I’ll be junior next year and I have awhile to decide but I’m indecisive so I figured I better start thinking about it soon.
I could go into a long personal rant about me, blah blah blah, but I figured I’d make it more general because A) I’m lazy and don’t want to waste my time or yours getting personal and B) It’ll be more helpful to other people if it’s general.
So, in general, what should be considered before signing up to take APUSH or AP Lang? What are some red flags that the classes aren’t for you, skills/experience you should have, etc.
Basically, if I’m not sure if I want to take the classes, what are the most important things to consider?
(Also, even though I said I wouldn’t get personal, I’ll add one caveat that’s unique to my school: it’s basically both or neither for my situation at my school, so taking one and not the other isn’t really much of an option)
AP Language and APUSH are both time consuming classes, I’d say you should start considering your extracurricular, your social life, sleep, etc. If you cannot make the time for these classes while still keeping a balance with all the other elements in your life, I’d recommend that you do not sign up for these classes or reconsider what is priority in your life.
I’m taking both AP Language and APUSH right now in my junior year, and something that you definitely need to know is how to manage your time efficiently. Do not get so caught up with one assignment that you end up not finishing the other.
Try talking to some current juniors or seniors at your school, they had some actual experience on what those classes are like at your school.
I’m a junior taking both AP Lang and APUSH right now. It’s pretty manageable so far, but being able to budget your time is important. APUSH especially can be very time consuming, and if I could offer one piece of advice so far: don’t fall behind on your reading/assignments. I fell behind, and before I knew it, I had three chapters to outline within a day, lol. I also think it’s important to be a strong writer: there will be essays in both plus DBQs in APUSH.
Also consider the teachers at your school and see what other people who have taken the classes at your school think. Good luck!
I took both and both were easy for me.
Thanks for the responses! I’ll keep those things in mind. I’ve heard APUSH is a lot of work from a couple people but I haven’t heard much about AP Lang. I know a teacher who teachers AP Lang though, so I’ll be sure to ask her.
I know I said I wasn’t gonna get personal but seeing as I feel less lazy now, a little background on my classes:
This year I’m in AP Euro and it’s my only AP class. I’m also in a couple honors classes but they’re the lower level honors classes and more like accelerated than honors.
My likely schedule for next year:
Spanish III
Honors Physics
AP Calc AB
AP lang or accelerated english
APUSH or accelerated history
Cross country/track (maybe), or maybe a fine arts class or other elective
As far as writing goes, I would say I’m good but not great. I didn’t have much trouble keeping an A in freshman accelerated english and I usually did well on my DBQ practices in history (but they weren’t graded as strictly as actual DBQs are).
I’m not that great at managing my time so far but I’m hoping that I’ll get better at it soon, I am doing better this year compared to last year. I’m actually on break from my Euro notes right now lol.
Oh, and at my school the accelerated history and english classes are a package deal, so taking only one is not an option. For example, if I decided to take APUSH and not AP Lang, then I’d have to take regular English III.