Should I take more AP classes or take a course I am passionate about and self study?

Buki777
Thu, 21 May 2020 08:15:58 +0000

I have read on similar threads that colleges discourage self-studying for AP classes, but I wanted to get some insight on my current situation.

I am currently a sophomore, climbing junior, and have so far taken 4 AP courses. These are the only AP courses allowed for 9th-10th graders to take. In 9th grade we were only allowed to take 1 (AP HUG) and this year we were only allowed to take 3 (AP Psych, AP Bio, and AP Seminar). I got a 4 on my AP HUG test and feel very confident about my current classes’ scores.

My school only allows you to take 6 two-semester classes a year. I have a strong passion for medicine and helping people, so I would like to take anatomy and physiology next year along with 5 APs. Senior year I am planning to take med careers (a class where you shadow doctors at the end of each day) and 5 other APs.

Currently, these are my plans for junior and senior year:
Junior: AP Research, AP Calculus BC, AP English Lang, AP Spanish, AP US History, and anatomy and physiology.
Senior: AP Stats, AP US Gov, AP English Lit, AP Chem, AP World history, and med careers.

The problem with this is that I also would like to take AP physics, for both personal interest and college applications. I am thinking about self studying AP Physics 1 and 2 with the help of a teacher junior and senior year respectively. I was wondering if taking these 2 tests and getting a 4 or 5 on both would enhance my application, or if it would have no effect. I really do not want to replace the medical classes I want to take with AP Physics, but would this make me more desirable? Is there maybe somewhere I can take the class online to get a grade for it on my transcript?

For extra information, I volunteer at a hospital and will next year be the president of our FCCLA club, and have won nationals for service projects in that club. Next year I plan to do my service project at a hospital (haven’t gotten all the details yet), so these also show my passion for the medical field. I also get straight As, a 4.0 current unweighted GPA and a 4.67 weighted GPA. I don’t participate in a sport, but I am considering it. I also work at Starbucks, if that’s anything extra, haha.

My dream colleges are UCLA or Stanford. What would be my best plan of action here to get into these colleges?

(P.S. I have talked to my parents, my school counselor, a personal counselor, and all my future AP teachers about coursework, accommodations, and stress. Please do not tell me not that my course load is too hard.)

Thanks in advance!