Which looks better as an extra class: Environmental Science or English 12 Honors

Applying to College
1

I am going to take AP Physics and AP Eng Lit senior year so this will just be an extra class.

I am having a hard time on picking. Which one looks better to college admissions or does it not make a difference? Keep in mind, I DO NOT get any weighted credit into my GPA for honors courses. I hear both courses are same in rigor despite environmental science just being regular level. I took Composition at a university in the summer(right now) so I have 1 more years worth of English classes than I do with science courses.

Here is my senior year schedule

First Semester

AP Physics Algebra Based
AP Government
AP Eng Lit & Comp
Environment Science OR Honors English 12
Spanish 3
(College) Calculus 1— I take this at a university for dual-enrollment at

Second Semester

AP Physics Algebra Based
AP Eng Lit & Comp
Environmental Science OR Honors English 12
Spanish 3
(College) Calculus 2— I take this at university for dual-enrollment
(College) Computer Science— I take this at a university for dual-enrollment

2

I always advocate for learning new things – my vote is Enviro since you’re already taking/have taken high levels of English.

3

Unless one of these fits better into a strong application theme you are trying to build (which I do strongly recommend) I don’t think it matter which you take.

4

I don’t know why you would take another English class, so enviro

5

Well the reason I want to take the English class is because it is a honors course and is the only honors class left at my high school that I have not yet taken. I heard you should take as many honors and AP courses as possible. However, I think Enviro will be more fun and don’t want to read classic books twice a day so it is tough to choose. It it will help I will choose the honors English, but if it doesn’t matter then I will choose Enviro.

6

Take Enviro. Taking honors english will not help in terms of course rigor, since you already are taking AP english. I think most adcoms would find it very peculiar. It’s like taking honors chem and AP chem at the same time. There’s no point.

7

English 12 and AP English may be seen as duplicate courses for each other. So could your English course at the college and AP English.

8

ES is the better choice.

9

Just got done talking with my GC, she said that she has never had a student take both English classes in a year before. Since I won’t be at a disadvantage because no one in my grade is doing it, I decided to take Enviro!
She also added Sociology into my schedule for the 2nd semester.

10

@ucbalumnus

Really? Should I drop the AP English course then? I have not read any classic literature in the college Reading & Composition course I am taking right now. In AP Eng Lit & Comp at my HS, I’m pretty sure I will be reading a whole lot of literature. Will they really be seen as duplicates?

I have ready taken 4 years of English. Here are what English courses I have taken:
English 9 Honors
English 10 Honors
English 11 Honors
Reading & Composition- Dual enrollment class I’m taken right now in the summer at a university.

11

Does your school have AP Eng Lang? If it does, I would take that instead since you’ve taken the college course, otherwise I’d just stick with AP lit. It’ll probably be a lot different than the college course.

12

@guineagirl96

No my school doesn’t offer AP Eng Lang anymore unfortunately.

13

you will be fine with the revised schedule

14

It may be the case that the college course and AP course may differ in readings, and therefore be non-duplicates in that sense. However, if the college course and AP credit are commonly accepted for the same English composition requirements (check the college’s AP credit listing), then it is likely that that college (and others which accept transfer credit from that college and AP credit) will see them as duplicate courses.

It may still be safer to take the AP course so that your English course work does not look odd (and if the readings differ, then you will still get intellectual value out of it), but you may have to expect not being able to get credit for both the resulting AP score and the college course if they are seen by colleges as duplicates.

15

@ucbalumnus

So if they are both seen as duplicate courses, would it be better for me to take English 12 Honors or would it still be better to take AP Lit? I only get weighted credit into my GPA if I take AP though.

16

AP English literature would be a better choice than English 12 from the point of view of choosing the more rigorous and more intellectually stimulating option, assuming you can handle the higher rigor. Looks like English 12 would be a lower rigor version of a similar course.