I’m so sorry you’re in this dilemma. There are trade-offs in a situation like this, and you’re approaching it well (considering the implications of each option). The fixed “problems” you’re facing are the low number of slots at your school (there were semesters when my kid was taking 6 APs AND two additional classes), the weird link between needing AP research to not “lose” your AP seminar credit, and the mandate that you complete precalc this spring in order to take a physics class that doesn’t even need calc (AP physics 1, unless that’s not offered at your school).
I really feel a frank discussion with GC will help clarify a couple of things:
- How is he/she going to rank your rigor in the application?
- What is “typical” for applicants from your school to the colleges on your list, and is there information about admission/rejection from past years?
I’ll walk back my comment about Spanish (like I said I have an anecdote in which it played a role in admission vs rejection but you’re already 5 years into it and not planning to go into a field for which it’s critical). Can you keep AP lit and take a social studies? Or can your GC “spin” your letter to highlight the fact that past social studies classes for you are actually more credits than taking 1 full-year class per year (if that’s true)? For example my kid already had APUSH, APgov, APcompgov, APEuro, APHumangeo, AP Econ…but BTW she is still in AP world this year.