle AP World last year, and became constantly distracted and got a 2 on the AP test because I completely underestimated it and didn’t study very well. Last year, AP World was the main class dragging down my GPA to the B+ range because I got a C average. The one class I’m worried about is APUSH because I heard that the teacher is hard and because of my previous experience with an AP history class.
I have a meeting with my counselor next week before school starts to change my schedule. Should I stay with my 3 AP’s and grin and bear it or listen to my head and switch out before it becomes more embarrassing later on?
If you put enough effort into it, three AP classes is doable. Any more than three may be questionable. You just have to take everything very seriously. Also, you don’t start applying for colleges until senior year, so don’t worry about that. If you really put your mind to it, you can do three APs. But, if your grades begin to slip, you may consider dropping because your GPA is more important.
College apps are senior year… Do you take PSATs at your school? They are excellent excellent prep freshman, sophomore and junior year for the SATs.
Anyway, AP Computer Science is one of the easier AP classes, ‘AP Lite’ if you will. AP Lang and APUSH are very writing intensive classes. People at my school either take APUSH and regular English, APUSH and honors English, AP Lang and regular US History or AP Lang and Honors US History. Taking APUSH and AP Lang is a lot of reading, writing and overall busy work. If you come of it unscathed though, you will have excellent analytical and writing skills, and time management will be no problem for you.
Look over [this chart](http://www.fcps.edu/westspringfieldhs/student_services/assets/academic_advising/ap_course_expectations.pdf) I found online for more information on how much work you’ll have.
Thanks to both of you so far for posting. (I didn’t notice that I said college applications there…)
@PhilipL I guess I’ll try to be a lot more study conscious this year if I want to take 3 AP’s. I’m just freaking out because it seems stressful to me, and I’m still debating whether or not to switch.
@TheSlacker16 My school pays for us to take the Readistep test freshman year and the PSAT’s sophomore and junior year. I got a 160 on my PSAT’s sophomore year (My worst score was the math section and my best score was the writing skills section, likely since I’m better at English), so I’ll study a bit more and take it again this fall. My time management skills aren’t the best, so that’s one big thing I’ll need to work on this year.
That chart you linked to is also really helpful.
My main concern is the C average you got in AP World History. Why do you think you got a C? Did you slack off? Did you just not understand what was required of you? Did you not have the time to devote to it? Was it just that you didn’t like or understand world history? Or did you work really hard and struggle to get that C?
I’m not saying that you can’t handle three AP classes, but I do think it’s very smart of you to consider whether it’s too big of a jump, considering you felt like you underperformed in AP World History. I think what you should be asking yourself is whether you think you learned from your mistakes in AP World History and if you feel prepared to do what it takes to take on more AP classes. It’s very specific to you and your school. Don’t take three classes because you’ve heard other students can do it with no problem. It doesn’t matter what anyone else can do. It matters what you feel comfortable with. In my opinion, it’s much better to take fewer AP classes (especially if the argument is just 2 vs. 3) and do well in them than to take 3 AP classes, feel overwhelmed, and do poorly in one or more.
@baktrax I think the reason I got a C average was partially because I slacked off on studying and homework, and because I didn’t like the class very much. Our class size in AP World was reduced by a third because that part of the class switched down to honors (Many of them weren’t great students anyway and would have slacked off a lot more than I did). I eventually ended up doing better at the end of the year and used my good writing skills to do an amazing job on the research paper which was our final.
If I worked harder last year, I likely would have had a better grade. Of course, if I take three AP classes, I would probably feel overwhelmed because I’m just not used to that much work. I think what I should do is attempt to switch out like I planned. I feel a lot more confident about how I’ll do in AP English Lang and AP Computer Science than I do in APUSH.
It really depends. Do you have a lot or a few time consuming ECs???
Also, is the APUSH teacher hard because she is not very knowledgeable OR because she is very intelligent and has high expectations? Having a hard, smart teacher will really help you prepare for the AP Exam