I’m currently debating whether or not I should take AP Literature this upcoming year. I am taking 5 other AP courses this year and while I’m sure I could handle the extra workload, it would be a lot easier to manage my time with sports and my other extracurriculars if I were to drop the class. The issue is, however, if I were to drop AP Lit, my only other option would be to take two semester long academic English electives. I took academic English my freshman year, but then took H English 10th grade and AP Lang 11th grade so I’m concerned that it would look like I’m not improving or slacking in my English skills.
So, would dropping AP Lit look bad on my college application? I would think that the 5 other AP courses I’m taking this year and the 3 I’ve taken in the past would make up for the fact, but I’m planning on applying to schools such as Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, and UPenn which I know have very selective application processes and competition. On another note, I know I would disappoint the English teacher/debate coach I’ve had the past two years who I am having write one of my letters of recommendation this year (and who strongly recruited me for AP Lit) and I wouldn’t want this decision to reflect poorly upon me.
That’s not a bad option, and can actually be more interesting, depending on the electives.
S/he’s a big boy/girl; s/he’ll get over it.
5 AP’s is a lot; 6 is probably overkill. Also, keep in mind that you will be spending a lot of time on college applications and essays; rising seniors always underestimate the workload involved.
The other thing to look at is what credit your potential colleges will give for AP. Many colleges, like Georgetown, will give credit for AP Lang or AP Lit, but not both. Penn and JHU give credit for neither.
I’d say take it. Having taken 6 AP’s as well senior year with mixed results, I definitely think it’s worth it in the long run to make an effort to maintain academic excellence as well as commitments with extracurriculars and sports. If you can handle it, by all means do it, especially considering the caliber of the schools you’re planning on applying to.
I would say take it. My son just complete AP Lit and most of the out of class work was just reading. Papers when required were generally written in class. He did have some debate prep for class debates on the novels read but for him it was not huge from a time standpoint. Prior to senior year my son was considering not taking it but we checked with the college he was attending and they would give credit for both AP Lit as well as AP Lang. It is true that some colleges do not give credit for both so check prior to deciding. I told him I would rather him take basic classes through AP and not pay college prices for these type of basic English classes.
Many of his peers did dual enrollment with local college for college freshman english and preferred that route since they got credit from the college as opposed to having to take AP test at the end of the year to see if they got college credit. With his activities and involvement at school this option did not work for him but many students took that choice.