<p>Hello, I am new to these forums, (this being my first thread) but I would like to ask for help/advice on whether I should tackle the following schedule my junior year: </p>
<p>AP Calc BC
AP Chem
AP U.S. History
AP Art History
AP Spanish Lang
AP English Comp</p>
<p>I have only taken one AP class before, (APWH) which was a breeze, (I never studied nor did I do the homework), though I ended with a disappointing 4 on the exam. I intend to get 5's on as many tests as possible this year though.
I would like to know if this many AP classes at once (no self-study) is too much. This is the first time in the history of my high school a student has attempted this feat, so I am excited and nervous for this year.</p>
<p>Extra info to put into account:</p>
<p>-I am a native Spanish speaker so AP Spanish should be easy.</p>
<p>-I also intend on studying for SAT/ACT/SAT II's </p>
<p>-Last year (sophomore) schedule and grades:
Pre-Calc Honors: 113% (lol)
Chemistry Honors: 96%
English Honors: 96%
P.E.: 99% (ignore this one)
AP World: 103%
Spanish III: 98%</p>
<p>-Currently ranked #1 GPA in my graduating class</p>
<p>Is this possible? Which classes are hardest? Should I drop a class , and if so which one? Any advice on how to handle the workload?<br>
Thanks for your opinions</p>
<p>That’s REALLY heavy for junior year. If your school has more AP’s that you want to take senior year, you’re probably better off waiting so that you can show you’re taking a rigorous senior course load to make you more appealing. However, if you still have plenty of AP’s you want to take senior year and think you can handle the work load you mentioned, go for it. Just know you’re gonna have to push.</p>
<p>I too am a Spanish native and most people in my school are (live in Miami lol) what teachers suggest doing is just to somewhat prepare for the test. I believe taking AP Spanish Lang would be a waste of your time. My spanish teacher has been teaching for 30 years and he says you can get a 5 without studying.</p>
<p>APUSH and Art History can be pretty work-intensive. Depends on whether you have a life outside of school, and what your teachers expect. You might not want to do both at once.</p>
<p>Only you can know how you will be able to handle a rigorous course load. For competitive schools, taking the most challenging curriculum available is always encouraged, but if your grades are going to suffer with so many AP courses, then you’re need to reconsider your choices. You are the only one who can be the judge.</p>
<p>Since you took only one AP last year its hard to judge whether you can handle the workload. My sophomore schedule was similar to your’s and I went on to take 4 APs junior year and 7 senior year. It was manageable for me and I rarely felt overwhelmed by the workload. However I did not have a life outside of school and managed my time fairly well. If you were to drop one of those, drop Art History. If you keep this schedule what will you be taking senior year? I say go ahead with your schedule with the possible exception of Art History.</p>
<p>@TS1125 My school offers enough AP classes that senior year would be another full schedule of 5-6 AP’s (because I would have already taken the highest math available at my school, the 6th AP is undecided). Yes, I was thinking of dropping art history, I was mainly taking the class because our school requires an art to graduate. Would colleges not like if I took the class (for graduation requirement) and didn’t take the AP test?</p>
<p>The tests aren’t the issue - most colleges don’t ever see your scores or whether you took the tests. It’s the work load.</p>
<p>Since your current grades seem like a product of grade inflation, this might not be an issue. (Schools that are rigorous typically do not give grades above 100.)</p>
<p>It’d be too much for me, but it depends how much time you have and are willing to devote to homework every day. If you have lots of EC’s, I’d say it’s too much! Good luck.</p>
<p>@MSNDIS the tests were extremely curved (my average score 120%) and they were worth over 90% of the class grade. Homework was pretty much optional.</p>
<p>@sakacar yes that 113 in pre-cal points towards inflation. Of the classes I intend on taking only AP Chem is known as being “hard” (only 2 kids managed an A last year)</p>
<p>@Browndino How do you know that it is the first time in the history of your school for this “feat” to happen? I’m sure there are other high-achieving kids who have done the same. I go to a magnet school in CA, and this is the norm for us. The perks of Silicon Valley, I guess.</p>
<p>I jumped from one AP (Bio) sophomore year to six AP’s (Chem, Physics, Cal BC, US Gov, World, Lang) and still got straight A’s and 5 5’s.
It’s not impossible. You need very good work ethics though. Calc BC was my hardest class - but it depends on the teacher. </p>