Hey, this is my first post on CC, and would love some help. Our school is registering for nexy year’s classes (my junior year classes) but I have no idea how many APs to take. My goal is to make some kind of Ivy League school, maybe one of the HYP schools. Thus my schedule for next year is possibly this:
AP Calc BC
AP World
AP Bio (Double Period)
AP Lang
AP Computer Programming (this is what I’m debating to drop)
Ceramics (need an art credit to graduate)
Given this schedule, I am willing to drop AP Comp Prog for a class called EduCorps where I act as a teacher assistant. However, from what I hear, it’s basically a free class where I can do my homework. So does this look like to much to handle? I am a 4.0 student, playing 2 sports and a lot of ECs. Please help and thank you!
I think you mean AP Computer Science… and it depends on the rigor of your school. I’m taking AP BC Calc, Physics B 1, Lang, and World this year as a junior but AP Lang is less work than honors English at my school and I could have definitely handled another AP class; I’m also looking to get into top tier schools and I personally really regret not taking a 5th.
It sounds rigorous but also sounds like you can handle it. I just have a question why would you be taking AP World as a junior? Shouldn’t you be moving onto APUSH unless maybe your school splits AP World between 2 years unlike mine. AP Lang and World though are pretty easy in comparison to your other proposed classes. Though have you taken an AP Bio precursor yet i.e., Living Environment or Biology? From what i’ve heard AP Bio is a VERY demanding course where test material can average 90 pages from the text book. If you can handle it kudos to you but remember you always have senior year. Best of luck.
If you’re aiming for HYP and any top 25, replace AP Comp Sci by a foreign language. Top 25 schools will expect level 4 (or AP) of a single foreign language.
Yeah, @MYOS1634 is correct. Make sure that you’ve taken a level 4 language class. If you have, then take AP Computer Science. If you haven’t, get into a language ASAP.
@arios98o Our school has APUSH as a freshman year class, which I took last year. I have not taken a precursor to AP Bio, but people have told me that it’s fine if I have not. Thank you for the help!
@MYOS1634 @hungryteenager I am taking Honors Spanish 4 right now as a sophomore. I really dislike the class, so I am dropping it. That’s fine as you mentioned, correct? Thanks for the advice!
@MYOS1634 @skieurope @hungryteenager @arios98o I forgot to mention another question I had. I was worried that taking these 5 AP classes would be really hard to study for come spring of next year. I play a spring sport so I feel as if studying for 5 AP classes is going to be SUPER stressful. Following your advice, I think I will take all 5, however, would slacking on the AP Comp Science test be a bad idea? Basically I would just study the 4 others in order to get a high score. Thanks again :D.
When you say dropping it, do you mean not continuing onto Spanish 5, or not finishing Spanish 4? You don’t need to do another year, but if you want top 25, you’ll need to have finished Spanish 4.
@skieurope really?! I’ve heard both sides of that argument. Some say AP tests are insignificant in the admission process, but others like my brother argue that if I don’t have at least four 5s on AP tests, then I will have a difficult time. What’s your take?
@Gunkz123 Your brother is an admissions officer for which university? LOL.
If you were applying to a school in the UK, they would be significant. In the US, IMO, they are not. Realize that many AP tests are taken by seniors, and the results come out well after college admissions decisions.
For students in their junior year or younger, the school may limit the amount of AP’s they can take, or the school may not offer AP’s. For these, and other reasons, I feel that the tests are less important than other parts of the application.
@skieurope his argument is that if I have 8 AP classes before senior year (which I will have) and no 5s are scored or reported to the school, then they will notice that I have not scored well.
I may be wrong, but as long as you score a 3 or better, the score won’t hurt you. The score is mostly to ensure that credits transfer. I may be wrong, though, so you should get a second opinion.
Your most rigorous year should be junior year so that you can lighten the load of your senior year.
And your goal for college admissions should not be to get into any old Ivy League school. Your goal should be to get into the best fit university for YOU. Not to just find a university with a big name that you can ride on to get a job in the future.
@CaliCash i totally agree, for now I’m aiming high in order to have a lot of oppotunities in the near future. I still need to go on college tours to see which schools I actually feel the most comfortable. Just wondering, why should junior year be the most rigorous year compared to senior year? What would be wrong with taking half and half for those two years?
While I do not not advocate having a substantially less rigorous course load as a senior, you need to keep in mind that, at least for Fall, college apps and essays are like a hidden course; they will require at least as much time as your most time-consuming course.
Also, especially for EA/ED, colleges will not see your senior year grades. That is why you want to take a rigorous course load as a junior, and perform well in those classes.
LOL.