Class Registration

[Mark S]

So it's time to start registering for classes for the 2015-2016 school year and I need some help from you guys. I will be a junior in high school next year, which many say is the most important year of the four.

As you all probably know, a class from English, Math, Science, and Social Studies is required. For English, I have chosen English 3 rather than AP English which I have been strongly recommended not to take and for Math, I have chosen Pre-Calc as that is basically my only option. For science, I have chosen Chemistry because the idea of AP Chemistry every day, all year sounds like a terrible time.

Anyways here is where I need your opinions, in Social Studies I will either be taking American History or AP US History (rumored to be the hardest AP at my school). Under the Social Studies electives I have chosen AP World History and AP Macroeconomics.

But the idea of only 2 AP's during Junior year is bothering me which is why I'm considering AP US History. I took AP Psychology during freshman year and AP Human Geography during this sophomore year. So it's not a matter of being able to take AP's, it's the matter of taking so many at once.

If I take AP US History, it is American History 1 and 2 combined into 1 year, meaning I won't have to take as Social Studies during Senior Year.

I'm trying to get into a pretty good college and I'm wondering is even 3 AP's enough? I have a pretty good GPA but with NC changing its grading point scale/GPA measure, I don't know how that'll work out.

In addition to all that, I'm wondering if I should take Spanish 4, which I've heard is basically talking about the culture of Spanish countries in Spanish, and I don't know if I'm ready for that, judging myself in Spanish 3.

For my other electives I will probably choose things like MS Word and Accounting to boost up my GPA. By the way, all the classes I mentioned above that weren't AP are Honors, excluding MS Word.

TLDR: I'm signing up for new classes and don't know if I should take AP US History and Spanish 4.

So what do you guys think I should do? Opinions and help are greatly appreciated.

[Cary Kollins]

[Cary Kollins]

For my other electives I will probably choose things like MS Word and Accounting to boost up my GPA. By the way, all the classes I mentioned above that weren't AP are Honors, excluding MS Word.

TLDR: I'm signing up for new classes and don't know if I should take AP US History and Spanish 4.

So what do you guys think I should do? Opinions and help are greatly appreciated.

 

 

I can't help too much with the Adrian Peterson classes, but I would see if your school offers a MS Excel class instead of Word.

[Towelboy]

what college are you interested in? why not call their admissions office and ask what they look for in applicants?

[MichaelNewtonII]

AP U.S. history test is the hardest one I took. I got a 2 on that one and the ap world history one unfortunately. Got a 4 on AP English 3 test, if you can take AP english I'd recommend it, the test wasn't much more difficult than the regular standardized test at the end of the year imo. And AP Classes don't really hold any weight into colleges accepting you, what matters is GPA, SAT Scores, and your extra curricular acitivites. Even if you pass the AP exam with say a 3, most "top colleges" won't give you the credit unless you get a 5 and you'll have to retake the class.

[Arroz con Panther]

I'll agree on what MichaelNewtonII said.  Most colleges don't look at AP courses when deciding if you should be admitted or not.  They are simply counted towards your overall credits when you start.  In other words, you won't have to repeat a course you did in high school.

 

I love history, so I took AP US History in high school and did pretty well in it.  If you're a history buff, I would definitely take this.  It might be easier than you think.

 

 

[KSpan]

Extracurricular activities and showing that you're a well-rounded student will go way farther than another AP class, for what that's worth. I didn't take a single 'AP' class and was like 70th in my class with a 4.0 GPA (valedictorian had a 4.7 or something ridiculous like that) but I got more than a full ride because of my other experiences. Take it if you want to, but don't sweat it if you don't.

[Pejorative Miscreant]

Take an economics class if you can or haven't done so already. For me basic economics and math put things in context for me. FTW.

[Seal (SmittyIsOurSavior)]

Like others have said, don't worry about AP this and Honors that or whatever. It honestly does not matter one bit, except for placing out of certain classes in college, which you might wanna take regardless for a refresher/GPA booster/general credit that you'll need regardless.

 

Focus on your extra-curriculars and building your skills. That resume and those essays will reflect and weight probably a lot more than your GPA will.

 

SAT is pretty important though, but again, not singularly important enough to spend a ton of time and energy on. However, if you just take it multiple times over the course of your next two years, then it's only costing you a few hours per semester. I only took it once right before applications were due without any preparation before hand, but I sorta regret doing so, since I probably would've applied to a couple Ivy's if I had known how good I was with the SAT before just taking it once. Plus, almost all schools let you combine scores these days, so if you take it half a dozen times or so, you can take your highest scores from each section over the span of those six tries. So I'd say start taking the SAT ASAP.

 

So: Don't fall off on classes, but realize GPA is not overly important. I know people at Carolina who had a 5.0+ and people who had under a 3.5 weighted. Focus on extra-curriculars and take the SAT as many times as you can, since that's an easy way to boost your chances.

[Jangler]

no art classes?

[Mark S]

I appreciate the advice everyone! I will take that all into consideration.

I talked to my AP Human Geography teacher today and she said that taking AP US History and AP World History in the same year would be ridiculously tough. So I think I'm steering away from that.

However, when looking at my registration card again, I saw a class that is AP Computer Science. This is a class that actually interests me. It will be the first time being taught next year at my school, which could either be a really good or really bad thing. Do you guys have any experience with it? If so let me know please.

I definitely need to boost my extra-curriculars which is tough for me because it's hard getting rides to places. I'm in DECA club and "Knights in Action" which is just a name for doing 25 hours of community service every year.

Appreciate all the help everyone and hope to hear some perspective.

[Mark S]

no art classes?

I took Chorus this year as my only art. I don't like drawing and theatre isn't my thing.

[Mark S]

what college are you interested in? why not call their admissions office and ask what they look for in applicants?

I definitely wouldn't be able to tell you right now but definitely something along the lines of Chapel Hill/Duke in my dreams.

[Mark S]

AP U.S. history test is the hardest one I took. I got a 2 on that one and the ap world history one unfortunately. Got a 4 on AP English 3 test, if you can take AP english I'd recommend it, the test wasn't much more difficult than the regular standardized test at the end of the year imo. And AP Classes don't really hold any weight into colleges accepting you, what matters is GPA, SAT Scores, and your extra curricular acitivites. Even if you pass the AP exam with say a 3, most "top colleges" won't give you the credit unless you get a 5 and you'll have to retake the class.

AP English is available but I have been strongly recommended by several people not to take it, regardless, I'm not much of a literature guy. English-wise, grammar is my forte.