Okay, so I am seriously considering taking three APs, which I do not doubt I would be able to do. But I want to take AP Gov, Physics, and Langauge. Everyone is telling me that is too much and that I will be seriously overwhelmed. Should I be overwhelmed by that class selection. My GPA this far is a 4.104, and I have maintained an A, not even an A- for every high school class I have taken, even honors courses.
I need help! Thank you
Those three AP classes should be very manageable, especially if you have a history of straight As and have taken at least some honors classes. I wouldn’t have any concerns.
Every school and every student is different. If you want to research it a little more, I would talk with your guidance counselor, the teachers of those classes, and students who have taken them before and ask what the workload is, and whether it is steady most of the time, or if it tends to vary a lot. Also ask what resources are available if you aren’t doing well. Will the teacher spend extra time helping you or is there tutoring available through your school? Does the teacher offer before or after school review sessions before tests? If all else fails, is it possible to move down a level?
Also, consider the types of colleges you will apply to and what they are looking for both in rigor and in the types of core classes.
Schools vary a lot, but that would be considered very normal in the schools my collegekids went to.
IF the Lang teacher has a heavy reading & writing curriculum, it can be heavy by volume- and if you are not a fast reader/strong writer that can be hard.
Physics varies both by which physics and how you take to physics.
Gov, whether US or Comp (or both) is fine for a solid student (which I am inferring from your GPA).
The only thing I will say is that there is often a jump in both the quantity and rigor of schoolwork required in Junior year- and it is also when students are usually stepping up to more leadership roles in their ECs. That can put stress on the system- as much in the time management end as the actual school work. So, start the year as if you are expecting that it will be challenging- get ahead of the work early. If it turns out that it’s pretty much the same as last year- no worries. But if things have ratcheted up a bit you won’t be caught out.
When someone says “I want to take 5 APs junior year”, we say Whoa make sure you can handle it.
But 3 APs seems doable for a good student.