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ok...i am really unsure about my class schedule for next year and i'm an upcoming junior btw. most juniors at my school are taking 2-3 ap classes only. i'm planning to take 4 ap classes next year, compared to the 1 ap [bio] class that i took sophomore year...and as you can see, that is a big leap...sorta. considering this "leap," i have come to the point where i'm thinking "will i be able to handle it?"

i know, i know...i sound like a loser since most of you guys are taking 5-8 ap classes in which i think is awesome, yet crazy at the same time. proud of you guys. =D

anyway, enough...here's my undecided schedule. should i drop any aps? please give me your best advice!!! oh, and please tell me how each class is like!! thanks so much.

AP English 11
AP US History
AP Chemistry
AP French 4
Psychology
PreCalc HoN.

By Rockerlinda (Rockerlinda) on Friday, August 08, 2003 - 04:11 pm: Edit

hmmmm....i haven't really taken any of these classes yet, but i know a lot of people who have.

AP chem. is a lot of memorizing....you've gotta memorize just about everything
Pre-Calc moves pretty fast cuz it's three semesters of math put into two. YOU HAVE TO DO YOUR HW IN THIS CLASS!!!!
AP US history really depends on your teacher. They can make the year impossible, and you'll pass the test, or they can make the class a breeze, but you'll fail.

Good luck

By Pookdogg (Pookdogg) on Friday, August 08, 2003 - 04:17 pm: Edit

I've taken APUSH, APChem, and PreCalc Honors...all three are dependent on how much effort you put into it. A note of caution...APChem may seem fine first semester, but after the winter break, the learning curve steepens significantly. Be sure to be on the ball when it comes to labs and ap practices. Rockerlinda is right about PreCalc and APUSH.

Most importantly, remember not to overload yourself. There is such a thing as taking too many APs. You also have PSAT, SATI, SATII, and/or ACT to worry about. Plus prom ;-) I took four APs junior year and had a hard time maintaining my ECs. Know your ambitions and limitations, and you should be fine.

By Gordan_03 (Gordan_03) on Saturday, August 09, 2003 - 12:30 am: Edit

Over all, Pre cal is more of doing packages, and not lot of things to remember. Just a side comment: I think Pre cal has little to do with Cal (just a colorful requirement, I guess), it is not a "You take Pre Cal or you'll get lost in CAl" thing.

AP Chem is heavy, because (I think) it is the combination of 2 General Chem semesters. It has one of the hardest AP tests. If you are a genius type or very committed to study then never mind. If you consider yourself average, then look at AP Chem as heavy as 2 AP courses, and plan your schedule from there.

This is strictly how I experience the courses. I don't intend to make any overstatement and apologize if I did so.

By Clickspring (Clickspring) on Saturday, August 09, 2003 - 07:21 pm: Edit

AP Chem will be intense...did you already take first year, high school level chemistry? Honestly, the more background you have in chemistry before you take this fast-paced, demanding class, the better off you will be.

Your schedule will keep you busy, but you will be fine if you are willing to work hard and study hard every single day.

The class itself depends on your teacher, but I know from experience that it's very possible to handle 4 AP classes as a junior and that it's just as possible to excell in all of them

Good luck!

By Serene (Serene) on Saturday, August 09, 2003 - 07:26 pm: Edit

Since when is AP Chem all memorizing? It's a great class! Well... if you've liked honors chem at least =)
Oh and I agree w/ Pookdogg on the learning curve steepening in second semester, esp. when you hit acid and base and redox stuff. That part was miserable for me *_*

Now AP History is the one w/ lots and lots of memorization, events, places, dates, trends, people... but of course it can be really fun too at the same time. It's just like reading stories after stories =D

AP Lang is ok. AP French is also ok. Though it'd be nice to take the AP test after you take French 5.

By Crypto86 (Crypto86) on Saturday, August 09, 2003 - 07:51 pm: Edit

Plus AP Chem is a double period every day (well in my school it is anyways). But I did very well in my chem honors class (96 avg - H) and chem is my favorite subject so I should to fine with hard work - that's not until senior year anyway =D

By Notrudnaillig (Notrudnaillig) on Saturday, August 09, 2003 - 08:47 pm: Edit

You guys with the full load of APs, do you have any free time or a social life.

My 10th grade year I was in APUSH and APBIO, with Math and Latin honors, yearbook, and rowing, then when it came time for the AP testing or just regular testing in general I would sometimes get pretty sick. Not to mention I become somewhat of a hermit (not that it was a big change).

Sorry, My point of all that babble is that you need to now your limits and not force your body through too much stress ( you can get very sick). If you still decide to go through with it, which is an admirable challange, just be kind to your body.

The human body was not made to live off periods of 4 hours of sleep and heavy doses of caffine, whatever would fuel that type of treatment towards yourself is not worth it.

What I can suggest is time management, and leisure time because you need to stay commited, but you also need to see the long term effects that stress has.

