AP English for Comp Sci @ HYPSM

Pre-College Topics High School Life
1

I’m going into junior year, and right now I am signed up for AP Physics 1, Calculus BC, Comp Sci Principles, APUSH, and AP Lang. I’m doing the summer assignment for AP Lang right now and honestly, if there is this much work involved for the rest of the year, I don’t know how I’m going to be able to do this and the half-dozen other things I plan to do/already doing.

I’m already involved in my school’s math team and somewhat in the debate team. I also do martial arts (black belt), Boy Scouts (Star Scout), piano, saxophone, and a few other things I’m probably forgetting. This year specifically, I am starting Math Honors Society and a programming club in my school.

So far, I have already taken AP Statistics (3) and AP Comp Sci A (5). I am also in the engineering course line in my school, which gives me college credits through PLTW. I know I should be taking AP Lang, but I don’t know how I’ll be able to fit this much work in my schedule. I plan on majoring in computer science with a specialty in artificial intelligence at HYPSM and similar schools. I asked a similar question about APUSH, and I’m still conflicted with that.

I want to take APs to make my schedule look more rigorous, but I’m not sure if I can handle all of this. The teachers in my school are super tough. When I had asked this similar question before, people told me that if I didn’t take APUSH, I should at least take AP Lang/Lit. If I don’t, what other alternatives exist that could somewhat make up for this?

2

Why comp sci at hypsm? Research schools that actually are known for comp sci instead of blindly shooting for perceived prestige.

3

@snowfairy137

It doesn’t really matter what school, but it’s more just if taking AP Lang would have the slightest benefit in my chances of getting into a top CS school. I also plan on applying to Cornell, CMU, and some match schools.

Also, I found out that I can take VHS AP Lang, and the workload is much less. It’s just that I have to self study a lot more, but I feel like I could handle it.

4

Well, idk if AP Lang would help significantly for college admissions, but it is one of those APs that’s useful regardless of your major, because you need to learn how to communicate well through writing to be successful in any field. Honestly I would drop APUSH instead but it’s up to you.

5

I think I’ll keep AP Lang. I talked to my parents and they suggested that I shouldn’t do the VHS option. I am taking APUSH because I plan on getting a humanities teacher recommendation from him. If I don’t need to get a humanities rec, I still have my engineering teacher and math teacher.