<p>Hi I am currently a sophomore in Highschool, and we have just started signing up for classes next year, probably like most of you have as well.</p>
<p>I live in California, and plan on applying to U.C. Berkeley.</p>
<p>I've signed up for the following classes, yet my counselor said I could come in and change some if I changed my mind. </p>
<p>AP Calc (only offered 0 period)
Honors US History (nothing higher offered for juniors)
AP Chemistry
Honors English 3 (debating whether or not to take AP)
Art (for my visual/performing art)
and I have space for another elective, since calc is 0 period. </p>
<p>My GPA Frosh and Soph year has been a 4.0 every semester, and on road for another this semester. </p>
<p>I play two sports as well; basketball and baseball, both on varsity next year, and am still debating whether or not to take AP English. Since most of you have already completed these classes, would it be smart/practical to take AP English, Chem, and Calculus plus two varsity sprots? Or am I going to be a walking zombie everyday, getting 4 hours of sleep a night? </p>
<p>Also, what other things will look good on my application? Any suggested volunteer work, ec activies? What will the top colleges look for in applicants?</p>
<p>Well I'm also a rising junior, but I can... try to offer some advice.
I'm taking AP Calc BC right now, and what I can say, is that how hard the course is for you depends on your teacher, and how much material you have to cover. Get to be buddybuddy with your textbook, because reading over the chapter before a test will help you a lot. I've hear that AP Chem is not a lot of work at school, but hard to understand, while AP English Language is not too hard, but a lot of work. </p>
<p>That said, I don't do my homework and I just spend my time on other stuff (like tv), and end up sleeping 4 hours and being a zombie anyway.</p>
<p>for class difficulties, it varies majorly from school to school. i suggest talking to an academic counselor and older students who know people who had similar schedules at your school. find out if they survived, did ECs or just hard classes, etc.</p>
<p>Being a zombie is no fun. I did the whole zombie thing. It's only worth it if you end up the creme de la creme for it.</p>
<p>ECs/volunteer work: the more unique, the better. Don't be the typical high school student, do something that stands out.</p>
<p>Also, for summer, the UCs like it when people participate in one of their academic summer programs. If you live near a UC, that's a good option.</p>
<p>i'm a rising junior aswell, however i think i can offer some advice. first off, ist that 4.0 weighted or not?
b/c if it is unweighted then u will be a walking zombie everyday w/ 4 hours of sleep if u want to maintaine it. Trust me, i do loads of extra carriulars and 2 AP's and 3 Honors (we have a rotating block sceduel) & 3 regular. and i already am lucky to get that much sleep a night. The class is highly dependent upon the teacher though, so talk to people in ur school, and try to request the easyer teacher. But don't take an AP just to take it, u have to have a geniune interest in becoming a better writer or u will go crazy with all that work!</p>
<p>depending on how hard it is depends on your teacher. At my school, PIB Chem 1 is really easy, but when you get to IB and AP Chem the class is impossible and is only for the people planning to have a career in science. You should be fine.</p>
<p>Not at all!!! Colleges don't want you to take APs for the sake of APs (even though some schools like mine force you) and I know that's been repeated a lot. You seem like your smart and take APs you seem interested in.</p>
<p>ok, :) thanks for the help.... Does anyone else know if there is a way to contact someone from Cal or UCLA to ask them some questions about what they look for, etc?</p>
<p>even if u can talk to them, they will probably just give u some crummy answer like" we look for kids who challenge themsevlves"..or "there is no secret formula to getting in",</p>
<p>Take as many APs are you are willing to work for. Getting a couple B+'s in AP classes won't hurt you (especially in UCB and UCLA). They show that you're willing to actually work hard and learn instead of get an easy A.</p>
<p>I'm currently a Junior and take 4 APs and 1 IB: AP English Lang&Comp, AP US History, AP Computer Science A, AP Physics C, and Math IB HL2 (took it because it was the next thing after AP Calculus BC). On average, I work about 4hr per night and maintain a 3.6 unweighted GPA. Your grade really depends on your teacher.</p>
<p>General idea: don't worry so much about maintaining a 4.0 GPA. Just work as hard as you can and try to get sufficient sleep. I'm not in any type of sports, so I cannot tell you how much sleep you'd get if you take a similar load. However, I do manage to get an average of 2hr of free time and 8hr of sleep each day.</p>