Hello,
I was wondering if there is any advice on taking 5 AP classes as a sophmore next year, and about the difficulty of each class and AP exam. I have had experience with taking one AP class before (AP human geography), and it went really well. Next year my schedule will be something like this:
Pre Calc
Pre IB- Spanish 2
Pre IB-English
Chemistry
AP European History
AP Biology
AP Environmental Science
Online Classes: AP Psychology and AP Macro
Also if you have any other feedback about managing your time with clubs and volunteering, and if this is too much. My goal is to get into a top school! Thank you so much for your input and time:)
do NOT try to ramp up to 5 AP classes after only taking 1.!
It will kill your GPA.
take only 2 total- 1 science and AP Euro.
And DONT bother taking online AP classes.
Colleges are have stated over and over again that they are not impressed by that tactic…
there is NO race to see who can take the most AP classes.
An IB program will be rigorous enough.
What matters MOST is your GPA in the classes offered at your HS.
READ the link below , and pay special attention to what Stanford says they look for and what they DONT want to see in an application .ALL top college admissions ad coms recommend the same thing.
“We want to be clear that this is not a case of “whoever has the most APs wins.” Instead, we look for thoughtful, eager and highly engaged students who will make a difference at Stanford and in the world beyond. We expect that these students have taken high school course loads of reasonable and appropriate challenge in the context of their schools.”
Thank you so much!! @menloparkmom Most of my classmates are taking 3 AP classes next year. So if I would chose 3, which AP classes would you recommend, because I do aim for a 5. Thanks again
Which 3 are your classmates taking? AP Euro is fine. 3 sciences will almost guarantee that your GPA will suffer and that you will not get 5, and I assume chem is a HS requirement, so I would not recommend an AP science. Without knowing what’s available to sophomores at your school, none of us can really help you.
AP Euro is required, and AP Economics is recommended. For the last elective, most people are taking AP Psychology or AP Enviro. If you had to put the 5 AP classes I chose in order from easiest to hardest, which would be at the top or bottom of the list. @skieurope
@hayla19 IMO taking them at the school is a better option than taking them online. Personally, I don’t see the need to jam in 3 AP’s. I’d go with AP Euro and then 1 of: AP Psych or AP Macro and then fill the open period with an arts class or some other elective.
Why are you “aiming” for any particular number of APs? That isn’t at all how our family thinks about scheduling. We look first at requirements, then we look at what subjects my kids want to study to fill out the schedule. Because they are top students, they would usually (but not in every case) choose AP over regular level if they are taking that subject. But it never occurred to us to shoot for 5 APs or anything like that. That’s putting the cart before the horse. What do you want to study?
Also wanted to add that AP Environmental science is somewhat redundant with AP bio. Unless you’re particularly interested in Environment, I’d just stick with AP bio.
You don’t have any arts classes? Your school doesn’t require PE, health, etc? What you presented is a rather unbalanced schedule. If you’re only doing that because you think it’s going to impress top schools and be a golden admission tickets, you should know that it’s really not necessary. Or sufficient.
THIS is what Stanford says re: how it evaluates applications-[ I added the caps so you can understand more clearly what we are trying to get across.]
“AP scores that are reported are acknowledged but RARELY play a significant role in the evaluation of an application. Grades earned over the course of a TERM , or a year, AND evaluations from instructors who can comment on CLASSROOM engagement provide us with the most detailed insight into a student’s readiness for the academic rigors of Stanford.”
I.E.- they want to see how you performed in the classroom, NOT online.
Skieurope [who is a recent HS graduate] has stated numerous times that when he was at college information sessions, and someone asked how taking AP classes online would be viewed by admissions reps , all of ad-coms present were in agreement that taking AP classes online, in a mistaken effort to impress them, was NOT something they would recommend.
I would qualify that a bit. Many schools don’t offer AP classes and in that case I think taking some online is just fine. I think what they are trying to discourage is taking APs, particularly with self study or online, just for the sake of packing in more APs than the next guy. They really truly would rather see you spend your spare time doing other things.
My daughter took AP psych in the classroom and I think it would be hard to replicate the experience in an online format. It seemed like a very interactive course to me.
Here are some advise/comments for you:
1.Take classes (join activities) that’s interesting to you and will benefit you the most. Don’t take classes to solely impress friends/family/college
2. Just because others tell you you can’t do it, doesn’t mean you really can’t do it. You know what your limits are, and if you feel you can possibly handle something, go for it. You improve the fastest when you keep challenging yourself
3. If you only keep up with the average, you’ll probably end up average
4. Never give up. If you want to get a B, aiming for a A; if you want to be a doctor, aiming to become the best doctor. That way, even if you slack of a bit, you'll still get what you want.
Go back to your question, if you think you can handle it, I recommend you to try it. You might feel extremely tired and a little out of control at first, but you’ll expend your knowledge and improve your time management dramatically after you keep up with that challenging year. (I came to U.S. 4 years ago as a high school freshman and didn’t speak any English. After challenging myself for 4 years, I ended up took 15 AP Exams by the end of senior year, and AP classes no longer feel hard for me. )
Regarding the time management:
Finish the assigned task as soon as possible. Don’t let them piled up
Spread out studying, don’t scram for tests
If there is conflict between extracurricular and academics, cut some unnecessary extracurriculars
4.Pay 100% attention at class. It’s much more efficient to figure stuff out during class than trying to figure stuff out by yourself at home.
lastly, your schedule looks really impressive. Good luck in the future!
Honestly, the right extracurriculars are much better on terms of college acceptance/preparation for future employment than some AP classes. For me personally, as someone who wants to go into research, taking AP World History might be fun, but it is much more worthwhile if I could talk to some professors and do research at the local university than waste time studying for my 20th AP class. You should take as much AP as you can get away with, but if it clashes with something that actually has to do with what you will be doing in the future, cut it!
Thank you so much!! It is amazing that you came to the U.S. freshman year, and challenged yourself. How was it like managing your time with studying for all those AP classes and getting involved in other activities? Thanks again, that got me really motivated:)) @duravative
Thank you for the great advice!! I personally love science research, and I am trying to get involved! I just moved so I am trying to figure out how to take the first step in contacting someone or a professor. @Dax123
What many people do is find the closest community college/university, find a few professors there that do interesting research, and email them all asking if you can help, or if they can at least refer you to somewhere. It only takes 1 afternoon, and there is a good chance you’ll find at least one professor interested. You could also ask your high school councilor once school starts up again if they can help you. Good luck!