High school schedule plan, suggestions?

Pre-College Topics High School Life
1

Hello all! I am currently in 8th grade, and we are choosing our classes for high school. I have read the class descriptions on our school’s planning guide and have created a high school plan that I may or may not follow. Please give me some suggestions, tips, or feedback (I think they are practically the same thing… hehehehehehe). Please also note that I am allowed to take one class every summer, and eight periods of classes (including PE and such) during the normal school year.

Sorry in advance for the super long post, if you don’t want to read all of it you can just pick and choose the areas you want to read and provide feedback on.

Summer School before 9th grade:
Biologhy H: this is mostly because I want to pursue something science-related in the future, so if I take this right now, I will be able to take more science classes later on, and take Chemistry H during freshmen year

9th grade: as of now, there are no APs available to 9th graders, and I have been recommended by my teachers for all honors classes
Chemistry H
Algebra 2 H
Phys Ed 9: all year long and mandatory, takes up an entire class of time, unfortunately
Global Studies 1 H
English 1 H
Spanish 2 H: I’m taking Spanish 2 because that is the one that is directly after completing middle school Spanish
9th Grade Art H: I know that I am a skilled artist, but the question here lies between this class, or Communication Design. I’m having a lot of trouble deciding, and my current choice is that I will take both of them freshmen year and choose the one I like best to continue along that track, since both 9th Grade Art H and Communication Design H have separate tracks. This class is all physical art like painting, sketching, drawing, etc.
Communication Design 1 H and 2 H (two semesters): the title for this class doesn’t say much, but it’s a digital art class, and we’ll be using Photoshop and the likes to create digital art instead of actual, physical art. DeviantArt is mostly digital art if you would like to see what digital art looks like. This would be more useful if I want to pursue art as a career, or use it for my career.

Summer School before 10th grade:
Global Studies 2 H: It has been suggested to me by many upperclassmen that I should take this class for summer school so that I can take APUSH during sophomore year, instead of junior year, so I can lighten junior year’s courseload. This also leaves some room for me to take AP Economics senior year.

10th grade: the two APs I am taking are only available to me in 10th grade, because I took summer school. If I did not do summer school, I would not be taking APs in 10th grade. I think this is a good thing though, because then I don’t have to pile up all the APs I’m interested in taking, junior and senior year.
APUSH
Math Analysis and Trigonometry: also known as MATrig in my school, it is our school’s equivalent to Pre-Calculus
Phys Ed 10
English 2 H
Spanish 3 H
AP Physics 1: I’m debating about the order I should complete my sciences, because I wish to do AP Bio, AP Chem, and maybe AP Enviro, since I am interested in those topics. I don’t know if I should leave AP Physics for senior year so I’m not skipping a year of bio-science classes and then jumping straight into AP Bio or AP Chem. I also don’t know whether or not I should do AP Physics 1 or AP Physics C: Mechanics.
Health: this is a mandatory class, and I’m not taking it during summer school because A) an upperclassmen calculated the amount of time we would be spending in Health in summer school vs the amount of time we would spend in it during the normal school year, and you actually spend less time in it during the normal school year than you would in summer school, and B) because of APUSH
Art 1 H or Comm Design 3 H

No summer school after this because they have a very limited summer school class selection, and none of them interest me.

11th Grade:
AP Biology: read what it says under AP Physics 1 in sophomore year
AP Calculus BC: I will decide later if I want to do AB or BC, but I will probably do BC
Phys Ed 11
AP English Lang and Comp: I don’t know if I want to do AP or honors level, but I do consider myself decent in writing, as of now.
Spanish 4 H
AP US Gov and Politics: this is a senior year course, but I’m taking it now because I want to take AP Economics, senior year
Art 2 H or Comm Design 4/5 H
Study Hall or AP Psych or AP Physics C: M or AP Enviro: it all depends on what changes, if I need the study hall, and if my interests have evolved

