Hi guys! My first new discussion on CC. After years of lurking, I finally post!
I’m a sophomore going into junior year this fall. Currently, I’m taking 3 AP classes:
AP US Govt & Pol
AP Physics C: Mechanics
AP Calculus AB
I have A’s in US gov and Calc, and currently a B in physics (hoping to pull it up to an A by the end of the year )
I’m not having too much difficulty in balancing these classes, just physics which is pretty difficult. For next year’s schedule, I want to take this:
AP English Lang
AP Calc BC
AP World History
AP Biology
AP Chemistry
Honors Spanish IV
GT Intern/Mentor (this program where you spend 5 hours/week interning with a professional. I’m hoping to land an internship at a biology lab at a top 25 university that’s located in my state)
My main concern is that I’m overloading myself. I don’t want to burn out, and I want to get at least 6 hours of sleep per night. As a junior, I also have to do SAT prep and also extracurriculars (Speech & Debate, VP of Key Club, studying for Bio Olympiad). I want to be the best at whatever I do. If not that, then at least one of the best. Please don’t take this the wrong way; I’m just telling you guys so that you know what I’m hoping to achieve so that you can tell me if it’s plausible.
My reasoning for taking two AP sciences in one year is that I’m studying for Bio Olympiad, which is much more difficult and in-depth than AP Bio, so AP Bio should be easier so in reality, I’ll really just be taking AP Chem with occassional AP Bio assignments and labs.
GT Intern/Mentor is this program where you spend 5 hours/week interning with a professional. I’m hoping to land an internship at a biology lab at a top 25 university that’s located in my state, approximately a 30-35 minute drive from where I live. I won’t be going there every day; probably just once or twice a week. If I take this class, I can leave school an hour early every day. That should give me a little more time to complete my assignments.
What do you guys think? Can I realistically accomplish this junior year with schedule?
I am currently in AP chemistry, and it is the hardest class i have taken, but i like a challenge. don’t overload yourself, i am currently in 4 AP classes, and it is a lot
One of my teachers told me something interesting, as i am a junior this year, many students get to college and don;t have to take many of the easy undergrad classes because they have taken the AP ones, which saves money, but there is a downside to this, you will have no buffer classes your freshman year and will be shoved into all of the hard classes. many AP students burn out through this in their freshman year. I was considering taking 6 AP my senior year but i have decided not to because of this. I dont want to die my freshman year in college.
Is AP Bio a strenuous workload at your school? Ask some upperclasspeople.
I’m a junior this year, with a similar sophomore-year situation (Calc BC, Physics C, Comp Sci A), and this year my schedule is essentially the same as yours might be next year with non-honors history (lol) and no AP Bio or Intern/Mentor but instead a second math class, and I’m holding up just fine. If AP Bio really would be a pretty small workload for you, I wouldn’t worry about it too much, but if the teacher assigns work that would take actual time, I’d be careful of the class.
If you’re willing to work, which it seems like you are, you’ll be okay.
@Syd340 AP credit is almost always optional, so you can retake the freshman classes regardless of AP scores (in fact, pre-meds have to do so anyway since med schools rarely accept AP credit).
Clarification: med schools rarely accept science AP’s, so most pre-meds either retake the course in college or take an additional class in the particular science for every semester of AP credit awarded. Having said that, as all med schools are free to decide which AP credits, if any, that they will accept for prereqs, you’d need to research each school. But, that’s really getting ahead of the game; you need to get into college first.
If you’re not having too much difficulty with 3 AP classes, go for it. I jumped from 0 APs and three honors sophomore year to four and one honors (and the honors course is basically AP Lang, since my school doesn’t offer the course) junior year, and I’m not having much trouble at all. My schedule is somewhat similar to yours (AP Calc BC, AP Physics 1, AP Chemistry, AP World History, Honors English, US History, Marching Band after school) and it’s not much trouble at all. However, I know many people who are struggling under similar (if not easier) schedules, so it really depends on your school and how prepared you are for the courses. Just a note: AP Chem is hard if you don’t understand why everything works. Bio is generally a very memorization-intensive course. AP Calc BC moves very, very fast, so you have to be comfortable with all of the math concepts you’ve learned up until now.
^ I would. there is stuff in bc that isn’t in ab that you’ll need for multi or whatever math you’d take. I don’t think your schedule for next year is too hard for you, but only you can assess yourself. also, major probs for taking physics c as a sophmore bc that class is brutal.
Save AP Chem for senior year. How about, instead, you take a “fun” class that’ll help you stand out from other students, proving you can study something just its own sake? Could be choir, shop, home economics, current events, graphic design, etc…
(with such a rigorous courseload, no one will accuse you of slacking off, and it’ll make you “interesting”).
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