Hi everyone, I was wondering if I could get some tips for 11th grade? I took 3 AP classes this past year and scored well on the tests- 4s and 5. My GPA is a 4.0 unw and 4.97 w and I have 5 AP classes, Physics I, US History, English Language, Environmental and Calculus AB. Will I be able to handle studying for SAT/ACT and keep my GPA up? Any tips would be very helpful
The most important thing is not to sacrifice sleep. Plan on being in your bed, all electronics off or flight mode, 9 hours before wake up time.
If that’s not possible due to too much homework, drop apes and take an easier class instead (you already have AP physics 1 so you don’t need to pad your schedule with a science AP lite.)
So you have a foreign language at level 3?
Have you taken an art class? (required for CA universities, often trips oos applicants.)
I took 3 years of Spanish and am definitely not taking the AP Class and I fulfilled my arts requirement with TV Production in 9th. I live in Florida but hope I can get into Stanford or Rice University as I want to be an engineer (reason for the Calc and Physics classes)
Physics and English Language are easy. Physics is algebra-based, and b/c your in Calculus, it will be easy. Eng Lang is mostly analyzing nonfiction, and there are some writing assignments that are really fun (wait for the argumentative essays, those are the best!).
Have you taken practice tests for the ACT/SAT? If not, do so as soon as possible and figure out which test you are more comfortable with/get a better score on. Start your preparation as soon as possible so that you won’t have to drag out the practice during the school year.
One thing that’d be great is being happy with your SAT/ACT in the 11th grade. That’ll give you more time for your app.
Have you already prepped for PSAT for this October (if you’re trying to make National Merit)? If not, then get hopping on that with what’s left of this summer. That should put you in good shooting range for the real thing. Then schedule both your SAT & ACT in January and plan to use a good chunk of your Thanksgiving and winter break prepping for your Jan tests. Alternatively, you could schedule your SAT in Dec (after Thanksgiving break) and your ACT in Jan (after your winter break). Then based on whichever test you liked/scored higher on, focus extra effort on that one and take it again – possibly in June after AP exams are over – unless you need to take your SAT Subject Tests then.
Thank you all so much for giving me all these great tips! I will certainly use the advice everyone has recommended.
I think you’ll survive this year, but always prioritize your mental and physical health. AP Lang is survivable as long as you’re a decent writer, APUSH is a ton of busywork usually, calc AB shouldn’t be too difficult (depending on the teacher), APES is an easy AP that requires little work, and Physics depends a lot on the teacher.
Like the above poster said, you should schedule out all your tests on a calendar for the next year/ year and a half. It’s super stressful and overwhelming at first but that schedule saved my ass since I had a lot of scheduling conflicts on test days. Given you’re in calc, take Math II early (like November or something) since it’s one less thing to study for.
Also make sure you have contingency plan upon contingency plan- always plan for retakes that you may not need.
Best of luck, and remember to have fun no matter how much work you’re piled under.