12th Grade:
AP Chemistry: read what it says under AP Physics 1 in sophomore year
Senior Seminar in Mathematics - Post AP Calculus BC H
Phys Ed 12
AP Economics: something that I am interested in!!!
Heroes and Monsters: Classic British Literature H: instead of taking AP Lit, which I am not interested in at all, I’m taking this to satisfy my english credits, and it sure does sound fun :slight_smile:
AP Spanish Language
Art 3 H or Comm Design 4/5 H: Communication Design 4 and 5 are the same class, and you just take it two years in a row
Study Hall or AP Psych or AP Physics C: M or AP Enviro: it all depends on what changes, if I need the study hall, and if my interests have evolved

2

As a sophomore, I strongly recommend taking biology freshman year. Taking biology over the summer is not the same and you will miss out on a lot of valuable class time. Have you taken Algebra I yet before jumping into Algebra II? Other than that, your freshman year schedule looks fine. Just make you sure can handle the honors workload. Do not plan out your schedules for sophomore, junior, and senior year right now- just worry about freshman year. It is too far ahead of time and your interests might change by then. Same with the AP classes. See how you do next year and go from there.

3

@kellylovestoread Thank you for your feedback! I will consider your suggestions when I am choosing my classes. Yes, I have taken Algebra 1. My school’s math track goes like this: Math 6–> Pre-Algebra --> Algebra 1 --> Geometry --> Algebra 2 --> MATrig (Pre-Calc) --> Calculus, and I am currently taking Geometry. I am pretty sure I can handle the workload, but I do really appreciate your reply! Thank you and have a nice day, and Happy Chinese New Year! :slight_smile:

4

Bump, it would be nice if more people could reply, but nobody is obliged to.

5

Your plan looks well thought out! Don’t forget to allow some room for changing interests and requirements, as well as giving yourself leeway junior and senior year for college visits and applications.

9th grade looks good, so long as you can handle all the Honors classes (if you were recommended, I’m going to assume you can). As for art, go with your gut. Ask yourself both which one you will enjoy more and which one will be more ‘useful’ for lack of better word. Since it’s freshman year, I would go with which one you’ll enjoy more. The crunch can come later.

Don’t leave too many gaps between similar science classes. For example, don’t wait too long after taking Honors Bio to take AP bio. Memory recall will really help you. I’m thinking maybe take AP physics senior year instead of sophomore year?

Also, careful with those summer classes. That’s awesome your school does that and I’m sure it will help you in the long run, but like another user said, be sure your learning isn’t adversely affected by time spent outside of the classroom.

Your four years of language looks great. In the evolution of your schedule over the coming years, definitely take as much of your language as you can (3-4 years). Colleges like to see consistency.

Tough but great schedule! Keep up the rigorous classes. Leave time for extracurricular activities. Don’t be afraid to experiment, and take a study hall if you need it. Do as much as you can as well as you can; good luck!!

6

Also, plan ahead. Your first AP classes you take will be telling as to if you can handle it. Be prepared for changes as you grow as a student.

7

I’m going to be focusing on freshman year since that’s what I completed. Your schedule looks great in my opinion. I’m taking honors chemistry currently and I think it’s manageable but just make sure you really understand the biology if you take over the summer. I took honors biology in eighth grade but I feel like I skimmed over some parts without fully understanding and proceeded to forget a good portion of it (not good), so reviewing it even while taking chemistry has helped me understand it better. Taking classes over the summer often aren’t as in depth, but if your school offers honors classes over the summer, I assume that they’re serious classes. As for art, I’ve had numerous classmates mention disliking it, but of course it really depends on the teacher and your personal preference. You should be able to manage your honors classes as long as you’re motivated, as I’m sure that you are since you’ve been recommended for them. And personally, I think that taking an honors social studies instead of AP (I know you said your school doesn’t offer AP) is a good idea freshman year. My school didn’t have the honors option for SS so I opted out of social studies for this year. I also agree with another commenter that you might not want to take AP physics sophomore year. Is there a physics/honors physics option that you could take first (I might just be overlooking it)?

