Thanks All.
Based on your input, I will take AP Chem this year and will hold physics honors and AP English Lang for the senior year.
Any additional comments on the junior year elective in terms of rigor?
Junior year is considered as the most important year (especially since UCs don’t receive the senior year grades) and Art/animation classes are not considered as academic courses.
Instead of Art-animation series in 11th and 12th grade, other academic options I am considering are:
PLTW introEng (as junior) — PLTW PrinEng (as senior)
nonAP Psychology (as junior) — Sociology (as senior)
Due to the AP limit of my school, none of these classes are particularly rigorous. But at least PLTW classes may align better with my engineering/CS major targets.
Taking two non-honors classes in junior year (one non-academic Art) may look like a luxury for competitive UCs. That is the worry.
Junior Schedule:
AP Calculus BC
AP Chemistry
AP US History
English III
French IV honors
Art-animation (or PLTW or CP-Psych)
Thanks again for all of your input.