Sophmore year Classes Help?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

Hi, so I am selecting classes for next year and this is what I have so far.

Honors Chem
Either Honors Stats or Math Analysis
AP computer principles or AP computer science
Spanish 2
Associated Student Body
1sem Psychology/ 2nd sem Free Period
US History (no AP or Honors offered)
English 3-4 (no AP or Honors offered)

This year in Biology I had an 86, so I am fairly good at science despite the fact that I do sometimes slack off when studying. In Geometry, I am fairly good too, although I could have a high A if I would’ve actually been giving it my all during class. I’ve also always been good with computers so the AP computer classes shouldn’t be that hard. My question is, how many hours of homework can I expect per night. I am a varsity basketball player and I will have practice for about 2 hours during the later half of the first semester and early second semester. Is this a good setup for me? or Should I reconsider what I am doing? Thanks.

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honors chem- depends on your teacher. if it’s kinda pre-AP level, you’ll have a lot of reading and packets. we don’t use the pre-AP terms, but it is preparing me for AP chem. chem is easy even if you suck at math though, imo (coming from a sophomore in geometry who hasn’t gotten anything more than 40s on tests, yet has 97+ A in chem). usually spent about an hour on chem a night, but my teacher is big on outlines. so maybe 30 min-an hour?
AP comp- can’t tell you, I have no idea about that class. since it is about coding or… whatever it’s about, I’d assume you’d only have to read a textbook some nights to understand concepts you’ll do in class? can’t give you an estimation tho, depends how well you learn it in class
Spanish 2- I didn’t take Spanish, but I took French 2. barely any work at all, I think I wrote a mini essay once. it’s easy, not much homework, especially if you’re good at it.
psych- you don’t even get much work in AP psych, which I took this year, so I’m guessing you get little to none in regular. no worries there, probably just packets?
us history & English- since they’re regular, not much at all. unless you have a wild teacher like our regular world teacher, he assigns way too much to his regular classes. but I’m assuming probably a light workload for both, especially English.

I think you’ll have time for basketball. AP comp and chem are the only two I can see troubles with. also, chem is nothing like bio, but it’s only basic algebra in chem honors so it should be fine. just remember the concepts, your elements, ions, all that jazz.

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I love Chemsitry, it’s my favorite subject. Homework in honors chemsitry for me is around 15-20 minutes when I have some. I know for many people in my class, it’s pretty hard, but it’s not if you take the time to understand it. Don’t move on without fully understanding the previous lesson because they all build on each other.

I took Spanish two in ninth grade so I don’t remember, but generally Spanish classes don’t have a lot of homework in my experience. For us, it’s usually easy worksheets and packets. We have lots of projects.

I’m in AP Euro, but in my school, regular US History is super easy for almost everybody. Since no AP is offered, it might be harder at your school? You’ll probably get reading homework, reading packets, and have to take lots of notes.

Regular English should be fine as well.

You guys can take 8 classes at your school?

It depends on the person, but your classes are perfectly fine and manageable. They shouldn’t take up too much of your time, except maybe honors stats or math analysis? We don’t have those at my school so I’m not sure. You’ll be fine. I’m a sophomore this year and I understand what it’s like to have extracurriculars because I do two sports, play piano, and volunteer at a hospital. I have a similar schedule to yours, not necessarily the same classes but within the same range? (Honors Chem, AP Euro, Art 1, Spanish III, English 10, Algebra II)

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@joyce1517 do you think sports would be manageable with 4-5 APs (one self study)? I’ve never done sports, and I wanted to take a sport next spring so I can get into NHS (tennis or track), but I’m going to be in 4 APs, possibly 5. I’m pretty good with time management, but I’m big on study sessions. I’ll also be taking two honors classes and a regular class… but by the time I do sports my self study class will be finished (still leaving 3-4 APs tho).
sorry that this doesn’t pertain to the original, but I wanted to get advice from actual sports players on what sounds manageable and what doesn’t. I wouldn’t have time senior year because I’m doing DE classes and a full schedule of APs… sigh. junior year is my only chance really

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In this post, I’ll assume that you want straight A’s next year, so a B or below would be considered subpar. Nevertheless, a B is not necessarily a bad grade! Also, I’m usually a really pessimistic individual, so sometimes a class may not be as torturous as I make it seem, though it all depends on your teacher.

Honors Chemistry - Chemistry is brutal for many people, and given your 86 percent in Biology, expect chemistry to be unforgiving. You do not absolutely need biology knowledge to succeed; however, you admit that you slack off while studying, and you absolutely can’t do that in chemistry, given that most students at my school regard normal chemistry as one of their hardest subjects (though it may only be my school).
Biology is 100% memorization, and it’s pretty easy to get an A by knowing all of the facts; however, a good honors chemistry class SHOULD be roughly 40% memorization and 60% application/reasoning, so you need complete mastery to get an A. Nevertheless, it all depends on your teacher, but a B in biology (a fairly easy class in most schools) indicates that you 1. are average in science unless the class is ridiculously hard, 2. hate biology, or 3. have relatively sub-par study skills. Again, a B is not a bad grade, but I’m assuming that you want As in all of your classes next year. If not, then go ahead!

