Too Many APs?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>I'm taking the following classes next year as a rising junior and would like to hear input on how rigorous the courseload is. Here are the classes:</p>

<p>AP ENG
APUSH
AP Stats
AP Chem/ AP Bio
Spanish III
Trigonometry</p>

<p>APUSH is a lot of reading according to other students, and AP BIO is notorious at our school for taking the most time as an AP (because the teacher covers the whole book). AP Stats is an overall easier class from what I have heard, and AP Chem (whether or not there is a class or not because many people drop due to fear of the teacher) will be manageable for I obtained a A in the teacher's regular Chemistry class and am familiar with his style.</p>

<p>Some quick things to note that I will be doing along with this courses:
Clubs
Cross Country and Badminton
Volunteering</p>

<p>Is this essentially manageable, or am I thinking irrationally?</p>

2

<p>At my school. APUSH is a lot of reading (as you had said) so, a big time commitment. It’s not incredibly hard, but time consuming. I’m assuming AP ENG is Lang, which is just essays every week or two. A book or two per month depending on your teacher. Chem if you’re good with the material, you will be fine. Stats was by far my easiest core class ever, including regular classes. It’s easier than precalc(or equivalent). Bio at my school is a lot of reading and self etching because our teacher doesn’t teach, but you’ll probably have a better teacher.
You should be able to handle the coursework as long as you keep track of deadlines and are good with time management!</p>

3

<p>APUSH will be a lot of busywork, but if you’re good at managing time and competent at reading and understanding the core ideas of things then it won’t be particularly difficult, just time consuming. </p>

<p>AP Chem will be a challenge if you were enrolled in regular rather than honors Chemistry. The gap between the two is massive and most of Chemistry 1 does not prepare you too well for AP Chem (whereas Honors Chemistry prepares you for AP very well). It will be a challenge, but if you are a strong student in math (sorry, I can’t tell off just “trigonometry”–are you in a lane that has you taking AB/BC calc your senior year?) then you should be fine. I would however say that if getting the A in regular chemistry was any struggle whatsoever then you may be in for a rough experience. </p>

<p>AP Bio, should use choose to take it rather than AP Chem, will involve a lot of memorization, just like any other Biology class. Unlike Chemistry it’s not very effective to logically apply concepts to things and be able to problem solve based on your findings. Rather, you’ll have to straight up memorize a large amount of information. If you’re not too strong in math, then this might be a better option for you than AP Chem.</p>

<p>AP Stat is fairly simple if you’re strong in math. Given that you’re currently enrolled in Trigonometry, it may be a little bit difficult, as most of the kids that take AP Stat, at least in my school, have already completed Trig or an equivalent course, but again, if you just have a solid aptitude for math it shouldn’t be problematic at all. I will say though that if you’re not in one of the higher math lanes (one that ends in AB/BC calc by your senior year) taking AP stat your junior year may not be a good idea. I just mention this because at my school Trigonometry is paired with either intro to analysis or algII as a sophomore course for the top math lanes, with it being a junior course for the middle math lanes. So if you’re not in a high math lane, I recommend talking with your counselor and math teacher if you’re dead set on taking AP Stat. </p>

<p>Spanish III is a pain if you’ve BS’d your way through Spanish beforehand, taking advantage of the grade inflation common in language courses and learning how to pass tests rather than really learning the material thoroughly. However, unless you really just don’t have a solid foundation, you should not have trouble. </p>

<p>Trig is, in my opinion, a simpler class than either Geometry or AlgebraI/II. Get a graphing calculator if you don’t already own one (I personally am a fan of the TI-84, which you can use on SAT/ACT and is fairly user friendly. If you don’t care about getting yourself a calculator for the SAT/ACT at this point, don’t mind doing a little bit of work to figure out how things work, and your math teacher allows it, a TI-Inspire may also suit you. A TI-83 will also work fine). You probably will have less trouble here than you did in past math classes if you’re good at logically problem solving, which you probably are given your success in Chem. </p>

<p>The schedule as a whole is very doable. XC may be a bit of a pain, simply because you’ll always be tired if your coach has you doing 45+ miles per week during the mainseason, but that’s more preseason type mileage and your coach will probably cut it quite a bit when you’re tapering for big meets regardless.</p>

4

<p>It definitely is manageable.</p>

<p>I’m a Junior, and my schedule this year is:</p>

<p>AP English Literature and Composition
AP Environmental Science
AP Chemistry
AP United States History
AP Calculus AB</p>

<p>I have Extracurriculars that take up my time from right after school until 9 o’clock at night. I managed to get all As last trimester, but it did require a lot of sleepless nights.</p>

<p>As for the difficulty of classes:</p>

<p>AP English:
I’m not sure which AP English class you’re taking, but I’ve taken both AP English Lang and AP English Lit. I love love loved AP Lang. It required a good deal of writing. AP English Lit is okay. Lots of reading and poetry. Overall, both classes are fairly manageable.</p>

<p>AP Chem:
AP Chem is difficult, but it is so rewarding. My advice: use Kent Chemistry notes (kentchemistry. Com).</p>

<p>APUSH:
God, this is such a hard class. Even if your teacher is easy, it will take a lot of work to pass the AP test. It is a HARD class. However, I do love it.</p>

<p>AP Stats:
I’ve never taken it, but I’m taking AP Calc. AP Stats is considered the easiest of the AP math classes, and AP Calculus is a walk in the park.</p>

<p>My advice:
Eat healthy and work out. I’m not even joking. There are weeks where, on average, I get less than 3 hours of sleep a night. If I eat unhealthy, I feel like absolute crap. If I eat healthily, then those sleepless nights aren’t <em>too</em> bad.</p>

<p>Utilize any study halls/homework time in class to your advantage. I’ve got a study hall, and I always mess around and end up regretting it later.</p>

<p>Don’t risk your health just to take an impressive course load. It’s not worth it. I kind of wish I took APUSH with only a few other AP classes. Oh well, you live and you learn.</p>

<p>Water. Drink water. Don’t do the caffeine thing. Use caffeine sparingly.</p>