My high school has rigorous AP courses and teachers that give a lot of homework. College students even come back saying the high school I go to is harder than college itself and has prepared them a lot. However, I’m not sure how many I should take. The only thing I have this year is honors geometry. I’m taking AP Bio next year but I’m not sure about AP Euro because the sophomores say it’s 2-3 hours regularly with homework. Other than AP Bio, that’s the only other AP I can take.
Do colleges value the difficulty of the high school? Are honors classes considered or are they not really worth much?
Talk to your guidance counselor and ask what type of schedule a student needs in order for them to check off the ‘most rigorous’ box on the counselor recommendation. That will give you a idea, but only take that type of coursework if you can achieve high grades in those classes
What science did you take this year? Why not take Honor CHemistry next year if you took Bio this year?
I would not jump to AP Bio as a sophomore in general.
Don’t worry about other people on CC. You need to know how YOUR grades are, what your school’s class sequences are, what APs are offered, etc.
Generally you are not expected to take AP classes as a sophomore…esp. if the only honors class you have taken is Honors Geometry. AP Classes are the equivelent of a college class so no colleges are expecting that as a sophomore. You may be ready for APUSH next year, or maybe Junior year. Don’t hurry.
Look at this and make sure you are taking what you need to.
You should have bio and chem before you tackle AP bio. And you don’t ‘have to’ take AP Bio.
If AP euro is a sophomore class and you’re doing ok in history this year, it may be worth taking. But when they say 2-3 hours do they mean a week or a day? It shouldn’t generate more than about 30-45mn of HW per day (*5) except during finals.
What other classes would you be taking?
What colleges are you aiming for, in terms of matches/targets?
What State do you live in?
@julia99 “My high school has rigorous AP courses… I’m not sure how many I should take.”
Generally, it is better to take fewer AP courses that are more central and do well in them. Generally the one that are the most beneficial are AP Lang, AP Calc (preferably BC), AP Physics C, AP Chem, AP Bio. Try to add PE and study hall to limit your course load. Then really work hard on these. Try to get an A or B and at least a 3 on the exam, but a 4 or 5 is better.
I would avoid AP Euro, unless you love the subject, because it is not central and it is a time eater.
The workload for any AP depends, in part, on the teacher, but 60 minutes, IME, is not unreasonable for a non-lite AP class. 2-3 hours would be excessive, (assuming we are talking a year-long course meeting 5X/week)but we only have the other students POV and we don’t know if that 2-3 hours includes time that they take for breaks with their gaming systems.
Sure, it’s central - history is a core subject. Is it a time eater? Maybe, but so are all the APs you listed. That said, if APEH really requires 2-3 hours for a student with strong time management skills, then I would avoid it.
Yes and no. Colleges will know that one HS has a reputation as being more academically rigorous than another. They will not know that Mrs. Smith’s APEH course is harder than Mrs. Jones’.
6-8 APs or equivilant over the course of 4 years is sufficicient. There may be valid reasons to take more, but not for admissions purposes. Additionally, no college is going to microanalyze the schedule by semester. So while one should try to space APs out as best they can, sometimes HSs limit the number/type of APs for freshman and sophomores.
If OP is interested in majoring social science, colleges would expect to see APUSH and/or AP Euro instead of all those sciences. OP, do you actually like history, or are you more interested in math and science? I wouldn’t recommend tackling a heavy AP as a sophomore if you don’t have an interest in the subject.
@juliaa99
To be clear, I am not suggesting that you take AP Physics C, AP Chem, and AP Bio. It is good to take one of them though.
I you can develop a 4 year plan that includes AP Eng. Lang, AP Calc, and one or two AP science, and 2 or 3 more APs that interest you, that will be a good schedule. Admissions is looking for quality over quantity. They like to see good grades and test scores.
@juliaa99 “Are honors classes considered or are they not really worth much?”
Usually they are helpful because they can bump up your gpa and also prepare you for AP courses.
Colleges look at the rigor of what you take vs what was offered at the school. DD did take AP Bio, but did not take AP spanish. She did however take all the DC classes she could.
I took Bio in middle school and I’m taking chemistry now. My school requires at least one year of a biology class in the school.
I live in New York. I have to choose between regular/honors English, regular/honors algebra 2, AP Bio or some class like forensics or epidemiology, AP Euro or regular Global 2, and I’m taking French.
In terms of the future, I want to take 2-3 APs Junior year and 2-3 APs Senior year. I’m interested in taking APUSH Junior year so I think if I get a good grade in a regular history class, I can get into it. That’s why I’m unsure about APEURO.
@skieurope@Much2learn
I think AP Euro might be too much for me to handle and yes I know it will require a lot of time. I might just settle for one AP and a few honors classes. I’ve heard the AP Euro teacher in my school is tough and gives about 2-3 hours of homework a night.
@lcb56787
I’m interested in more of the math and sciences so I’m thinking about AP Bio.
To take a look at the average number of AP classes the average college freshman took when they were in high school, check out the UCLA Freshman Survey. Click on this link: https://heri.ucla.edu/cirp-freshman-survey/, then click on “2016 Monograph” on the right, and then go to page 29 in the PDF.
Based on what you said, @juliaa99 , here’s what I’d suggest:
Honors English, Honors Algebra 2 (to get a strong foundation in both, as you’ll need that for upper level classes)
Regular Global, AP Bio (unless you’re allowed to take Honors physics or AP Physics 1 - do check with your GC), and French Honors, plus another class of your choice.
Ok in that case you SHOULD take Physics 1. You’ve had bio and chem, the next in the sequence is Physics. All three are part of a “science core” expected by all selective colleges. In addition, AP Physics 1 is easier than AP bio (it’s a more in-depth/fewer topics version of Honors Physics, basically.) Then, junior and senior year, you select one AP science class that fits your college goals best. For students who want to go into Engineering, AP Chem and AP Physics C. For students who want to go into premed, AP Bio and AP Chem. For students who want to go into Humanities/social sciences, APES + another one (not necessarily AP, or AP CS Principles). For students who want to go into a CS program tied to math rather than engineering, AP CS principles and AP CS A + an AP lab science.
