[Elika]

Anyone who has experience with taking a million AP classes want to enlighten me on what it was like? Was the experience only full of pressure? I'm nervous.

These are the classes I want to take next year
AP Psychology, AP Statistics, Honors Precalculus & Trigonometry, AP United States History, AP American Literature, AP Chinese, AP Chemistry.

Is it larger that a college load? Because people who do this at my school frequently pull all nighters. But people in college around me don't seem to do it as much. If college is harder than this kind of load why does everybody stress about AP classes so much if your going to have to do it anyways? I'm confused.

 

[Devin87]

In college most people only take 5-6 classes at a time and you only have class for 3 hours a week per class (so either 3 one hour classes or two hour and a half classes). That means most people end up having only two or three classes a day. Less time in class means more time to study. I've found college professors also tend to give out fewer assignments, although they're worth more.

 

[Angelic Gardevoir]

I've only ever taken 3 AP Classes at once when I was in high school. (But my school was on block scheduling at that time and the AP classes available paled in comparison to the choices you have.) It sounds like you have seven class periods arranged in some way. If I were you, I would only do what was realistically possible. If you believe you can handle all those classes, go for it, but if you don't, I would only keep the classes I'm most interested in and/or would have a chance at passing the AP Exam for.

 

[Elika]

I've only ever taken 3 AP Classes at once when I was in high school. (But my school was on block scheduling at that time and the AP classes available paled in comparison to the choices you have.) It sounds like you have seven class periods arranged in some way. If I were you, I would only do what was realistically possible. If you believe you can handle all those classes, go for it, but if you don't, I would only keep the classes I'm most interested in and/or would have a chance at passing the AP Exam for.

I wish we had block schedule. I don't know if I can handle it and my point in asking is to gain knowledge as to whether I'm being realistic with myself. The bigger problem is with work ethic *sweating*

 

[Flatlander]

I did this for my final year of high school, and had a few concurrent courses at the local community college to achieve extra credits I needed. It was not easy, but it's not necessarily larger than a college load. Remember, AP courses are taught over a full year, not a single semester like at college, and that can make a difference - perhaps also in the depth of learning achieved, if you are a diligent student.

I had been doing AP courses since 8th grade (yes, they bussed me to high school to take an AP course before I ever officially matriculated). So at that point I was used to the workload enough to handle it. I had little time to do anything outside of classes, which made me enjoy my free-time activities (reading, D&D, computer games) even more - and I was doing it for a reason that motivated me especially, which was being able to leave high school early.

In the end, while it was stressful, I learned a lot that year and wouldn't take it back.

Final note: The community college courses were easier than the AP ones.

 

[FillInTheBlank]

Thats a giant load of AP classes and junior year is usually the hardest year of high school. A lot of people in my school take a ton of AP classes too, but I've never heard of anyone taking 6 all in one year.
I consider myself good at absorbing material in school and I got into a good college. I took only 2 AP classes my senior year and out of all my other classes, those were by far the hardest and most time-consuming (far more tests/quizzes, homework). I can see myself passing out from exhaustion if I had to take 6 AP classes.

Personally, I think taking 6 AP classes in one year is unrealistic and you're putting far more work on your shoulders in your junior year of high school than when you do in college. There are other things that you need to focus your attention on if you're worrying about getting into a good college such as SAT/ACT scores, extracurriculars, volunteer work, college essay, etc. On a side note, all nighters are also really bad for your health and not getting enough sleep will damage your brain. If you think those AP classes are going to consume your junior year, I wouldn't recommend taking that many.

As for experience, I've only gotten nervous during AP exams. They're worse than finals.