Sorry once again for the banter, I probably sound like a guidance counselor or a parent, but when it came time for the AP tests for Bio and US, they were sandwiched around my championship regatta for rowing and the end result was that I got very very sick (I still took both tests and competed in my races, but when it came time for the BIO test I was started to lose the ability to sit upright, I wanted to be done with everything, and I think I even went through depression.

Sorry for the banter and my abyssmal spelling.
Out

By Starbyrst (Starbyrst) on Saturday, August 09, 2003 - 08:47 pm: Edit

Like some1 said b4, a lot depends on your teachers. Are the teachers at your school (for the classes you are planning to take) notorious for giving out tons of work? Serene said AP Lang was ok, but in my school that was the AP in junior year where you got the most work! So I think it really depends on your personal situation. Try to get feedback from seniors in your school who have taken those classes, if you can. Good Luck

By Jason817 (Jason817) on Saturday, August 09, 2003 - 08:51 pm: Edit

AP US History is the worst, hardest, most boring subject I have ever taken in my life. You have to know SO MUCH for the AP test, it's not even funny. God I hated that year. This year, I am taking AP Govt .

By Lolguesswhat (Lolguesswhat) on Sunday, August 10, 2003 - 04:04 am: Edit

Wow guys, thank you all so much for the advice and opinions.

HOWEVER...I am still indecisive about which class to take/drop. I took a chemistry course at a local community college this summer and it was a bit intensive, nonetheless manageable and easy to pass. Would this help for AP chem? AND, if I were to drop one of my AP classes...which one should I drop?

I know for a fact that my schedule will be packed because for fall, I have tennis until 5, 6 pm for games [varsity] and during spring, I have track and field until 5 also [varsity]. in addition, i'm busy with jsa and my junior class council [fundraiser] and several other ECs.

MORE OPINIONS PLEASE!

i appreciate each and every comment!

By Serene (Serene) on Sunday, August 10, 2003 - 04:20 am: Edit

depends on what u wanna major in i guess.

By Lolguesswhat (Lolguesswhat) on Sunday, August 10, 2003 - 04:27 am: Edit

true, true...but won't i have to retake most of the classes in college anyway? since it's so much more in depth?

i want to major in bio or pre-med and i want to pursue my dream as a pediatrician.

By Almostdone (Almostdone) on Sunday, August 10, 2003 - 08:14 am: Edit

"AP US History is the worst, hardest, most boring subject I have ever taken in my life. You have to know SO MUCH for the AP test, it's not even funny. God I hated that year. This year, I am taking AP Govt . "

So, drop that if u have to drop one. also, it seems like the logical thing to do...since ur planning on going into science, AP chem should look good, even if ur going into bio, they'll want to see some strong basic chem. also, english is always good. REALLY tough test tho, or rather, really easy test, absolutely no curve. so many ppl who were expecting 5s around here got 3's. ur score on that will depend a lot on ur basic sense in english and also how well ur teacher preps you. French is the only one i havent taken, most of my friends say its tough but colleges love to see someone sticking with a language till the end, so i'd say keep it.

but really 4 APs is quite doable, i took 4 courses and one self study this year plus pracalc honors and it was fine. not a BREEZE exactly, but i actually got 5+ hours of sleep everyday on average. mite be different for you tho, depending on ur EC's. (ie, if u are in varsity sports, a dozen intense clubs, etc, things will be ROUGH)

By Jason817 (Jason817) on Sunday, August 10, 2003 - 10:08 am: Edit

If you had to drop one, drop AP US History for sure. End of discussion.

By Notrudnaillig (Notrudnaillig) on Sunday, August 10, 2003 - 11:25 am: Edit

I agree with those before me, if you are worried about time APUS requires a lot t study and do the reading. You have to absorb a lot of facts. And when I went through I had to fully change my writing style. Intense.

By Jason817 (Jason817) on Sunday, August 10, 2003 - 12:08 pm: Edit

PLus, APUS doesn't do anything for your Bio major.

By Clickspring (Clickspring) on Sunday, August 10, 2003 - 02:36 pm: Edit

Hey, don't hate on APUS! It's really not that hard, and you'll be familiar with most of the information in the class from past exposure to US history. You really don't need to drop anything! If you just studied chemistry at the college level this summer, you'll be fine with AP Chem. AP English isn't that hard, and if the natural progression in your school is from French 3 to AP French 4 and then onto AP French 5, don't stress! You will be able to manage the work load.

And yes, it's VERY possible to have a VERY active social life in addition to a heavy course load! You'll have lots of free time to committ any way you like!

Like I said before, I've been there, MANY of my friends have as well, and it's possible to be successful!

Also, APUS, as well as any of the AP classes you are planning to take, will help you as you work towards your biology major in college. Won't you want to spend more time taking classes related to your major and less time slugging through general education courses? All of the classes you're taking will help you write of general education requirements in college, allowing you to focus on your major. So keep on working hard now, becuase it will pay off later!

