Thank you, honestly that is a great mindset and it’s a battle against peer pressure to not think that way. And I’m definitely starting to see there are colleges outside of the top 50 as there are many options for math, even if against my parents wishes.
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“Calc 3, AP Lang, AP Bio, AP Physics (2? C?)” would be a very rigorous schedule. You’d need Foreign Language 4 and a social science, which may or may not be an AP. If your HS day has 7 or 8 periods, you can then add an elective “just for fun” (shop, culinary arts, photography …) that will show you are not cookie-cutter.
At many HS, APUSH is one of the most work-intensive Humanities/Social Science courses. With 4 APs already, it may be too much.
On the other hand, if the alternative is a class where no one cares, you’d have to weigh your other choices, especially doubling up in science.
As long as your unweighted is 3.75+ and your weighted capped/uncapped GPA is above 4.0 you’d be okay for a couple UCs or Cal Poly SLO/Pomona, depending on major (though UCLA&UCB are reaches for everyone and you may not be interested in UCR or UCM.)
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Take APUSH. Mine got a B in APUSH and APGOV. All other grades were As, 10 AP classes total. She got into some very competitive schools.
Rather than suspecting your mom’s rationale, I would point blank ask: What are your concerns about me taking APUSH?
Maybe you’re right, and she’s concerned you’ll get a “B.” Maybe she’s worried about you burning yourself out with too heavy of a workload (and if not during junior year, then by the end of senior year…I’ve heard many a story of people who did everything necessary to get into a Top X school and then found that they were just exhausted and needed a break). Maybe she has heard from parents of older students about how the workload junior year has caused a lot of mental health issues for students, and she doesn’t want that for you. Maybe she’s observed that you seem happier when you’re spending more time on activities and not just schoolwork. Maybe it’s something else entirely.
Until you know what her concern is, I don’t think it’s worth coming up with all sorts of reasons why you should take APUSH. I would just listen, ask any questions or talk with her, and then sit and reflect on what she said. If, after doing that, you still feel like APUSH is the right path, then I think she may be more amenable to hearing your views since you were open to hearing hers.
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How do you like proofs, vs solving problems? A math major is typically anywhere from mostly to almost entirely proof-based, FYI