Hi I’m a sophomore currently, taking AP Calc AB, Eng 2H, and Chem H
Next year I’m planning on taking AP Calc BC, AP english language, APUSH, Physics honors, and (one of the three: (ap?/reg) computer programming and/or self study for the ap exam, ap psych semester, OR ap music theory semester*)
I also have to self study for an AP stats exam which should be fine since i will be starting this online course the 2nd semester of sophomore year.
I was wondering if the workload would be reasonable for me if i did 5 advanced courses.
I’m set for doing AP calc bc, APENG, APUSH, and physics honors, but i don’t know if adding another AP class would cause my other grades to tank. If you could help me out that would be great 
thanks! I’m a 4.0 unweighted gpa student, board member of 2 clubs, and take the zero period of yearbook and will transfer to editor status soon
*music theory is considered because my elective history at the school includes taking the exclusive class percussion ensemble freshman year and taking guitar year-long course sophomore year. and it would be nice to continue this through junior year …
Taking 4-5 AP courses as a junior is not outside of the realm of possibility. Whether you can handle the workload is something only you and perhaps your parents/counselor can answer.
You don’t have to do anything; it’s your choice to do so. 
I’m rather surprised your school covers this in a semester, unless your school is o a block schedule. Even for someone with a background in music, that’s a lot of material to cover in ~18 weeks.
My only AP course during sophomore year was US Gov (my school only offers two APs to sophomores), and I’m in four this year. The courseload is definitely harder, but it’s by no means unmanageable! My grades are actually better than they were last year and I’m happier in school; granted, I’m just one example, but if you want to take 5 advanced classes next year, I think you should go for it.
That being said, only you know your strengths and weaknesses, and you shouldn’t push yourself into a schedule that’s too difficult just because you think you “should” take those classes. Good luck!
I went from 0 APs to 4 APs in junior year. Not a huge jump in workload or difficulty. Went from 4-7. It’s a little bit harder at times and a little bit easier at times, but it’s definitely manageable. If you’re dedicated and engaged I would recommend taking it. At least try it. However, if you’re just doing it for a college to look at then I don’t think you’ll have as strong a motivation to keep going and so you’ll probably struggle a bit more.
However, some of my friends struggle with 1 AP. It’s all about who you are, why you’re doing it and how much effort you’re willing to put in to make it work. You sound like a motivated individual, so I’d say go for it and see how it feels a few weeks in.
Good Luck!
Have you reached level 3-4 in a foreign language already?
@MYOS1634 I will be in Chinese 3 next year, but it’s my native language (I’m Chinese)
I plan to take AP Chinese senior year
I have 1 block for English, History, Foreign language, Math, Science, religion (catholic school), and elective next year
Among the 3 APs you list, I would take AP Psych in order to “round out” your schedule which is already very full - it’s an AP Lite and as such wouldn’t be as much work as the other APs. This way you’d be sure to keep your schedule to a manageable level - you’d be free to take 4 APs senior year or not.
Music Theory is a very difficult AP unless you’re already a strong musician, but it’d be my second choice if you are, with AP Psych “saved” for senior year and its college essay workload. (I realize you’re a great percussionist but only you would know how that relates to your knowledge in musical theory.)
Keep in mind that top colleges only expect 4-8 APs, so if you have 8 (including APCalc, AP Chinese, AP English Language, APUSH which are “core” APs) you’re good. After 8, a law of diminishing returns applies, meaning the loss of sleep doesn’t result in higher admission results.
@MYOS1634 when you say eight do u mean in s year or total?
by the end of high school.
=> typically 0-1 sophomore year, 2-3-4 junior year, 2-3-4 senior year.
@MYOS1634
Apparently AP PSYCH got extended to a 1 year course
It used to be a semester course, but next year (when i will be a junior) the school administration has decided to extend the Psych course to 1 full year. 
Is relativity in a subject (aka there may be more than one way to answer a question/prompt), whether an AP or Honors course, a good thing? I was wondering about this because of the possible negative effects abstractness/different ways of writing a paper can have on a grade received… along with whether despite the wide possibility of answers expected it is still possible to get an A in the class.
I heard Psych courses has a wide scope of approaching papers, which is why i was wondering.
Thanks!
Ap Psych was always supposed to be a year-long course, but because it was lighter in content than most AP classes some high schools chose to teach it as a semester course. It wasn’t the intent and may have been a bad choice for some students, especially if they took it Febrary to April, so, basically 3 months to prepare for the May exam… although if they took it Sept-Jan, they had a serious gap before May.
Not sure what you’re asking about “more than one way to answer a question”. Basically all high level questions will be like this, in all subjects except perhaps STEM (and even there, variation is expected since there are many ways to get to a complex result or conduct an experiment.)
@MYOS1634
I see, thanks for letting me know.
I heard from upperclassmen that AP Psych is supposedly difficult in that yes theres more than one way to approach a study/can be difficult to assess what the teacher is looking for. I do realize that looking at a question in more than one way happens in ap history and ap english classes and whatnot as i have shorthand experienced this myself, but i only heard this as a particular complaint of taking ap psych at my school. Maybe because its a social science and a soft science with abstract concepts rather than historical/literary data like other high school core courses?
Still thinking about whether AP Psych is a good idea or not…
I’ve been thinking of AP Comp Prog over AP Psych though. I’m thinking of taking APUSH, APCALCBC, Physics H (no AP science in my grade), APENG, AP Comp Prog (most probable), Religion, and Chinese 3. I also have the zero period of yearbook, which meets 3 days/week afterschool…
I think this is still quite manageable, right? I believe there are people that have done this heavy of a load before for high school as well. Thanks so much again.
APUSH, APCALCBC, APENG = three hard, time-consuming classes
+
Physics H (no AP science in my grade), , AP Comp Prog (most probable), Religion, and Chinese 3 = 4 solid classes
- zero period of yearbook, which meets 3 days/week afterschool = good addition (interesting) but shouldn’t add hw, right?
It’s a full schedule but not undoable and well balanced as far as variety of subjects goes.
Check with your GC: are you able to “drop down” a level in any of these subjects if need be, and if so, what are the deadlines? It’d be a safety net for you in case something goes wrong.
@MYOS1634 no homework for yearbook but I’ll definitely check with the gc. my deadline to decide is in mid-march. i am pretty sure that this is still manageable. but yea its pretty full. chinese 3 and religion are basically free study halls for me because religion is a subtle part of our curriculum, and I’m chinese haha 
and yearbook’s pretty laid back. no homework (mostly). I’m picking up computer programming over this school year/this summer from my experiences in freshman year(going a few online courses and camps too) and will probably dive into AP Comp Prog knowing that given that it is permitted by the school and i know people who have done that… by the way, are you currently a student in high school or have you graduated already?
As you can tell from my number of posts, I’m neither
As you can see from my number of posts, just going by post count can be deceiving.
Lol, true, skieurope, but you’ve got “Super Moderator” under your name too :D:D
I feel more encouraged now