 

[Angelic Gardevoir]

I wish we had block schedule. I don't know if I can handle it and my point in asking is to gain knowledge as to whether I'm being realistic with myself. The bigger problem is with work ethic *sweating*

You're the only one that can answer that question. You know yourself better than a bunch of random online people. :tongue: ...Though I would ask some of the people from your school who you know have done this to find out how they pulled it off. Quality and workload of AP classes differ from school to school. (My AP U.S. History class was a complete joke, for instance. And I was forced to take it because AP English was paired with it in the same block. It was a weird scheduling thing...) This will help you tell whether or not you are capable of it. Also, I would take @FillInTheBlank 's post into consideration. (And she's right-AP Exams are quite difficult. 3 is considered passing on a scale of 5. How this will translate to college credit depends on the college/university you will go to. I was lucky enough that the ones I managed to pass are simply on my transcript as pass/fail classes.)

 

[FillInTheBlank]

Exams are quite difficult. 3 is considered passing on a scale of 5. How this will translate to college credit depends on the college/university you will go to. I was lucky enough that the ones I managed to pass are simply on my transcript as pass/fail classes.)

@LilyAskar
Since AP exams are difficult, if you do decide to take AP classes for your junior year try to become as familiar with the AP exam material as you can before taking the test. The classes in my school often made us do AP problems from the tests of previous years for homework to get us used to solving/writing in the free response sections of the exam. If the AP class you signed up for turns out to be a joke, the least you could do is try to snag a good exam score so you can get the credit from the AP class transferred to your college.
Practicing AP problems for Calculus AB has profoundly helped my in the exam. I knew what to expect out of the questions and doing the free response felt almost like an automatic process.

In case you don't know, plenty of helpful test material to practice off of is found here: AP Central - Exam Information

 

[Elika]

Thanks for everyones responses so far. I'll add some details now. All the students at my school who would think of taking a load like this or similar is a competitive bastard who would stare at you and not give you any help if you asked too much concerning this because they don't want you to succeed and you probably make them nervous... I don't know how to explain it but basically interested to give you help in general. I go to a pretty strange school indeed. What do you guys think if I took classes to prestudy everything? My parents said they are going to send me to those that will give a run through of all of them.

OK, here we go.
AP Psychology- I just want to learn that ^^
AP Statistics- Known as a pretty easy AP in my school and I'm good at math
Honors Precalc- I'm good at math.
AP Chem- Known as the monster AP, and easily the most difficult science AP along with AP Physics. I have to take a science though. I hate Bio (so no AP Bio) and I'm scared of dissecting = no Anatomy. I think people say it's harder than it is....
AP Lit- This year I've taken a huge interest in writing and my teachers say I'm a great writer naturally, as in, I have very sophisticated ideas. (sorry so boastful!) Apparently I just need more practice organizing and phrasing ideas and I'll get more than enough practice in Lit. This is a huge step up from writing being my worst subject last year. Apparently, Lit provides a lot of practice for the SAT too as well, people say it feels easy after this class and I feel compelled to take it too.
AP Chinese- I speak Chinese fluently...LOL
AP United States History- I don't know why I'm taking this. I have mixed feelings that I'm not describing here because it's gonna sound even MORE stupid than the above.

In the long run, I don't know which ones I want anyways and how realistic this is also depends largely on what teachers you get as well.... I just need to make sure I'm not out of mind. I have 3 honors now, but I pull straight A's with little study (you could say none) and just doing my homework. This is provided that I pay attention in class. I just need to make sure I'm not gonna die..... I'm sooooo scared. Flatlander your probably a genius that's why you can talk calmly about it!

 

[timeless]

It's best to load up on them if you can, if you think you can handle it. I don't remember high school too well, but AP Stat was cake IIRC. I got a 5 and I don't think that score was anywhere near commensurate with my statistical ability at the time. Bring em on

 

[Elika]

...Why would you take Community College classes along with all AP's?!

Does this sound realistic?
over the summer:
-AP Chem: not only take a class but study vigorously (may have to take SAT 2 as well)
-Honors Pre-calc: Take a class/nag my mom to study with me
-AP U.S. History- read the entire book in a relatively detailed manner and take a class
-AP Lit: Read all the novels (I read for entertainment anyways) so when the time comes and I don't have time to read for the next day I'll be screwed but not completely screwed.

