<p>I have the option of taking 3 AP classes: AP Biology, AP World History, and AP Spanish Language my sophomore year. I've ruled out AP Biology since I'm not a big fan of Bio and I need other sciences. </p>
<p>But, there is AP Spanish and AP World History. Should I take both? One? I've never taken an AP class so I don't know what to expect. I'm in a prep class for AP Spanish, but I have not taken a class in World History (save for 7th grade).</p>
<p>This is also my first post here at CollegeConfidential. I have seen it and read it, and want to become a member.</p>
<p>People usually don’t take AP exams at my school until junior year, but I think World history should be manageable. I took U.S. history as a junior last year and it was fine, but a lot of reading. It really depends more on how the course is taught at your particular school.
AP Spanish however should really depend on your background in spanish. If you are not a native speaker, sophomore year may be early to take AP Spanish. At my school AP Spanish is year 5 meaning that people in my class (all seniors) started studying spanish in 7th grade (year 1 takes two years). Given this background, grammar is not a primary focus in the class because we are assumed to be very comfortable with it. Rather the goal is to attain fluency. I think people in my school usually do well on the exam, but most people I’ve talked to have said that it was difficult.</p>
<p>They actually had changed the policy this year. Freshmen aren’t allowed to take APs at my school. Most sophomores now decide to take AP World History since they don’t usually have another AP to take. I have decided to wait to see if my current Social Science grade improves to a B or an A. I have until finals to decide, and finals are a bit over 3 months away.</p>
<p>As per AP Spanish, I have been told my speaking is near-native. I still stumble while reading sometimes, and my writing could be better, along with my vocabulary choice.</p>
<p>It’s been getting a lot better, and I have been learning Spanish formally since 1st grade. My teacher says it is pretty difficult, but anyone that has her class does good on the next year and the test, for the most part.</p>
<p>I would advise against taking AP spanish just because you’re a native speaker. At my school, almost every single person who tries to do that drops the class by the middle of first semester. You simply have to be able to read and write it well to do decently in the class, native speaker or not.</p>
<p>I’m actually in the prep class for it right now, the teacher usually recommends students she thinks will do good. She says that I should have no problem. She says that people average a four on the test with her class.</p>
<p>Also, a new question. I have never taken a World History class before and was wondering for those who took AP World History, how much previous knowledge was assumed? I know quite a bit of post 1900, but everything before that is restricted to the United States from 1700 onwards. Before that, nothing much, sadly.</p>
<p>Sorry if I’m coming off as a drag, but I’d like to have all the information I can to make an informed decision.</p>