My classes for next year are AP Environmental Science AP English Lit AP Stats AP Calc AB AP Govt/Econ (one class at my school) Student Aide
I know this is a lot, but I've never once not had a busy schedule. I considered taking a regular class, but I learn at a fast pace and after taking one before, I realized it wasn't for me. Any thoughts? How can I prepare for some of these classes? Especially the math ones because I didn't get summer homework for them. I do feel confident in my ability to do well with such rigorous and trying courses, because it's all I know. My classes have always been tough so I'm not extremely concerned with the difficulty level. I'm also not worried about the time management factor when it comes to studying, college apps, etc, because I do fairly well with that. I'm slightly concerned that I might possibly take on too much with clubs. How can I prevent that? Any advice on senior year is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
2015-08-04T13:42:59Z
I realize that i seem super cocky, and that wasn't my intention,so I apologize. basically, i'm just hoping to get some general advice to get through senior year. Like when should i start college apps, avg. amount of clubs i should join, other ways to get involved, how to prepare or certain classes and what to expect senior year overall.
Forty22015-08-04T12:34:47Z
Ok. I'm not sure what you're asking then if you're apparently not worried about anything. You've just said that you're not worried about the course load or the difficulty. Even though you're saying that you're not concerned about college applications, these things really pile up.
"How can you prevent that?" just don't do so many clubs. If you have the willpower to do so much in the first place, you can definitely choose not to do it. It isn't as if it's somehow out of your control.
Also, I'm assuming you have to do a senior project, so you should factor that into your time management as well. Overall I don't think you should go into senior year as confident as you are because all AP's is difficult enough, but with the tons and tons of paperwork that needs to be done for college applications, you WILL get bogged down and either your grades, mental health, or sleep will suffer. It's not even that filling out applications for financial aid/colleges is difficult, but it's tedious and will take a lot of time.
Keep in mind as well that depending on when you apply, colleges might not even see your grades for 1st semester though (early decision for example). And in general, junior year is for the main focus on grades.
My advice to you is focus on the AP exams that will truly help you in the future. I had the same schedule you did my Senior year, except I took AP Stats instead of AP Calculus and I also had AP Art History. I took 6 AP classes my Senior year. While I will admit that I enjoyed being in those classes, not all of them proved to be useful. AP Macroeconomics was stupid. I don't know why I even took that class. I took AP Gov the first semester but should have taken regular Econ the second semester. Call me ignorant but that class was useless... Unless you are planning on majoring in business or accounting you wouldn't need Econ in college. I'm a Biology major and I smile at the fact that I don't need to understand the ins and outs of inflation, long run aggregate supply, short run aggregate supply, etc... So, that for example is an AP class that you could take for the grade but not really to take for the exam. It's very hard to focus and study for more than 4 AP exams, believe me. Focus on the AP exams that you know will help you in college and in whatever field you choose to pursue. I liked the sciences so that's why I did very well on the AP Environmental exam. Got a big fat 1 in AP Macro. Oh well, don't need it, so who cares? But that's what I mean. Take the classes and learn the material, but for the ones that won't be of much use to you in your area of college study/focus, just do it for the grade. Good luck!
PS: AP English is a hard exam. Learn the skills for reading and writing at advanced and analytical levels and you will be prepared for college level writing and papers, regardless of your AP score. Made a 2 on both AP Lang and Lit exams but learned so much in those 2 years. In the end, I made As in both my college English classes and on all my English papers. :D
If you've taken AP classes in the past and done well in them (class grade, plus an AP exam score of "3" or higher), there's nothing wrong with taking the course load you propose, provided you can handle the work and your guidance counselor approves. Just be careful not to drive yourself to a breakdown, or to where you can't live a normal, balanced life.