Is this a challenging Junior Year schedule?

Applying to College
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

Maybe take an AP math instead of Honors? It does some like it is challenging enough though.

3

It depends on what is offered. If your school offers APUSH, you should take it. If your school offers AP Pre-Calc, then you should take it.

What do you mean by “Challenging enough”? Challenging enough for colleges, or for yourself?

4

@ConcernedRabbit
What is AP Pre-Calc?
If you are at the stage of precal in your high school career, honors should be fine. If AP is a need to make your schedule harder, try AP stats.

Overall it’s very subjective based on what school you go to. Ask yourself if you have a challenging schedule compared to the top students at your school.

5

My school doesn’t have AP-Pre-Calc, but I heard someone mention it…I am not aware of it’s existence though. It could have been a misread on my part.

6

My school does not offer AP Pre-Calc, however it does offer APUSH. In regards to the word “challenging”, I meant challenging enough for colleges. My fear stems from the fact that if I take APUSH, I will not be able to get A’s in all my classes due to the time commitment necessary to be successful in each one.

7

I would go for APUSH. I took the class the year the exam was revamped, and to be honest, it wasn’t all that bad. Yes, there was a time commitment for it along with my other classes and activities, but I actually passed with an A. However, I have to point out that was the only AP I took my junior year.

In my opinion, both APUSH and the hospital volunteering hours have their merits. APUSH gives you the opportunity to get you credit, and give your GPA a boost (depending on how the teacher is, how the class is rated, etc). Hospital volunteering gives you a feel for where you might want to take your career.

Don’t think of APUSH as this monstrous class, go at it in a smart way. If you can apply the knowledge you learn in the class, you should be set. Like any another AP, buy the review books. Try their practice problems. Do their reviews. Just because it’s an AP shouldn’t mean you have to make significant changes to your routine. Study for the classes that you know you’ll need time to work on. If need be, cut a few hours off of your hospital volunteering to make sure you’re caught up. If you feel like the work is overbearing, it might not hurt to drop down a level (e.g. switch from AP English Language to Honors English).

One last thing, relax. You’re in high school and you have two years left. Go spend time with friends and do the things that you enjoy doing most. Not everything revolves around school and don’t keep your head buried in a book.

Hope this helped and best of luck! You can do it :slight_smile:

8

Take regular US history BUT take an honors class or ap lite instead of study hall. The study hall would be a bigger red flag than AP or not AP us history.
Possibilities could be AP psychology, AP cs Principles, Ap Human Geography, or even AP stats (you’ll have to take in college so see it as a preview- don’t claim the credit as colleges teach it differently depending on majors),
Note that hours, on their own, are meaningless. What matters is what measurable impact you had. At the very least your supervisor should write you a letter if recommendation describing your duties, increase in responsibilities, and progress as well as your personality and growth, plus any memorable initiative you took. Piling up hours won’t really matter if you can’t show how your being there made a difference not just to you but to others.

9

AP Bio and APUSH require tons of cramming.
APLang may take some time of your for writing essays and reading textbooks.
I’ve never heard of Pre-calc BC although I am familiar with AP Calc BC. I’ve never heard of AP Pre-Calc either.

-AP Biology

-AP Language and Composition
-Honors Pre-Calculus BC
-Honors Spanish III
-United States History
-Study Hall