<p>I am currently a junior and have taken AP Euro, APUSH, AP chemistry, and AP Lit. Next year I will be taking AP calculus and AP government. My school only offers 8 APs total. Should I take AP Spanish? I really don't want to take it because I don't think I'm prepared and I don't want a large workload but I'm not sure if it will make a difference for getting into colleges. what do you think? If I didn't take it I wouldn't take anything to replace it. </p>
<p>I can offer a response since I was in your same shoes last year. As someone who is about to finish AP Spanish as a senior, I can say with fair certainty that I don’t regret my decision to take it. My concern coming in was that my oral skills weren’t up to par, even though I had always retained enough vocab and grammar to get the grades. It’s important to remember that since the curriculum reconstruction last year, AP Spanish isn’t so much about helping you become fluent, but learning about the Spanish culture and its history. Verbal and written communication is still a good chunk of the exam, but nothing that a non-native should fear. Workload was average, for me at least. We had weekly vocab quizzes, a group presentation here or there, quizzes on history in different Spanish-speaking countries, and some small activities. Most of the year was AP prep, which meant writing e-mail replies, recording conversations, drafting some small essays, and recording short audio bits. Might sound like a lot, but over the course of a year it’s very manageable. </p>
<p>In terms of schools, Ivies and other highly selective schools might like if you have another year of language, but most other places won’t care too much. I probably would have gotten into my same school had I not taken any language this year. But I can’t say this for sure, so my advice would be to give it a try. I’m happy that I did.</p>