I made a CC account just to ask this question! For a bit of background, I took AP World History last year and got a 4 on it and this year I’m taking AP Euro. Although I’m doing/did well in these classes, I hated the idea of taking APUSH next year. BUT now I’m reconsidering it because of 1) the chance to earn college credit and 2) to look good to college admissions officers. For reference, here’s my prospective schedule next year:
AP Language
Math Analysis Accel (basically pre-calc honors)
AP Chem (one and a half periods)
Spanish 4 Accel
healthcare careers/internship (semester classes)
AP Stats
AP Psych (self-study)
What I’m really the most concerned about is AP Chem. It’s known for being a really hard class at my school and I don’t know if adding APUSH will ultimately kill me. In addition, I want to major in nursing (or some health-care related field) and I play sports. Basically, my main question is the title: would taking APUSH and AP Chem be worth it? Fast responses would be appreciated! Thank you!
IMO the best people to talk to would be: 1) your current history and science teachers and 2) your guidance counselor. None of us is familiar with your academic abilities, the level of difficulty of the courses in your HS etc. I would take some Social Studies class though.
FWIW I would not bother spending time self-studying AP Psych. It is widely regarded as one of the easiest APs. No college admission officer will be impressed by self-studying for this class even if you get a 5 on the exam. I think your time would be better spent excelling in the HS classes your are taking and on meaningful extra-curricular activities.
I agree that it’s very student-specific. Some students handle it fine (my younger D will have Lang, USH, Chem, Calc BC plus French 4H and two dual enrollment college courses and top students in my older D’s class had similar) but for many/most, it’s a very aggressive schedule (my older D dropped APUSH after the first week and was taking two other APs)
Current teachers, parents, and any Juniors taking a similar courseload would be good to talk to. Also your GC if s/he is engaged and useful - it would be pointless for my D.
You might even replace AP Stats - no real need for two math classes and Stats isn’t core math curriculum.
I agree that time spent self-studying AP Psych could be much better used in many, many ways - college admissions folks won’t be impressed.
@RichInPitt Thank you! Convincing my parents to drop AP Stats and to not self-study AP Psych will be hard though ? But, I also really want to take those classes; will they not be useful for me and my future endeavors (hopefully a career in the medical field)?
Will you be a junior or senior next year? If a junior, you can possibly take stats and psychology senior year. If not, there’s plenty of time to take them in college (and I’d say a nursing student should/will take psychology during your college years). But you could also take U.S. history Senior year if you’ll be a junior nexte year. Regardless, I agree that there’s no expectation for you to do two math classes AND a math-heavy science like chem in the same year, while it’s good to have a well-rounded schedule with a history or social studies class every year. Could you take honors U.S. history instead of AP if it seems too heavy of a load?
@inthegarden Well, my school only has regular USH and APUSH, and I’m planning on taking regular USH over the summer to get it out of the way, as it’s required by my school. I’m also going to be a junior next year.
That’s great you can get it out of the way in summer (but hope you can also find time for summer relaxation because junior year is stressful!) With your other APs, no need to do AP USH too.
If you like it, nursing is a fine, well-paying profession. You won’t need to get into a highly-prestigious college for a great career in nursing, so no need to pile on APs in everything. Just focus on a well-rounded, solid high school education, keeping your grades (and your health)up, and you’ll be fine. BTW, Spanish skills can be a real asset in a nursing career, so it’s good you’re not neglecting that. What math are you planning to take senior year?
So will you have a free period if you don’t take APUSH? IMO you can do it but you should drop psych like everyone is saying. If I understand this correctly, you currently have one and a half periods free rn (half from chem and one for the hypothetical APUSH) so I think you can add it on. Have you taken at least a chem course though, because AP Chem will be hell without it. Also, you should plan to take physics senior year then.
Sounds great! And remember, while stats is useful, no college admissions officer will expect you to have had it in high school, or to take two math classes (along with math-heavy AP chem) in the same year. Take it only if you really like math and feel you can comfortably handle the load. Your AP calc BC senior year will already show plenty of rigor. if you’ve covered your school’s graduation requirements (for arts, PE, etc) feel free to take an elective (instead of the stats) that would be a fun and interesting class for you. If that’s AP psych (the actual class, not self-study) I think that’s fine. You’ll have plenty of rigor next year with your other classes.
@XtremeBlaze777 Yep and I’ve been overloading for the past two years. I really want a free period so I can have time to study for other classes and finish homework. I am also taking Chem Accel this year, so I hope I’ll be fine next year with AP Chem. In my senior year, however, I’m planning on taking AP Bio instead of Physics.
No, bad idea. Colleges like to see bio, chem, physics, and an AP Science (in your case AP Chem). At the MINIMUM colleges want to see three different types of science. I strongly recommend taking any physics course (doesn’t have to be AP) but if you absolutely can’t, take a new science such as enviro so you at least meet min reqs for colleges.
@XtremeBlaze777 However, I want to be in the nursing field… What I’ve seen in some schools’ curriculums is that physics isn’t required–usually, Chem and Bio are prioritized.
I guess it really depends on your schools. If they don’t care then it is totally fine to not take physics. Just make sure that they don’t need three different types of Science because you are only taking 2 (bio and chem).
