What do I do with my life

Test Preparation AP Test Preparation
1

I want to become an actor someday. I’m pretty sure about it , I’m good looking, and everyone says I’m naturally good. I also am very musically talented , I can decently sing (I’m almost 15 and pubescent so it’s not always great) and I can play 10 different instruments. I’m a freshman, and my current schedule looks like:
1st Semester

World History Honors 95% overall
Algebra 1 95% overall
English I Honors 96% overall
Drama and Acting 116% overall

2nd Semester (In progress)
Earth/Environmental Science Honors 97%
Geometry Honors 98%
Physical Education/Health 99%
Band (Proficient) Honors 99%

As you can see, at my school there is a thing called “doubling up”, which is when you take 2 courses from the same subject area in one year. I took Alg1 and geometry the same year. A lot of my friends do this, but why should I? I’m definitely not going into the mathematics field , so why should I take a ton of math classes? I only signed up for Algebra II for next year, but I peers say they’re going to keep doubling up to make colleges want them (but you only need 4 math credits to graduate?) It’s also popular to do this with science, even though you only need 3 science credits to graduate. These are the courses I signed up for for sophomore year:

Semester 1
Biology Honors
Algebra II Honors
Band (Advanced) Honors
Civics and Economics Honors

Semester 2
AP Gov
Drama
English II Honors
Band (Advanced) Honors

I feel like if I do take AP Gov or any other Advanced placement classes I’m wasting my time. If I do end up going to college , it’ll be for arts. Art colleges aren’t concerned about GPA as much, so should I even be stressing? Please help me out.
Thanks!

2

If you’re going into the arts, then yes, taking a LOT of AP classes may not be worth your time. But, most schools require some sort of “Gen Ed” credits before you can start specializing your classes towards your major. I would say taking a couple of AP social studies (like economics, geography, or history) and a couple of other APs (like English or science) isn’t a bad idea. That way, when you get to college, you’ve already got your Gen Ed credits out of the way and can go ahead and start focusing on the classes you really want to take.

That being said, high school is also the time where you get to experiment with classes and see what you really like, so don’t overload on AP and Honors credits you don’t absolutely need if it’s going to mean giving up something else you love (especially band – as a band student myself, I understand the importance of keeping up with it). You seem very talented in the arts, so I would say that your Semester 2 schedule is about the right balance of APs, required credits, and electives.

Overall, I would recommend doing 1 or 2 APs each year (try to keep it to 1 per semester max, so you still have time for classes you enjoy), unless you can’t fit them in your schedule because of other classes you want to take. Hope this helps!