8

@indyluminori I completely forgot about college apps, standardized tests, and college visits… but you are right, I really do need to have a flexible plan so after I know what kind of student I am and develop my interests further, I have room for change. Thank you for your input, and I will probably switch AP Physics to senior year.

@ HS student (this won’t link) Thank you for replying! And I really enjoy art, even if the teacher doesn’t really teach, I still like to create art.

For biology, I think I have a pretty solid foundation for it, since I’ve watched a lot of Biology videos on Khan Academy, and many of my Science Olympiad events are Biology-related, however I have no idea what it will be like. The summer school is six weeks in the summer, four hours a day, five days a week. I’ve heard from upperclassmen that the work is pretty intense, but I truly believe I can handle it, and still be able to use the knowledge I’ve gained from summer biology and apply it to Chem H when I take it freshmen year.

Overall, thank you both very much for the advice, and have a nice day!

9

I’d recommend taking AP physics 1 in 10th grade and AP chemistry junior year, or, if you want to continue the sequence, AP chemistry sophomore year and AP physics 1 junior year, then whatever science or even double science for senior year.
Keep a study hall senior year, it’ll help with college applications. College apps are like having an extra class.
Everything else looks well-planned.
Just remain flexible - follow your plans but change what needs to be changed, as you seem ready to do.

10

Don’t be mad at phys ED class, they can be very fun and allows you to get a break from books and whatnot. So I see H bio and Chen by end of freshman year. So I suggest AP Bio>AP Chem then AP physics. Definitely physics senior year because it doesn’t tie in as much with your honors classes for memory.

11

@MYOS1634 @JadeRock Thank you both for replying. I’ve decided to do my science courses in this sequence: Biology H --> Chemistry H --> AP Bio --> AP Chem --> AP Physics (1 or C)

I have another question about my courses. When the high school counselors came to give the 8th graders and their parents a presentation on course selection, they said that four honors classes if very rigorous. Considering this, would my freshmen schedule be a bit too much? I’ve always considered myself a diligent student, even if I suffer from procrastination, but will I be able to pull off seven honors classes freshmen year on top of a rigorous extracurricular?

12

My freshman schedule had 3 honors 2 reg courses. The honors were physical science world history and English 1. GPA was around 3.5
Somphmore year was 2 honors and 4 Dual enrollment courses (Community college 2 per semester) 3.8 GPA
Jr year had 2 honors 1 regular HS and 5 Dual enrollment courses( 2 and 3 on the semesters) 3.8 GPA
senior has 2 honors 1 regular in HS and 4 Dual enrollment courses. Current 4.0

Point is while my schedule did get harder due to college level courses( and I’m thinking AP would be similar.) I know Dual enrollment and AP aren’t the exact same but I have no AP to go off of. I will admit that my work ethic went way up after freshman year because I wanted to have a higher gpa and I feel that was due to having college level work. I’m not saying 4 sounds easy but it does sound manageable.
I guess my school didn’t have algebra 1 H because I was placed into regular but honors other subjects. Not sure why.
Are you taking both art classes or one?

13

The issue is that 'very rigorous ’ is what you want for a 4-year college (well, what they want), but top colleges want 'most rigorous ’ which requires more than 'very rigorous '. So it depends whether you’re aiming for top 75 universities /lacs /honors programs, or not.

14

Looks like a good plan. The main thing that matters now is freshman year, though, and that the path you choose keeps your options open, both for what you study in HS and for where you apply to college. You have done that. Pay attention to what you’re liking along the way. You may find that humanities or social science classes excite you more than science and math. Or vice versa. This is important! Stay tuned in.

If you can, use your summers to try something new or something you can’t do during the school year. The next 4 years are really important, not just in terms of school but in terms of who you are or want to be. Make the most of them!

