I am in DESPERATE need of help with regards to my junior schedule. Any insights would be helpful!
Hi, I'm currently a rising junior and am having trouble with my course selection.
Just for some context, these are the APs I took sophomore year (my school didn't offer any in my freshmen year):
- AP Literature and Composition
- AP Government and Politics
- AP Chemistry
These are the classes that my current schedule looks like (based on my requests from the end of my sophomore year):
- AP Lang
- AP U.S. History
- AP Calc AB
- AP Spanish Language
- AP Biology
I'm planning to request some changes to my schedule in the beginning of my junior year so that it'll look something like this:
- AP Lang
- AP U.S. History
- AP Spanish Language
- AP Comparative Government
- AP (to be determined)
- AP Calc AB
(I'm basically replacing AP Bio with AP Comp Gov & another AP Class (tbd)).
I plan to major in the humanities (English, Government/Political Science), which has heavily influenced my course selection (also, my major is largely reflected and in proportion with my
ecs). I'm also aiming for an elite, private college (just in case this carries any weight).
But I have two problems:
1. I've been told that I should take the classes that I'm interested in (so more in alignment with my intended major), BUT I've also been told that I should that classes that range from subject to subject (in other words, taking the core subjects in both the humanities and STEM field). Personally, I see no value in taking classes that I'm genuinely not interested in, but will it boost my college application? I've also did some research and colleges strongly recommend that you take classes that are available and aligned with your interests, so this is probably my biggest issue yet, as I enter into junior year.
2. For the AP that is tbd, I'm debating between AP Psychology or AP World History. Not sure which one I should take, but leaning towards AP World.
Just a quick side note: I'm confident that I can handle six APs, but nevertheless, if anyone could give any feedback or just share your thoughts, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!
The main reason most people recommend you take AP classes that align with your major is and to take AP classes that differ is so that you have options when deciding which APs you want to use for college credit. Most selective universities allow you to use only 3 or 4 AP credits in place of coursework at their institutions. So if you didn't want to take english again in college, you could submit your Literature and Language scores for credit. Additionally, it's good to have scored well in courses that reflect your chosen major (4 or 5 in AP World and APUSH will look better than those scores in AP Chemistry or Biology). I'd recommend taking AP Psychology this year, and take World + Biology next year just given the rigor and the coursework of your other classes. I'm sure you'll be able to handle the load, but it's better not to risk it, especially when your GPA at the end of this year is pretty much what it'll be when you apply to colleges, so don't stretch yourself too thin. Hope this helps!
Maybe do AP Bio as your last slot? That way you can get those credits done in high school and not have to take another bio class in college. Then you can take both psych and world next year (which will be fun for senior year!)
Thanks for your advice! Unfortunately, I don't think it's possible for me to add another class in my junior year, but I'm thinking of taking AP Bio in my senior year.
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