Is taking 5 courses senior year second semester too little?

Applying to College
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For context, I’m taking 7 courses as of first semester. These courses are AP Euro, AP Calculus BC, AP Psychology, AP Biology, AP Spanish Literature, AP English Literature, and Health (required course, I can’t graduate without it). Two of these courses are semester-long courses. We haven’t signed up for second-semester classes yet but I was thinking of taking second-semester AP Macro since I absolutely loved AP Micro (both of these are semester-long courses at my school). That would make 6 classes for second-semester which is normal for my school. I’m afraid that if I don’t take AP Macro and instead only have 5 classes it’ll look like I’m slacking. My mom insists that it’s fine but I’m not so sure.

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Don’t ask your mom, ask your guidance counselor.

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In addition to what @blossom says - which will help to ensure you meet graduation requirements, check the requirements for the colleges you are applying to and make sure you are hitting the proper amount of years for each area - English, Math, Social Science (econ fits here), language, lab science…and anything else required like a performing arts.

Good luck

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Thank you! Unfortunately my guidance counselor is completely new to my school this year so she gave us a disclaimer that she would not be super useful on certain topics.

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She’s probably not useful on “if our school doesn’t have fourth year French and my college wants to see four years of French what should I do”. But your state’s graduation requirements, and what constitutes a full senior class load for your HS- this she knows.

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If that is what is “normal” for your school…you should consider taking the course.

Who told you this was normal, if your GC doesn’t know?

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We must fill in 6 courses for the year for a “normal” schedule (unless we are doing minimum day which would be my other option, in that case I would leave early).

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Again, talk to your guidance counselor - they will know enough to understand that you are or aren’t able to graduate.

After that, it depends on what your college wants - and what you put on your apps.

But many take less classes senior year including one of my kids.

You need to hit those two things - 1. HS graduation and 2. Ensuring you hit your college minimums

There’s not much more to this.

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I’d start with your guidance counselor – if they can’t advise you with clarity, speak to the head of guidance at the HS.

FWIW if you feel you would enjoy the Econ class, I see no downside.

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I was at a high school for several years (Speech Path) and even I knew what the graduation requirements were for the high school and what the State colleges (UC’s/CSU’s) required for admission.

Your counselor is currently compiling your mid year reports now, and will be compiling your final paperwork during Spring Break, for the registrar, to send to your colleges. The counselors don’t get much sleep and use their weekends to complete their paperwork.

  • My concern is that come Spring, you will have a boatload of stress because of all of the those tests that you will be taking. Will you be taking those tests? (Our son’s Spring sports schedule was impacted by the AP’s.)

PLUS, Springtime is always a depressing time for seniors.

  • You’ll start receiving admissions results.
  • Prom, may or may not affect your mood.
  • You’ll be prepping for graduation practice.
  • You have to confirm sending your transcripts to the colleges.
  • You’ll be cutting your hours at your part-time job.

Your new counselor will have lines of parents with their children about why their children weren’t accepted to XYZ school.

Are you absolutely sure you want to fill that space? You have a heavy work load in addition to Senior “activities”. I know that our counselors advised students to make junior year their “heavy” academic year and to space out their senior year.

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