Along with this..... during the summer
-SAT camp
-summer homework for all those AP classes
-community service
-study abroad 3 weeks
-prepare for my music tests
-play a summer sport

 

[Angelic Gardevoir]

Thanks for everyones responses so far. I'll add some details now. All the students at my school who would think of taking a load like this or similar is a competitive bastard who would stare at you and not give you any help if you asked too much concerning this because they don't want you to succeed and you probably make them nervous... I don't know how to explain it but basically interested to give you help in general. I go to a pretty strange school indeed. What do you guys think if I took classes to prestudy everything? My parents said they are going to send me to those that will give a run through of all of them.

OK, here we go.
AP Psychology- I just want to learn that ^^
AP Statistics- Known as a pretty easy AP in my school and I'm good at math
AP Chem- Known as the monster AP, and easily the most difficult science AP along with AP Physics. I have to take a science though. I hate Bio (so no AP Bio) and I'm scared of dissecting = no Anatomy. I think people say it's harder than it is....
AP Lit- This year I've taken a huge interest in writing and my teachers say I'm a great writer naturally, as in, I have very sophisticated ideas. (sorry so boastful!) Apparently I just need more practice organizing and phrasing ideas and I'll get more than enough practice in Lit. This is a huge step up from writing being my worst subject last year. Apparently, Lit provides a lot of practice for the SAT too as well, people say it feels easy after this class and I feel compelled to take it too.
AP Chinese- I speak Chinese fluently...LOL
AP United States History- I don't know why I'm taking this. I have mixed feelings that I'm not describing here because it's gonna sound even MORE stupid than the above.

In the long run, I don't know which ones I want anyways and how realistic this is also depends largely on what teachers you get as well.... I just need to make sure I'm not out of mind. I have 3 honors now, but I pull straight A's with little study (you could say none) and just doing my homework. This is provided that I pay attention in class. I just need to make sure I'm not gonna die..... I'm sooooo scared. Flatlander your probably a genius that's why you can talk calmly about it!

You sound quite intelligent. ...And the people who take AP at your school sound like assholes.

I'd take AP Statistics, AP Literature, and AP Chinese since those seem to be your strengths. I'd might try AP Psych as well, since interest can be just as important as ability. As for AP Chemistry, if you don't think you can handle that, I'd just take an honors' science class. As for AP U.S. History, if you're feeling apprehensive about it I'd just avoid it.

 

[Elika]

You sound quite intelligent. ...And the people who take AP at your school sound like assholes.

I'd take AP Statistics, AP Literature, and AP Chinese since those seem to be your strengths. I'd might try AP Psych as well, since interest can be just as important as ability. As for AP Chemistry, if you don't think you can handle that, I'd just take an honors' science class. As for AP U.S. History, if you're feeling apprehensive about it I'd just avoid it.

IF I WAS INTELLIGENT I NEEDN'T BE NERVOUS.
Literature isn't my strength at the moment (it's unstable ) I just want to take it. AP Psychology is a blow off as well in our school. OK, this is what's offered at my school for science.
Anatomy- ew
Honors Anatomy- EW
Marine Bio- not weighted + ew
AP Bio -EW
Physics- My safety class in case AP Chemistry shows no mercy (but AP Physics comes the year after and it's worse than AP Chem so I may as well suffer now.... plus I'll spend money on the summer class ==)
AP Chemistry-........

I would probably drop Lit even though I like it because with writing, it depends on the grader and...you know. It's very subjective. With History, you memorize it. If you want an A. You will get an A.

Did I mention I'm looking A's in all my classes?

 

[koalaroo]

History isn't just about memorization to get an A. In AP US History you will have to learn to analyze situations and documents. If you cannot do that, you generally cannot pass tests (at least not the actual AP test). It isn't memorization and spitting it out; you'll be lucky to get a 3 on the exam if you go the memorization route. That is, unless they ez-moded the test since I took it.

