Hi, I’m a current sophomore with a serious dilemma…
I am deciding my junior year’s schedule for next year. I have seven classes so far, which are:
AP English III
PreCalc Honors
AP Chemistry
Med Principles (Elective)
Spanish II
Color Guard
Choir
I have one more period that I need to choose, and yet I’m not sure what. I’m planning to take US History over the summer this year, so I don’t exactly have to have another history credit for my junior year. I’m focusing on a science major, and I’ve already done regular biology, regular physics, and chemistry honors. I really want to take AP Biology or AP Physics as a junior, but my counselor keeps telling me it’s too much for me, but I don’t know if I can trust that opinion. I did really well in all three science class (well, physics was a bit tough but I still passed with an A) but everyone tells me that two science classes as a junior is too much. My counselor told me to take AP environmental science, but I’m not really interested in that and I’ve heard it doesn’t really work if I want to focus on science in college.
What should I take that might not overwhelm me?
(Oh also I do Student Council and LEO Club, and I’m president of my own club this year. Next year, I’m also joining the math honor society. Can I still take rigorous classes…?)
I can take US History over the summer with a nearby community college. I asked my counselor if that was the best option for me, and she thinks since I’m focusing on a science major, colleges won’t think much of APUSH credit…
What colleges are you considering? Most competitive schools want to see 3-4 years of history, regardless of major.
My STEM kid was able to use her AP history credits to get out of a set of college distribution requirements and take something she was really excited about instead.
Since you have room, I still think taking history during the school year is worth reconsidering.
Depending on the college, you may not get credit for a community college course, and reviewing material 8 months later for the AP exam is not the best use of time.
I agree with your counselor. Taking 2 AP lab sciences concurrently is killer. In addition to the time commitment required by virtue of being AP’s, each requires a lot of time for labs and lab reports. For many schools, these classes are either double-periods, or require additional time before/after school. Maybe you are the 1% of the 1% who can handle these 2 together without your grades tanking, but that’s something for you and your GC to confirm. Even for a prospective STEM major, colleges would rather see a balanced schedule covering all core subjects; save one of the AP sciences for senior year.
Additionally, you seem to be caught in an AP trap, thinking that the one with the most APs wins.
Why not take an interesting science class over the summer and APUSH this year? My daughter took astronomy and oceanography over two summers (granted, she is not a techie and took them to get out of science pre-recs if she ends up in state flagship), and she enjoyed both classes. If you enjoy biology, maybe an anatomy class at a local college could help you stand out from the crowd more than taking two science APs junior year (I agree, it is too much).
Agree with others that you should check the websites of the kind of colleges you are interested in to see their high school requirements and recommendations on courses. My impression has been that APUSH is generally something colleges like to see from good students regardless of intended major.
Wow, this is a lot of good advice. I honestly would rather go for some summer college program about science over the summer anyway…that way I might be able to explore what I enjoy so much. I just hope APUSH doesn’t become too much pressure during the year.
Also a few colleges I’m aiming for include NYU, Carnegie Mellon, UC Berkeley, and Rice University. Not “Ivy League” standards, but still up there.