I’m currently a sophomore and picking out which classes to take next year. I’ve gotten all A’s so far freshman and sophomore year in these classes:
Freshman:
honors english 1
honors algebra 1
honors geography
honors biology
spanish 1
intro to art
health/gym
Sophomore:
honors english 2
honors algebra 2/trigonometry
honors geometry
honors world history
honors chemistry
spanish 2
intro to business
Extracurriculars: varsity cross country (which I will do for four years and I’m planning on being captain for sure senior year and maybe junior year), track (just freshman year), jv soccer (captain this year, and I’ll most likely play varsity next year), mathletes (4 years), leo club (4 years), student ambassadors for junior and senior year, Spanish Honor Society and NHS next year, and I volunteered a lot last year at a hospital and I’m planning on volunteering more this summer and the summer after that.
My dilemma is my classes for junior year. I have two options (an easier option and a harder option).
Option 1:
AP English Language
AP Physics
AP Psychology*
Honors US History
Honors Pre- Calculus
Spanish 3
Gym
Option 2:
AP English Language
AP Physics
AP Chemistry*
Honors US History
Honors Pre- Calculus
Spanish 3
Gym
My problem is that I know that for my first option, I for sure can get all As, therefore keeping my 4.0 gpa. I’ll also have more time to study for the ACT (and I’m trying to get in the 30s) since AP Psychology at my school is way easier than AP Chemistry. I know that by taking two AP science classes, I’ll definitely struggle a lot. The thing is, I’m thinking of being a pharmacist, dentist, or pursuing some other job in the medical field, so I know that AP science classes would be more beneficial.
If I choose the first option, my senior year classes would be:
AP English Lit
AP Chemistry
AP Gov
AP Calculus
Honors Anatomy
Honors Spanish 4
Gym
If I choose the second option, my senior classes would be:
AP English Lit
AP Biology
AP Gov
AP Calculus
Honors Spanish 4
AP Psychology or Honors Anatomy
Gym
As you can see, the second option is probably much harder, but the only way that I can take AP Biology is if I take both AP Physics and AP Chemistry junior year. I know that I’m going to be using a lot of biology in college, but is it really necessary that I take AP Biology in high school? Or should I just take the safer route and keep my 4.0 gpa? I’m currently ranked #3 in my school of about 400 students. I really don’t want to lose my high ranking (my goal is to graduate in the top 10 of my class).