15

Does your school require 4 years of Phys Ed? I was just wondering, because at my school we have to take only one year of PE and I got that done during the summer (in one month!! three hours a day!!). Other than that your schedule looks awesome! Just make sure you can handle all of the work that comes with it. :slight_smile:

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@nerdy01 Yes, my school requires four years of Phys Ed, and the workload is what I’m worried about :frowning:

@MYOS1634 I am aiming for top colleges, so does that mean I should try to keep the most rigorous schedule as possible? If so, does that mean I have to take AP when it’s offered. For example for senior year, I felt that the Heroes and Monsters H class would be fun, and decided to take that instead of AP Lit, would something like that deter my chances at an ivy because it’s not “most rigorous”? I know that one AP won’t be the difference between acceptance and rejection, but I am a bit confused on the “most rigorous” and “very rigorous” wording.

@JadeRock I am taking both art classes. I’m not sure how the art classes can be honors, but my school labels them as such. I’m assuming that you have to complete extra art assignments or whatnot.

In case anybody is confused about my schedule, this is a link to what it looks like: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1nXgEdoFbHI/WJed4UQuSuI/AAAAAAAAGPk/GJCO6BQFQuAX-tywSw31G6IX_-hbEEO8ACL0B/h662/Schedule.PNG
We have eight sets, which means we have eight open slots for classes. For example: set 1 someone has biology, set 2 someone has art, etc. and this rotates throughout the four day rotation.

I should also mention that the counselors said that there was 30-45 minutes of homework per night per honors class.

17

yes, you’d need the “most rigorous” designation. It typically means a TOTAL of 6-8 AP’s over your high school career, and most core classes as honors (unless AP). So, if Heroes and Monsters sounds cool to you, by all means, take it - colleges love it when a student takes a class because they love it, not because they have to, and it’s good for you too :).
Those are mere examples of differences, THIS WOULD VARY ACCORDING TO YOUR HIGH SCHOOL:
“Very rigorous” typically means “mostly honors, some APs”, “most rigorous” means “almost all honors and AP”.
“Very rigorous” would mean 4 honors classes freshman and sophomore year, 3 honors and 1 or 2 AP junior/senior year (so, 14 honors and 1-3 AP). “Most rigorous” could be 5-6 Honors freshman year, 4 honors and 1-2 Ap sophomore year, 2-3 Honors and 2, 3 or 4 AP’s junior/senior year (so, 14-15 honors and 6-8 APs), with 5 core courses each year.
“very rigorous” would be sufficient for your state’s flagship, but probably not for Top 50 universities/LACs or honors colleges.

18

@MYOS1634 Thank you! So looking at my schedule, would you consider it most rigorous?

19

Yes, it absolutely is most rigorous every year.
Again, check with you high school and adapt depending on how long you need for homework, etc.

20

As for your workload concern, I have to admit it probably will be an intense workload. Speaking from experience, H Spanish 2 is really manageable, easier than Spanish 1 in my case (Spanish 1 was my eighth grade Spanish). H English has been stressful for me due to the essays. For the most part, it’s not too hard but there are a few research projects/essays that can get pretty stressful with the pressure at the honors level. Of course, there are bound to be research projects in any English class; for me, it was the pressure that made it difficult and I’d say go for it; you’ll do well in it. I can’t speak for global studies since my school doesn’t offer that. Honors chemistry is math-heavy but manageable. I’d say your hardest class would be H Algebra 2. I have friends taking that class, and they have homework every night and say the quizzes are difficult. Electives like art and music aren’t honors for me though lol.
In general, I’d say the high school workload is much greater than the junior high workload. I end up spending at least 4 hours on homework some nights, and that’s with 3 honors classes (technically, but my biomed class is the rigor of an honors class even though it isn’t weighted) and we don’t have a rotation schedule. I don’t think the 30-45 minutes per night estimate is very accurate unfortunately. I might add that your rotation schedule could possibly make it more manageable. You’ll do fine! Good luck!