Is this a challenging Junior Year schedule?

Pre-College Topics High School Life
1

I understand that “challenging” is a very subjective word, but please hear me out. Thanks for the help!

My current Junior Year (of highschool) schedule is as follows:
-AP Biology
-AP Language and Composition
-Honors Pre-Calculus BC
-Honors Spanish III
-United States History
-Study Hall

While I do not play instruments or partake in sports, I am involved in numerous service-based organizations and frequently volunteer at the hospital. I want to pursue a career in the medical field and am STEM oriented. I was advised to take APUSH instead of regular United States History, but I fear that I will have to give up the bulk of my hospital volunteering time to complete the heavy course load of APUSH… While I enjoy science and math, I am rather impartial towards history.

Does my schedule look challenging enough, or should I take APUSH instead of regular United States History? Would APUSH or more hospital volunteer hours look better for college admissions?

2

Hey Andrea,

This depends on a lot of factors: what classes you took last year and what grades you got in them, what GPA you’re aiming for this year and if you have an idea of what colleges you’ll apply to (any ivy’s)? If you provide that information, I think we’d be better able to answer your inquiry.

Otherwise, my gut-feeling says you should take APUSH, especially since that’s what your teacher advised. I think reaching that benchmark of half of your classes being AP’s looks challenging. Of course, as you mentioned, “challenging” is subjective. Further, you have a study hall period so I feel that should take care of any extra work you have to do that may interfere with your extracurriculars.

I think it’s excellent that you volunteer regularly at the hospital and should keep that up if it’s something you enjoy. Even if you feel APUSH will limit your ability to do that, I feel that’s more a reason to eliminate other distractions. For example, cut down a little on time watching YouTube, hanging out with friends, going on social media, etc. Figure out if there are any distractions and set a plan on how to eliminate them.

Junior year is tough and like most people, you’ll have to learn how to balance school and extracurriculars while remaining focused. Challenging yourself, including in academics, is always a good idea. I don’t think the difference between one regular class and an AP should make too much of a difference, but if it’s really affecting your ability to volunteer, then it’s perfectly normal to have to cut down the volunteer hours a little. Junior year is also typically when students narrow down extracurriculars – refrain from showing up to the meetings of 10 clubs a week when you don’t have an interest in most of them.

Hope this helped, and have fun your junior year!

3

Thanks for the advice!! I appreciate it more than you know! My schedule last year was AP World, Honors Physics, Honors Algebra II, Honors Spanish II, and Honors English II. I received all A’s and a 5 on the AP exam. My current GPA is 4.68 weighted, and a 4.0 unweighted. However, I had absolutely no time to hang out with friends… I didn’t even eat dinner with my family because I could barely spare 15 minutes to shower. I am afraid that things will only get worse with 3 APs, and given that I’m already burned out, I fear that I will tarnish my academic record if I overwhelm myself next year.

4

No problem! It’s my pleasure :slight_smile:

Congrats on the perfect grades and scores! I totally know where you’re coming from and felt the exact same way after my sophomore year, but it honestly doesn’t work that way. Remember, you’re now a year older, smarter and more experienced. If we were talking about taking 1 AP vs 3 AP’s at the beginning of your sophomore year, then we’d have a different case. But now that you’ve taken an AP and have had experience, you’re in a more capable position academically. It’s sort of like building up tolerance. I took 3 IB’s my sophomore year and then 7 my junior year. Yes, junior year was rough but I was a lot smarter and narrowed down my extracurriculars to help.

The way I see it you’re honestly very smart and I think many colleges will open their doors for you. Especially given that your teacher says you’re ready for APUSH, I’d say take it! Also, think about it, if you take APUSH you will have literally taken the most challenging course load possible. You can’t control Spanish and Math because they’re level-based, but if US History and APUSH have the same course prerequisite, then you might as well opt for the latter. Whether you have the most challenging course load is based on one class, which you’re ready for.

Now, of course, it still will be very difficult. In order to breathe and have some free time, you’ll need to take other steps as well. Figure out better, and more efficient, study habits. For example, in sophomore year, I’d do every reading intricately; in junior year, however, I learned that it’s sometimes okay to skim and make tradeoffs, especially when certain assignments are not graded. Learn to memorize concepts faster by using flashcards, extemporize English presentations instead of memorizing word-for-word, etc. There are always tactics you can take and distractions/ useless activities you can eliminate to have more breathing time.

Lastly, you’re not burned out. Don’t say that. You’re way too young to feel that way and I think you feel that way because you just felt overwhelmed with work last year. Use tips I explained in the previous paragraph, reach out to teachers, or you can even DM me if you have questions to improve study habits. You are very smart and are going to do amazingly! You’re literally a perfect student so far – you’re more than ready.

5

Thank you very much for the kind words! You are completely right when you say that one class separates me from the most challenging course load possible. I have undoubtedly been persuaded to take APUSH! Thanks!

6

Glad to hear it! You’re absolutely welcome!