By Smiley (Smiley) on Monday, August 11, 2003 - 03:50 am: Edit

APUS really doesn't need to be that much work. I had a schedule/EC load a lot like yours junior year... Although I kind of regret it now, I did almost nothing for APUS (rarely did the reading, didn't study much for the exam). I feel really bad because the teacher was awesome, and I felt that sort of didn't do all I should have, but oh well... Can't do everything right. Anyway, I still got an A- and 4, but I wasn't happy about my lack of effort....

By Phenomjhu (Phenomjhu) on Tuesday, August 12, 2003 - 05:02 am: Edit

First off --- it's not about how MANY AP classes you take... it's about what you GET out of them... which depends on your commitment to your classes, hard work, time management skills, and your interest in the subject areas. You won't learn if you're not interested.

Four AP classes can be done. I took two AP's as a junior and four AP's in my senior year.

As far as your schedule goes... here's what I think...

AP English 11 - I'm guessing that you're taking the English Language/Composition test (at least that's what I took as a junior). This class isn't really that difficult especially if you've had good practice doing in-class impromptu essays. I thought the multiple choice was more difficult than the free response questions. This is one of those classes where you don't have much facts/information to study and review before the exam... but the techniques are important. If you're a pretty good writer/reader... it shouldn't be much of a problem for you. Most people take AP English anyway.

AP US History - I also took this class in my junior year... and it was probably one of my favorite classes of all time. It's very fast paced as it covers A LOT of information (about 900 pages of a typical college textbook --- plus supplemental readings/prep book). THe difficult part of this class is NOT the content of the class... but disciplining yourself to keep up with the readings... (you read about 30 pages/day). It's a big time commitment but the results are worth it.

AP Chemistry - I've never taken AP Chem but I heard it's usually better to take this class after a year of chemistry. Several of my friends took it and they didn't score too well... make sure you have a good teacher.

AP French 4 - I was going to take AP French this year but the lack of time on my part as well as my teacher's prevented it from happening. Remember to brush up on all four aspects of the language --- reading, writing, listening, and speaking in order to do well on the test. Again, make sure you have a good teacher to keep you motivated and focused.

Psychology - Never took it -- but sounds interesting. Heard great things about it.

PreCalc HoN. - In my opinion, PreCal is more difficult than AP Calculus. To me, it seems that PreCal is the "make it or break it" point in math... so if you pass PreCal... Calculus should be fairly a breeze. Treat this as an AP class --- it's important for preparing you to take Calculus in your senior year.

All in all... your schedule is manageable... you'll be busy for sure. Good luck with everything.

By Fiza (Fiza) on Wednesday, August 13, 2003 - 05:57 pm: Edit

I enjoyed APUSH. I got an A in the class [the only A this year; i even got a B in art!). I got a 4 on the test with barely any studying READ ALMOST NONE. Im even thinkin of majoring in poli sci now. So i guess its a bit of an opinion thing. i found precal easier than ap stats so i guess it depends on the teacher. Good luck

By Premed88 (Premed88) on Wednesday, August 13, 2003 - 10:19 pm: Edit

hmm...I want to become a doctor but I'm kinda scared of taking AP Chem. I got a B in Chem Honors last year and I didn't take any prep class this summer. My Chem Honors teacher was sooo hard. So do you think I should drop AP Chem or keep it?

By Fairyofwind (Fairyofwind) on Wednesday, August 13, 2003 - 10:20 pm: Edit

Premed88 what was your Chem teacher's name?

By Premed88 (Premed88) on Wednesday, August 13, 2003 - 10:23 pm: Edit

Brockway

By Fairyofwind (Fairyofwind) on Wednesday, August 13, 2003 - 10:27 pm: Edit

lol..... hahahahahhahahahahahahahah! we might have even been in the same class lol!

By Premed88 (Premed88) on Wednesday, August 13, 2003 - 10:34 pm: Edit

it's kinda weird, isn't it?
What did you get?

By Spacechic20 (Spacechic20) on Thursday, August 14, 2003 - 01:03 am: Edit

well, as far as APs go ive taken euro, english lang, spanish lang, chem, psych, american, and calc bs.
chem: lemme start by saying i'm a science/math person. most people in my chem class hated it. a lot of first Cs in that class. i got a 5 on the test and an A, but it's because i have a very analytical mind. if you're forte is english or something like that, you may have trouble, but i'd say go for it. i struggled a bit at first but really, you do catch on.

american: two teachers taught this at my school. ppl in the other teacher's class thought it was boring but ppl with my teacher absolutely loved it. it really depends. its a lot of info- not impossible tho. i got a 5 and didnt study all too much. it really depends on ur teacher- if they're bad, you're in trouble, just cuz its a lot to handle. but it was the best class i've ever taken.

hope it helps!