Honors Stats/Math Analysis - Do not take Stats unless you don’t plan on taking Calculus. Interrupting the calculus sequence with stats is not recommended, as the classes in the sequence are closely connected. Anyway, is it normal for students at your school to skip Algebra 2? The math sequence is often:
Algebra 1 --> Geometry --> Algebra 2 --> Math Analysis/Precalculus --> Calculus
Is there a reason why Algebra 2 is not offered? Math Analysis is essentially function analysis and trigonometry and goes at a much faster pace than an Algebra 2 class.

AP Computer Science - At my school, Honors Algebra 2 is a prerequisite for APCS, as APCS is regarded as a “math” class. In addition, most of my friends taking APCS say it is their hardest class, and some of the brighter students don’t understand coding even while enrolled in the class. My friends (7 sophomores in total, along with 3 juniors and 2 seniors, though there were more taking the exam) took the AP exam today, and apparently the test was extremely hard to students who maintain an A in the class at my school. Nevertheless, if you really want to take it, then go ahead. Most students in cc don’t regard APCS as a super hard class, but most people in cc are ridiculously intelligent individuals.
I would recommend Principles, as it seems like a much easier class that isn’t solely devoted to coding. (A - coding, rather difficult; Principles - much more broad, covers more comp sci)

Spanish 2/ASB/US/English - Should be fine.

Psychology - Is there a way to take an Art class instead of a semester of Psychology? A visual/performing art is recommended for all high school students and can provide an experience that no other class can provide.

You should be able to do this schedule with a varsity sport; however, expect a lot of work in Honors Chemistry, Math Analysis, and (especially) APCS. Sophomore year is a huge leap from freshman year (as freshman year is kinda an extension of middle school), so you will be expected to have excellent study skills.

Ideal Schedule:
Chemistry (Honors?)
Algebra 2 (Honors?)
AP Computer Science Principles
Spanish 2
ASB
US History
English
Visual/Performing Art

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@ihavenoideawow You shouldn’t need to play a sport to get into NHS? A sport doesn’t necessarily fall under any of the pillars (Character, Scholarship, Service, Leadership) unless you consider time-management to be character/have a leadership position in the sport. You should be able to focus on community service and clubs/outside activities, including but not limited to sports, and get into NHS, unless your school’s application is completely different than mine.

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My only comment is you should probably take algebra 2. The vast majority of college majors require at least a semester of calculus, and since you say you’re strong in math, you could probably reach calc AB by senior year and get that out of the way. If you didn’t want to take calc, it would be easier to do algebra 2, precalc, then stats since you might forget too much of your prior knowledge doing stats sophomore year.

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I’m not sure because I haven’t done that many APs and junior yet because that’s what I’ll be doing next year. See first how you do this year in your classes and APs and then determine whether those APs will work for you. For next year (junior year), I’m planning on taking 5 weighted. AP Chem, APUSH, AP Lit, Honors Pre Calc with Trig, Honors Spanish IV, and Culinary Art 1.

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@Muufeen my teacher picks favorites, and she also recommends sports. since everyone she picked this year did sports, I’m assuming that’s the only way I can get in >:( even though I had a pretty good GPA and almost perfectly scored teacher recs, she rejected me. she even told me my essay was perfect as well!! I really don’t like teachers that pick favorites but I guess I’ll have to put up with it. I’m going to be volunteering this summer so hopefully that will help as well.

@joyce1517 I’ve had pretty good grades all year, I don’t strive for straight A’s because I’m not that person, but I’ve basically had mostly A’s and B’s, minus math because that is not my strong suit. I think I might be able to do it. good luck next year!

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sorry to double post, but I also wanted to add that doing good in bio doesn’t mean doing good in chem, and vice versa. I know many people who had close to 100s in honors bio, but are completely bombing honors chem with nothing higher than a C. meanwhile, I totally failed bio (my average test score was a 66), somehow managed a 5 on the eoc, and have had a high A in chem all year. don’t base bio grades on how well you’ll do in chem. it really depends if you can get it and grasp the information correctly or not.

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It simply comes down to your school and your teachers (esp for the honor courses). At my school, honor courses are hard (esp chemistry) because they try to cutdown how much we have to do in AP. Just ask juniors and seniors who’ve already taken those classes. I don’t think you should quit anything you love, even if you might have trouble fitting everything in.

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I was in the same boat as you. I had a B all year in Honors Bio and kept an A all year in Honors Chem. It really just depends if you’re more math based or not.

Honors Chem - If you’re good at math, take it. If not, then I suggest passing on it and doing regular chem. Also, don’t listen to the people who say “chem is so easy and it’s preparing me so much for AP chem next year” Bullsh**. Half the stuff you learn in Honors chem is retaught a different way in AP chem and there is a whole lot more math. You also can’t memorize things in AP Chem; if you do, it’s a 50% on a test. You have to understand how everything is related to each other and how they react depending on their chemical properties.

Honors Stats/Math Analysis - I don’t know what math analysis is but I know people who’ve been in AP Stats and said it was fairly easy, so I imagine Honors stats should be easier. AP Stats is considered the easy AP math class.

AP Comp. Science/AP Comp. Principles - Have never taken these nor know anybody who has.

Spanish 2 - Good. I take French so I have no opinion on this.

Associated Student Body - I’m guessing this is like leadership in my school (Students run school events and plan them). It will look good on college applications.

USH/English - Fine.

Psychology - Should be fine, but I recommend taking both 1 and 2.