for 11th grade i’m taking
AP Lang
AP US History
AP Calc
AP Stats
AP Bio
IB Art HL 1 or IB Environ
Spanish 3
Right now I’m only taking AP Chem, AP Euro, and AP Psych for weighted classes. Which of these classes do you think are the hardest?
This schedule is insane. 4 Aps is the recommended limit (and for top colleges like HYPSM, the recommended total over 4 years is 4-8.) Remove AP Stats which is just a filler (and adcoms will know that). IB Art will be better tha IB Environ since you already have AP Bio. APUSH, AP Calc, and AP Bio are likely the hardest, but AP Lang is a lot of work and any IB HL class is extremely rigorous. Instead of AP Stats, take a fun class like home economics or yearbook or choir (it’ll help you relax and will help you stand out).
Only you know what you can handle and how hard the classes are pertaining to your school. Junior year is the most important in terms of colleges, and ‘fun classes’ most likely will not help you to stand out. However, they don’t want to see bad grades either; and that schedule seems very rigorous. How are you doing in your three AP classes now? If they are a breeze, you may be able to tackle that schedule; if they are not, however, and you feel challenged and overwhelmed, maybe only take 3 or 4 APs and the rest keep honors or gifted.
And despite what the poster above said, the is no recommended limit for APs; you can take how many APs you want and it will not hurt you (unless you are taking them just to pad your resume).
… well, “fun classes” in a super rigorous schedule indicate that the student isn’t just applying the “everything but the kitchen sink” strategy to Aps, which isn’t very appreciated, and gives the applicant a chance to have a profile (ie., music, art, etc.)
No, taking more than 8 APs total will not hurt you, it’s just the threshold for the law of diminishing returns for college admissions.
Correct, but it also will not help you. As @MYOS1634 said, beyond ~8, there is a law of diminishing returns, and the adcoms will at that point be looking at other parts of your application to assess whether you are a viable candidate for admission.
Calc AB or BC
AP calculus is definably the hardest
Drop at least one AP, preferably two (whichever are hardest at your school). I only took two APs junior year (7 total in hs) BUT put my heart and soul into activities outside of school–water polo, tutoring, etc. Already into WashU, Michigan, and deferred from Stanford. @skieurope yes, LODM
If you’re considering dropping one of the classes, drop AP Stats. It is a very useful course, however, you will be able to take statistics in college. Also, most people take it before AP Calculus anyways. Other than that, your schedule looks fine to me. You just need to be dedicated and determined.
Wow! Thank you for all the replies! Right now my schedule is
AP Euro
AP Chem
AP Psych
Honors English II
Ceramics
Spanish II
Advanced Pre Calc
I know this doesn’t compare to my junior year schedule but at my school AP Euro is considered the class with the most work and AP Chem is considered the hardest class. And I have A’s in all of them. The problem is that all the top students in my grade are taking the same rigor as my junior year schedule and I don’t want to fall behind. I mean, I don’t care if i’m not valedictorian or not but I don’t want my rank to go way down.
@sweeetea The fact that you can get As with that kind of schedule is awesome! Also, something I’ve learned: don’t take classes just to match up with others. Take the classes that are right for you and succeed in them, and you’ll eventually end up ahead of the people just taking them for the class rank.