Hi. I am currently a sophomore and I was planning what my schedule would be as a junior. I was planning to take:
AP physics 1
BC calc
AP language and composition
AP US
AP Econ
Honors Spanish IV
I don’t know if this load would be too much. I have a few extra curriculars was well. I have marching band in the fall along with debate team and DECA, which I am a leader in. I am currently taking 2 APs, seminar and world history, and I have solid grades in both. Any suggestions?
What’s typical for your school? Do you have friends in those classes (current juniors in your Spanish 3 class?) who can give you information?
At my kid’s school, marching band practices several hours a day, and it’s unusual for band kids to take more than 2 or 3 APs - and they have no time for any other ECs. Physics 1 has time-consuming problem sets and tests are curved up to a C+. But your school could be completely different!
APs are very different between schools and teachers. The best way to answer this is to talk to your GC, talk to the teachers of those classes, and ask questions of students who are in or have already taken them. Explain you want to make an informed decision as to whether this is the right workload and schedule for you.
IMHO @Groundwork2022 has nailed it.
Could you take AP Calc AB and push AP Econ and AP BC to senior year?
It sounds like a reasonable schedule to me , if you are good at time management. 3-5 APs for an 11th grader is not too uncommon and you don’t have any of the really hard AP science classes.
If you need to move something, I would move MacroEcon first.
it all depends on what your goal is.
if you’re shooting for top top tier schools, there is some unconventional advice in cal newport’s “how to be a high school superstar”. highly recommend, it might be the advice you need.
if you’re not, then talk to your counselor. or your parents. econ, bc, physics together might be a bit much depending on what kind of student u are. have u taken hon physics and done well?
Do you need to take AP Econ and AP US at the same time? WHy not move AP Econ to senior year?
Check out “How to be a High School Superstar” by Cal Newport.
“The basic message of the book is this: Don’t wear yourself out taking as many classes as you can and being involved in every club and sport. Instead, leave yourself enough free time to explore your interests. Cultivate one interest and make it into something special that will make you stand out among the other applicants and get you into the toughest schools, even if your grades and scores aren’t stellar. Newport calls this the “relaxed superstar approach,” and he shows you how to really do this, breaking the process down into three principles, explained and illustrated with real life examples of students who got into top schools: (1) underscheduling—making sure you have copious amounts of free time to pursue interesting things, (2) focusing on one or two pursuits instead of trying to be a “jack of all trades,” and (3) innovation—developing an interesting and important activity or project in your area of interest. This fruit yielded by this strategy, an interesting life and real, meaningful achievements, is sure to help not only with college admissions, but getting a job, starting a business, or whatever your goals.”
http://www.examiner.com/review/be-a-relaxed-high-school-superstar