This is my first post. Anyway, I am going to Bronx Science and it is my junior year. For senior year I was thinking about taking 6 ap courses listed below. I am not taking any ap courses now but I have 2 other ap courses: AP World History and AP Chemistry. Shouls I do this or should I omit one of my ap classes. My dream school is NYU.
AP Courses for senior year:
You are asking people you never met to answer this question with no background as to how you have done so far in HS, what your academic strengths and weakness are etc.
I’d strongly suggest that you work with your guidance counselor to create a schedule that makes sense – one that will challenge but not overwhelm you. Keep in mind that you will need some time senior year to work on college applications.
I would counselin general against too many APs Senior year, and this is why.
In the fall, you are in college application season. You may be taking the SAT again. You may want to visit some more colleges. You have to write college- specific essays (hopefully you already wrote your common app essay over the summer.). You have to fill out your Common App and get recommendations.
Also you may be in marching band or Sports or be a leader of a club. College Apps is like another time-sucking EC on top of that.
Then in the spring, you may have senioritis. You are been accepted to college and are looking toward the finish line. You have to study for the AP tests…it will be difficult to study for too many at once.
Stanford U says:
“We expect applicants to pursue a reasonably challenging curriculum, choosing courses from among the most demanding courses available at your school. We ask you to exercise good judgment and to consult with your counselor, teachers and parents as you construct a curriculum that is right for you. Our hope is that your curriculum will inspire you to develop your intellectual passions, not suffer from unnecessary stress. The students who thrive at Stanford are those who are genuinely excited about learning, not necessarily those who take every single AP or IB, Honors or Accelerated class just because it has that designation.”
“The College Board needs to say a similar thing about taking A.P. courses. We have data that taking up to five A.P. courses over the course of high school helps students complete college on time. But there is no evidence that excessively cramming your schedule with A.P. classes advances you. Let us say to students, ‘If you would like to take more than 5 A.P. courses because you love the class, do so, but not to get into college.’
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/24/opinion/higher-education-double-major-extracurricular-activities.html
What type of college are you aiming for? What will the AP classes do for you?
Why AP Stats? You already have a math class.
What is your proposed major?
Also up until now you have only taken 2 AP courses (at once?)
Why the leap to 6?
Taking six AP classes at once is not common, but not unheard of either (and as Bopper pointed out, college acceptances don’t necessarily go to the kids who have taken the greatest number of APs).
Going from zero (“I am not taking any ap courses now”) to six, however, sounds like a possible recipe for disaster.
As Happy1 pointed out, though, none of us know you or your academic history. For example, you might have a good reason for taking AP Stats AND AP Calc BC, but if you’ve taken what is a more-or-less typical progression, the doubling up on math is puzzling. Plus the level of difficulty and work load of any given class can vary significant from school to school.
I’m a senior taking 5 this year and doing fine. I don’t know you well enough to tell you if you can/can’t handle it, but here’s my advice:
AP Gov has been really easy for me so far. You should be fine.
AP Physics 1 is a very demanding class, so I’m guessing 2 is too. If you did well in 1, go for it!
AP Creative Writing doesn’t exist. There’s AP Lang and AP Lit, but APCW isn’t a real AP class through college board.
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend going from 0 to 6 AP classes - that’s even a little too much for me! Would your school maybe let you take one over the summer? Even then, I’d drop at least 1 of the others. What’s your intended major? If it’s not CS, APCS might not be worthwhile.
I’d recommend that you get rid of AP Creative Writing, try to move AP Gov to the summer, and depending on your interests/involvements, maybe drop one more.