At my school the only AP class we are allowed to take in sophomore year is AP World. I talked to my counselor and she said that only 11th and 12th graders take ap psych. But I think that it would be really helpful for me to get into. I’m in two clubs (SCA and debate) and doing two sports (track and field and basketball). I really think that AP psych is an interesting class and a great way to ease myself into ap classes. This would be my schedule if I did AP psych:
Ap Psych
Ap world history
Honors Physics
Pre calc
French 4
Health
English Honors
I am certain I can handle this course load but I’m not sure how to convince my counselor. However I wont talk to her for probably another four months until its time to schedule classes for next year. What should I do?
Wait until you are a junior or senior to take AP Psych. What’s the rush? Aside from being my question, that’s the first thing the GC will say.
Having said that, you won’t be able to convince anyone of anything until you have an academic track record. So if you have a 4.0 at the end of the semester and are at the top of the class, then start strategizing.
Unless there is a precedent at your school, it’s unlikely that the school would make an exception to policy. But even if they do, note that if the course is oversubscribed, they won’t bounce a junior or senior to make room for a sophomore.
like skieurope said, they’re not going to make room for a sophomore over other juniors/seniors. I’d say the circumstances would have to be perfect for your GC to let you in. If you maintain good grades, show responsibility in and outside the classroom, and are absolutely SURE you can handle it, maybe they’ll consider letting you in, but it might be a long shot. I’d say just wait until next year, not worth the hassle.
I took AP Psychology as a sophomore, considering that it was a course for juniors and seniors only. From my experience, I had to get the principal’s approval before my guidance counselor was allowed to put me into the class. Needless to say, AP Psych was manageable because I was interested in it.
I echo what both skieurope and kmarie9 says. It will be a long shot for you since you’ve already talked with your counselor about it. Your best shot is to wait until Sophomore year and try to speak with her again during the first few weeks of school.
It depends alot on the influence parents have in your school system as to whether parents have the power to override course recommendations. With that being said sometimes it takes a person of higher authority such as a principal to approve such a decision. Even then it requires a solid reason. I did it for physics but my kid is a physics junkie. He has been reading engineering books since 10 and watching every MIT physics lecture available online. To him physics is like art or music a fun elective. So it was not to ease into AP’s or to look good to colleges but because he breathes physics.
Here is a reason they won’t make an exception…if your school uses a weighted GPA for class rank then that one AP class could put you at an advantage if you maxed out the number of weighted classes available.
It isn’t like it is a building block for future courses. Like I can see an argument for an AP Calc class for a student who is ahead in math and maybe wants to take some more advanced math or physics courses while still in HS. I see no compelling reason for them to grant this request except that you want them to.
I agree with the others. Sure you can ask but I honestly doubt that your guidance counselor has the desire or even the authority to put you into a class that is reserved for juniors and seniors. I imagine that many students would be able to handle AP Psych as a sophomore but it just isn’t an available option.
Our HS has the same AP policy and I don’t know anyone, including tippy top students, who have taken other than AP World History as a sophomore. And our HS sends lots of students to top tier colleges so the limited number of APs that they take (resulting from our school policy) compared to some other high schools has absolutely no impact on college admissions. What you really need to do is to create an alternate schedule with something replacing your idea of AP Psychology.
Here are some things to consider:
–Saying that taking AP Psych is a way to “ease” yourself into APs is not a valid argument. The guidance counselor will likely counter with “Taking one AP next year is the best way to ease yourself into AP classes”.
–High school is not a race to take the most APs. Taking one additional AP class will do nothing to set you aside from your peers.
–If you want to take the class because you find it interesting then it will still be there when you are a junior and a senior.
–Taking AP Psych as a lone sophomore who pushed his/her way into the class when others had to wait to take it may not be a pleasant experience especially if there are any group/partner projects. You probably would enjoy the class more if taken with your peer group.
– If you are allowed to take AP Psych as a sophomore then the floodgates will likely open and every strong student will also want to take it as a sophomore. Your HS probably doesn’t have enough qualified people to teach extra sections of the class.
–If you are aiming for top tier schools the question you DO want to ask your HS guidance counselor is if you are taking a schedule he/she would consider the most rigorous available at your HS.
I am a freshman & convinced my guidance counselor to let me take AP World as a freshman, a year early - am having no problem at all in the class (in fact I’m almost the top student), and I think it was def the best decision to make. If you just want to take the class early to pad your resume with APs and/or do not have all A’s in your classes this year, then I agree with what the other posters suggest: just wait to take the class, college application-wise as long as you are taking the most rigorous schedule offered to your grade level at your HS it makes no difference to them whether you take it sophomore or junior year. However, if you feel you aren’t being challenged enough, or you’re really interested in Psych and want to base your college application around Psych-based ECs then major in something Psych related (etc):
Of course give the GC a copy of your transcript and standardized testing scores. If, as mine does, your school lets you take the PSAT before sophomore year (either the real one or the new 8th/9th one) and you got a good score on it then give a copy of that in too. Have you taken the ACT or SAT before through a program like DukeTIP or CTY? Even better. (My ACT score was the main reason they let me in the class, lmao.)
Get a teacher you have this year to write you a letter of rec, if you are one of the top students in their class and they like you. At our school the only AP they let freshmen take is Human Geo, and you needed a letter of rec from your history and English teacher to get in, so I just asked those teachers (who liked me thank Gd) for similar letters for AP World. I think it helped.
If the GC still says no then maybe go to the Psych teacher directly and ask? It might annoy them, it might show initiative, idk.
All of this might not work because you’ve already talked to the GC, and as others have said you might need to wait till the beginning of next yr to ask. Again, don’t push the issue too hard because it depends entirely on your specific guidance counselor, it really isn’t that big of a deal, and you don’t want to piss off the person who decides your schedule for the entirety of your high school career. This is just if you have your heart set on it.