Will my schedule be too big of a jump?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

First, sorry if this is posted to the wrong board. I’m new here and unsure if there’s a more appropriate board for this.

Now, I’ll give some context to my situation. I have trouble dealing well with major changes, and middle school didn’t adequately prepare me for high school (I go to a competitive high school in a fairly affluent area). Additionally, I’ve been diagnosed with various disorders such as ADHD (PI), Generalized Anxiety Disorder, etc.

My freshman year of high school was rough, to say the least. I struggled a lot with depression and my other problems. I was initially slated to take two honors classes that year, Physics Honors (my school has us take physics first) and Algebra II Honors, though I ended up dropping physics early in the semester because I didn’t think I was up to the challenge. Still, I ended freshman year with a 3.3 weighted GPA, and I actually got a mid-70 in Algebra and a flat 80 in Physics, with my other grades being high B’s or low A’s.

Currently, I’m a sophomore, and I’m doing much better this year as a result of major changes to my study habits/time management, professional help/medication, and mindset. So far, I’ve received solid A’s in all my classes (94-99 range). Right now, my only honors is Honors Chemistry (91% at the moment), as my grades from freshman year weren’t good enough to get me placed into more advanced classes. Now that I’m able to apply effort to school, I don’t feel challenged by my current schedule. Additionally, my grades are actually good enough to let me place into more honors and AP classes next year.

Here’s my dilemma. I know that junior year is a pivotal and turbulent year in high school, due it being the last full year colleges see, standardized testing, etc. I recently solidified my course selections for junior year, and I’m going to be taking two honors (English and Biology) in addition to two APs (Chemistry and Calculus AB). My question is: is this too much of a jump to take on? For what it’s worth, I plan to do this in addition to clubs and sports (I’m a competitive weightlifter which eats up a lot of my time during the week, and I also plan to do Model UN and similar clubs).

2

It is a big jump, but a lot of kids do it. I say give it a try, but familiarize yourself with your high school’s policies, and mark your calendar with the last day to drop or change classes in case it doesn’t work out.

I think doubling up on science junior year could be problematic. Save one for senior year. Do you have a social studies? A foreign language?

Consider also the type and requirements of colleges to which you want to apply and any majors of interest to you. If a class is related to your major, that might be the class you’d want to take at honors or AP level and make sure you do well in it. If a college “suggests” four years of foreign language, you can bet the most competitive applicants are going to have four years.

3

Hi, thanks for taking the time to reply. For most of my classes, we have until the end of the first semester (so mid-January) to drop a class, so I’m not too worried about that.

I’m also going to be taking U.S History 2 and Spanish 4 next year, I just had an extra slot in my schedule (normally, electives like computer science go there, but most electives didn’t interest me.) I do plan to save a science for senior; I’d be running AP chem and Honors Bio concurrently junior year, and I plan to save AP Bio for senior.

As for colleges/majors, I plan to major in microbiology or a related field (honestly, I’m not sure which colleges I have a shot at- I’ll need to look into that further). I don’t think things like foreign languages or humanities will be too relevant to me, so I’m placing more emphasis on STEM classes.

4

I would not take two lab sciences at once. Take Honors Bio this year and an AP science next year.
Calc AB is fine if you are doing well in pre-calc.

5

Right now, I’m getting a 96 in CP Precalc. Do you think I’ll be well-prepared for AP Calc AB? I’m just nervous since Algebra 2 Honors destroyed me last year (though that class is known to be difficult at my school, particularly for freshmen).

I’ve been warned about doubling science, but I really enjoy Bio, and I’m studying for it ahead of time via Khan Academy and textbooks. Is it doable?

6

It is doable until it’s not. That’s part of the problem. You can be managing things just fine until there is an unexpected convergence of tests, homework, projects, etc. Something gives and you spend the rest of the semester trying to recover from a bad grade or two.

7

@Zodiiak

Regular kids take Alg 1 freshman year.
Honors kids take Geometry as a freshman.
You are way ahead to take Alg 2 as a freshman.
So it is not surprising it was hard

8

Either take AP Chem jr year and save Bio for senior year, or take Bio jr year and AP Chem senior year.
You’ll need to catch up on precalculus - ask your math teacher how you can prepare for AP Calc.