I have heard that I need to take AP of all subjects to show colleges that I am a well-rounded student who can succeed in all kinds of classes. I am currently taking AP World and it has been A LOT of work but I have maintained a solid A throughout the year. Next year, I plan on taking AP Language, AP Capstone Seminar, AP Physics 1, and AP Chemistry. Because physics and chemistry are so rigorous, I don’t think I have enough time to add in APUSH as it will take up to 2-3 hours a day to read and study.
Other people tell me to take the classes that I am truly interested in, but I really love history, reading, writing, and math all equally. It is really hard for me to decide if I should drop APUSH or not.
My second option is to keep APUSH and drop AP Physics 1 although I want to pursue a STEM career.
Why two sciences? Put off AP chem until senior year and take APUSH (I’m assuming you are talking about your junior year schedule).
What do you know about the teachers? If a teacher is particularly good, take that class.
@momofsenior1 I was going to take AP Biology and AP Psychology in senior year. I chose AP Chemistry for my junior year because I am currently taking Chemistry, so I don’t want to forget the information before taking ap chem. I was considering taking physics in senior year but its a requirement to take it in 11th grade in my school.
@prodesse the APUSH teachers are really nice and passionate, but they give a lot of work. I haven’t heard anyone complain about their teacher yet, so I guess that is a good sign. For AP Physics, its a 50% chance that I will get a terrible teacher and a 50% chance I’ll get a good teacher (but I heard that both don’t give that much work)
Taking two lab-based science AP courses will be difficult, and generally not advised. I recommend you take a social studies course junior year, whether APUSH or something else…I don’t think AP Capstone counts as a core SS, but you should double check. If you are targeting selective to highly selective schools, many will want 4 years of social studies (and many of the other applicants will have 4 years of SS), even from students who will study STEM.
Lastly, are you taking a foreign language junior year?
@Mwfan1921 Thank you for your advice. What should I do regarding the double science course? I was aiming to become a doctor (like the majority of the other high school students) so I planned to take AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Physics, and AP Psychology in high school. Also, I am not continuing a foreign language because I seriously struggle with in-school language classes for some reason, but I do teach English to fluent Spanish speakers outside of school, which I thought would be a good addition to my application.
UPDATE: sorry if there was a misunderstanding; I will definitely take four years of history but I am considering honors US History instead of APUSH.
I would drop Capstone and take APUSH. Pretty simple decision. Although Capstone is a helpful class I doubt if any admissions will be swayed by it, while APUSH is a commonly taken class for advanced students.
@ProfessorPlum168 Because Capstone is new to my school next year, so I am not really sure how it will go for me. Is there a reason why it is not as impressive- regardless of the fact that it’s not commonly taken as APUSH?
@fluostif - My daughter didn’t take APUSH or AP US Gov (took both Honors) and it didn’t hurt her college prospects. She was leaning toward Pre-Med, Neuroscience BS. She didn’t see the point in expending the energy on busy work in those classes that weren’t relevant to her desired major. Focused more on rounding out her leadership EC’s demonstrating passion in her areas of interest, and SAT prep.
She ended up with 7 AP’s; Calc AB, Chem, Physics, Bio, Lit, Comp, Psych, and a fourth year of Latin (I mention Latin because I do think the colleges she applied to viewed that as a positive; only three students total were in the class). She’s attending University of Southern California for her first choice major.
You don’t necessarily need APUSH, especially if you are going to be a STEM major. However, personally I would put it ahead of Capstone on the priority list.
When you can’t predict a certain admit, you cover your bases. Anecdotes rarely tell the whole story. AP capstone is not a core. Nor is psych.
You’ve “heard” you need AP in all, but have you actually looked at what your possible targets ask for? If you do, that’ll also clear up the idea of only taking what interests you.
I agree with @Groundwork2022 ; you don’t need APUSH in lieu of honors (or CP) USH, particularly since you have an AP history under your belt. That said, as a potential pre-med, you should research the wisdom of doubling up on science considering that most med schools don’t accept AP science credits as fulfilling prereqs. You do need physics in HS, so that’s a given. Also note that AP Capstone locks you in for 2 years (even if the HS lets you out of the second year, it may be viewed by others as giving up), so that might impact what you want to take as a senior. And regardless of how your HS classifies Capstone, colleges will generally nor consider it a core subject. Finally, depending on your target colleges, you might want to rethink abandoning foreign language.
@lookingforward If I get in, my first choice would be UVA. I looked up on their website and they want students to take the most advanced core courses. So, I am guessing that I should take APUSH next year.
It’s possible that you can do some of the APUSH reading this summer. It’s also a great class for improving your writing.
@skieurope Would you recommend me taking regular physics (not ap) and only chemistry with the other ap courses? Because i don’t think i will be taking ap capstone in senior year, I will most likely take your advice. I initially wanted to take it because it will prepare me for college writing&research. However, if it makes me look like I can’t commit to something, I will take it off my list. I’m not against taking Spanish 4 but spanish is incredibly stressful for me right now and I don’t know if I want to add that stress onto my other AP courses because I will kind of “look down” on it as it is not an AP. UVA is known to really care about foreign language and I’m taking a huge risk for not continuing it. In addition, if I do drop AP Physics, I will most likely take AP Stats because I will be enrolling in Pre-Calculus Honors (yeah, i’m pretty behind) and it will help add onto my math credit, especially when physics is math-science based.
Thank you for your feedback.
@fluostif - Are you IS or OOS for UVA?
For IS; course rigor and test scores, are important. Class rank also is something UVA obsesses over. Top 10% is critical. Over 90% overall are top 10%. W&M about 75% are top 10%. Applying EA also helps and not being from NOVA.
If OOS; test scores, test scores, test scores! Class rank hurdle already cleared because OOS tend to have very high test scores. UVA keeps their median test scores up with these OOS applicants.
@jcwjnw99 I am instate and from the NOVA area. Is living in NOVA a disadvantage?
@fluostif - UVA insists that being from NOVA is not a disadvantage. Any UVA acceptance thread from previous years is rife with NOVA applicants disagreeing. I think UVA has to say that.
They’ve been getting into some trouble the last few years for things like hiding their true endowment numbers while raising tuition, favoritism in reviewing applications, etc., so I view their public statements, including NOVA bias, as disingenuous.
Your GPA looks fine. If you’re top 10% and broke 1450/32 on the SAT you’re in pretty good shape (1500/34 is better, obviously).
There’s just a lot of competition in NOVA. Their grade inflation doesn’t help. It gives a false sense of optimism. A lot of NOVA students have GPA’s well over 4.0. Test scores are a better indicator of chances.