So in my senior year I was thinking about taking AP Psychology as my social science class, and someone one the forums told me to take an additional social science as AP Psych is an “AP Lite”. My question is, I have no room in my schedule for an additional class, and wouldn’t AP Psych still look better than a non AP class?
It depends what the non AP class is. A History honors seminar with a clear title (such as “The US in the Cold War” for instance) would be better, but a random elective wouldn’t.
What’s the rest of your schedule like?
@MYOS1634 for junior and senior year…
Junior
Concert Band
Honors English III
Anatomy and Physiology
Honors Pre-Calculus
Jazz Band
APUSH
Honors Spanish IV
Honors Physics
Senior
Honors English
AP Psychology
Honors Calculus (possibly AP… Let’s see how I do in pre calc)
Jazz Band
Concert Band
AP Chem
AP Chem (double blocked)
The “–” is a free period, I just realized I had one. What type of class should I put in? I would still have a study hall because AP Chem is double block but some days it doesn’t meet.
Take a fun class - an elective, a class youve always wanted to take, or even ap human geog - during that last free period. Or take early release in order to go to a job or internship ( at least for first semester avoid early release with nothing to replace the missing period. )
Free periods due to double blocks don’t count against you so that’s perfect - since ap chem is super intense you’ll be glad to have it.
Oh, I guess I’ll be helpful and tell you guys some of the “higher level” classes left at my school. We have a program that’s like AP but is state college courses being taught at HS, but I’ll just call it AP. we also “normal” APs.
AP English Lit and Lang
AP Stats
AP Calc ABBC
AP Music Theory
AP Bio (double block)
AP Physics 1+2 (semester each, I also think double block)
AP Chem
APES
AP Euro
AP Psych
AP Microeconomics
Thanks!
@MYOS1634 thanks for the help! You posted your message while I was typing mine. So I should fill the free with an elective since AP Chem has a double block study?
Yes 
Sorry, I almost always agree with @MYOS1634 but I disagree with this one.
Personally, I would choose a class in which you have an interest. If you are interested in psych, take AP Psych. If you’re not interested in psych, don’t take AP Psych just because it’s an AP course. On the flip side, unless you have a genuine interest in post-WW2 East/West relations, don’t take a Cold War history class just to impress college admissions (who are unlikely to be impressed anyway).
Assuming one has an interest in psych, AP Psych is not a “random elective.” Yes, it’s not as rigorous as APUSH, but it’s likely to be viewed at least equally to a “fun class.”
Thanks @skieurope ! What do you think I should fill the second study hall with?
Pretty much your choice.
^ sorry for any misunderstanding …
It was my understanding that op would take AP Psych, not as an extra fun class, but as he/her requisite 4th year as a social science. The cold war example was just an example by which I meant "a senior honors seminar ", where, at the high schools that offer it, such a class is typically filled with students who completed their social science requirement for HS and plan to go to a very selective college that requires 4 years. If OP wants to take something more rigorous than an unweighted social science elective but less intense than AP Euro or AP WH, an honors seminar is a good way to go when it’s offered. I also didn’t think that OP was really interested in Psychology but due to the question “wouldn’t AP Psych still look better than a non AP class?” was interested in something that “looked good”, so I wanted to make sure OP knew that the “AP” moniker wasn’t always “the best thing to take”. If OP’s interested in Psychology, then it’s a great class to take
@MYOS1634 sorry for the way I worded my question, it did indeed sound like I was only considering taking AP Psych because of the attached “AP” title, but I am interested in psych. My HS requires 3 credits in social studies, and I took H World History 9th grade, AP Gov this year, and then my projected path.
What, no us history? I thought it wad made mandatory for hs graduation school graduation by Ronald reagan? Check with your counselor whether ap gov can substitute asap . If you’re interested in ap psych, take it, obviously, but first make sure that having zero us history unit won’t trip you! Note that it is mandatory for California’s universities, as well as one unit of art.
@MYOS1634 no I’m taking APUSH, junior year,
Okay :)… so, you’re good because with WH Honors, AP gov, and
So, essentially, your social science would be AP Psych, because you’re interested in Psychology - makes sense. If you weren’t interested that much in AP Psych, you could take AP micro, which I assume is a semester-course, allowing you some time off 2nd semester when you’ll be wanting to kick back and relax as admission decisions arrive.
I’m surprised there hasn’t been more of a push towards AP Stats; it can provide a solid foundation for a lot of other majors and I have yet to find someone who enjoyed Stats 101 in a college setting. If memory serves, the AP Psych test focuses a fair bit on experimental design and data interpretation. I found both the AP economics classes to be extremely easy (I did not take either course, just read the book) and passed both easily.
I’m not a real big fan on doubling up on a subject at the expense of another core subject, and the OP is already planning to take calc as a senior, which in my mind is more important, and s/he was asking specifically about history/social science classes.
Additionally, although this gets us off topic, I’m not a big fan of AP Stats (even though I took the test). Personally, I think a calc based stats class is more valuable, and if one needs to wait until college to have that oppy, then one should wait. YMMV.
All valid points. I never had the luxury of having chemistry as a double-block (I assume that means it takes more than one class period per day?)
double block (or double period) typically means a block/period is set aside for the lab, but lab doesn’t occur every day.
Statistics is good class to take in college, which should appear on your resume where you list the significant classes you took. Most employers like to see that and couldn’t care less that you took one in HS.
Wow, that would have made IB/AP science courses in HS so much easier. I had to do almost all my experiments over the weekend (after walking uphill both ways in the snow with no shoes, of course). I agree about stats, it’s one of those classes that really give you critical thinking skills. You won’t go crazy when you hear that 99% of accidents are caused by xyz.