I recently got my senior year schedule and it looks like this:
AP United States History
AP Environmental Science
AP Calc AB
AP Human Geography
AP Computer Science A
AP English Lit
Chemistry II Honors
Health
I’m worried since I know first semester senior year will be hectic with college applications and all…does this seem like too much? I’m thinking about dropping Human Geo and replacing it with a study hall…I still want to have a rigorous enough schedule for my reach school (Duke) but I don’t want to tackle something I might not be able to handle. Thoughts?
Yes it does, IMO. At the very least, APHG should be replaced; Duke does not even grant AP credit for it.
AP human geo is one of the less rigorous AP classes at my kid’s high school. Duke is a tough school so I would think most of the applicants will have a demanding schedule much like what you are planning. If you think you can do well in all of those classes, go for it.
Hopefully, there will also be extra curriculars that you be juggling in the fall as well.
I have quite a few extra curriculars I’ll be dealing with in the fall, along with filling out apps…and that’s exactly my concern. If I were to dedicate my sole attention to my classes I’m sure I’d do fine, but I’m struggling with the idea of writing decent college essays while handling all that homework.
Duke received 32K applications. Roughly 21K students take 6+ AP exams in a given year, and it’s unlikely that they are all seniors. So I think most applicants do not have the crazy schedule proposed here.
Really, you should talk to your GC. If taking 5 (or even 4) AP classes will still result in him/her checking the “most demanding” schedule box on the Secondary School Report, then IMO 6 AP’s is overkill based on the amount of time the college applications will take. FWIW, my senior schedule had 2 AP classes and 2 post-AP classes, and I did quite well in the admissions game. YMMV.
If you think you can handle them, then go for it. You won’t be the first kid to take that many AP’s, and if you do well at them, all the better.
D took 8 APs senior year, and she is headed to Stanford.
Her GC and some of her teachers advised against it, but challenging herself with the most demanding courses available, and getting straight A+ 's, is a part of who D is. And she still had 200+ hours community service and her other EC’s.
This is a lot of work, but if you have exceptional abilities and feel you do best when you are challenged the most, then go for it.
Do not feel shame if you decide to take fewer - but don’t drop one of these just because someone else thinks you cannot handle it. Whatever you decide will ultimately be right for you.
I have been told that adcoms do notice when someone has a full slate of AP’s and still manages a very very top GPA.
Definitely if you can handle them, go for it! But it’s not worth it if you get D’s and C’s
AP Env. Science and AP Human Geo. are both known to be slightly easier APs. If you’re pushing to go to a top 20 Univ. and think that you can maintain good grades, go for it; however, if you’re planning on attending a state school, you shouldn’t waste your time.
I’d ease up for precisely the application time requirement you mention. Assuming you’ll be applying to several schools, they take a lot of time. Besides the base application essays, there can be extra essays for learning communities, special programs, honors programs and of course scholarship applications. They take up twice as much time as you’d suspect.
The college essay can be done before the school year starts, easily, as can most of the common app and many supplemental essays. That’s what I did, and had GC/teachers look them over either at the end of summer or the first few days of school, before your classmates have even started.
@novafan1225 - I agree the common app essay can be done largely over the summer. But, many schools have other essays either for their application and/or honors, direct admit programs, other special programs, learning communities, etc. (as I mentioned above). Maybe you only had the one, but I don’t believe that is normal especially if you are applying to several universities. Each student’s requirements are going to vary based on where they apply. My son had applications in each of these areas this past year.
You need to be able to breathe and to be well rounded. Unless you have a particular interest in APES or APHG, I would consider passing on both. Ask your GC and your parents for their input, of course.
I would say take it if you like challenges, but not for admission. There are other ways you can impress colleges, and you need to have enough motivation to not slack off or anything. Sometimes, college admission (even for dream colleges) seems tiny in the face of humongous stress. Good luck 
take only 1 science class - make a choice between ES or Honors Chem.
drop geography.
dropping non essential classes will give you
time for your other important job- applying to colleges!
I need ES, USH and Eng IV in order to graduate so I figured I’d take the AP version of those. With HG, I would’ve taken all the AP’s my school offers… (which is only 10)
In all honesty, I’m not that interested in HG but registered hoping it would add rigor to my schedule, I’m much more of a science person. Considering some of these replies I think I’m going to talk to my GC and see if she’ll still mark my schedule as most rigorous without it. I think I’ll still be challenging myself with 5 AP’s, since the AP I’m dropping is much less challenging than it is time consuming. I might sign up for a second semester Dual Enrollment class after I’m done with applications to amp up rigor.
Thanks everyone for the helpful insights!
“I think I’ll still be challenging myself with 5 AP’s, since the AP I’m dropping is much less challenging than it is time consuming.”
I totally agree.
I would do this:
AP United States History = mandatory
AP Environmental Science = mandatory
AP Calc AB = keep
AP Human Geography = remove if you absolutely want to keep both CS and Chem, otherwise keep (interesting and not that hard)
AP Computer Science A = choose betwee CS and Chem II
AP English Lit = ask what the conditions are to “drop down” to Honors English if need be; will your GC still check the “most rigorous” if you don’t have AP Lit but do have AP CS? This may be a possible trade off if you want both CS and Chem + APES, as AP Lit is known to require a lot of reading.
Chemistry II Honors = choose between CS and Chem II (unless you drop APES or drop down to English Honors)
Health =mandatory, I presume… can you take it over the summer through FLVS?
@MYOS1634 I’m already taking two online courses this summer and I think the registration deadline passed…I’m not worried about Health since it’s only .5 credits and I’m taking it online. I’ve seriously considered not taking AP lit (I took AP lang this year and barely pulled off an A…) but I’m worried the honors course wouldn’t fit in my schedule, but I’ll look into it. The best way to drop down from AP to honors is by not completing the summer assignment at my school.
I would just drop APHG if you don’t have a huge interest in it and focus on your current courseload + college application/essay writing. I attempted to write my Common App essays and supplements over the summer to plan early and they did help for foundation stuff but I ended up carrying essay writing and personal statement/supplement writing into the fall and winter. Things change and senior year can get crazy; you want to accommodate for that as much as possible.