 

[Elika]

History isn't just about memorization to get an A. In AP US History you will have to learn to analyze situations and documents. If you cannot do that, you generally cannot pass tests (at least not the actual AP test). It isn't memorization and spitting it out; you'll be lucky to get a 3 on the exam if you go the memorization route. That is, unless they ez-moded the test since I took it.

Well, that's not exactly what I meant but won't the biggest problem be remembering the massive amount of material? For the tests at least you will need to know events, names, etc. For the essays you also have to have a lot of info in your head. But if you say that I wonder if it's worse or better for me now...

 

[Angelic Gardevoir]

IF I WAS INTELLIGENT I NEEDN'T BE NERVOUS.

Are you a clone of me? A twin separated at birth or something? :laughing: I'm the kind of person who gets nervous about things as well, but I always end up doing well in the end. Yet I get nervous because I always fear that something will happen...^_^U

As for your science class options...yeah, maybe you should go AP Chem. ...At least you can do experiments and stuff, right?

I would probably drop Lit even though I like it because with writing, it depends on the grader and...you know. It's very subjective. With History, you memorize it. If you want an A. You will get an A.

That's a good point. But maybe you should talk to your teacher about AP Lit. Was he/she the one who recommended it to you? Or was that something you considered yourself?

Did I mention I'm looking A's in all my classes?

The ones you have now or the ones you think you are going to take? If the latter, then why are you nervous?

History isn't just about memorization to get an A. In AP US History you will have to learn to analyze situations and documents. If you cannot do that, you generally cannot pass tests (at least not the actual AP test). It isn't memorization and spitting it out; you'll be lucky to get a 3 on the exam if you go the memorization route. That is, unless they ez-moded the test since I took it.

*posted after I posted* Heh, I made no effort in trying to study for AP US History. It was a class I never really wanted to take anyway, so I just took the exam just for kicks. I got a 2, and maybe I could have gotten a 3 if I had remembered what happened during Bacon's Rebellion. ...Which was something I lampshaded while writing the essay that asked about that. :tongue:

 

[Stelmaria]

You should take courses that you either: (a) interested in, but probably won't want to take later in college, or (b) need to take as prerequisites for college courses.

I think the weakest link is AP Psychology, possibly statistics too if you want to pick these up later.
I'm assuming you will enjoy AP History, Lit or you wouldn't take them...

 

[koalaroo]

Well, that's not exactly what I meant but won't the biggest problem be remembering the massive amount of material? For the tests at least you will need to know events, names, etc. For the essays you also have to have a lot of info in your head. But if you say that I wonder if it's worse or better for me now...

After discussing with my sister (a college history professor), she says that generally speaking she can tell if someone has or hasn't taken an AP history course in high school because the students who took AP courses in High School were better prepared for identifications and primary source analysis. Aside from this, the (AP) students were also better prepared to analyse the implications of data they did have to memorize.

The AP U.S. History test does have multiple choice questions on it, but they aren't typically regurgitation multiple choice. You won't generally be asked questions about, say dates or simple facts: you will generally be asked questions about implications and relevance. (That said, some of these are common sense).

This all said, if you're serious about going to college, I would take AP U.S. History to get your U.S. history requirements out of the way.

 

[Flatlander]

Thanks for everyones responses so far. I'll add some details now. All the students at my school who would think of taking a load like this or similar is a competitive bastard who would stare at you and not give you any help if you asked too much concerning this because they don't want you to succeed and you probably make them nervous... I don't know how to explain it but basically interested to give you help in general. I go to a pretty strange school indeed. What do you guys think if I took classes to prestudy everything? My parents said they are going to send me to those that will give a run through of all of them.

OK, here we go.

I loaded up on AP study books and did some work over my summers. It helped me to get a jump-start on what you're going to need to know in the class, mostly - an outline of its material.

I also got ahold of some of the textbooks used at school.

AP Psychology- I just want to learn that ^^

I had fun in it. I enjoy psychology and other topics related to the mind.

AP Statistics- Known as a pretty easy AP in my school and I'm good at math
Honors Precalc- I'm good at math.

I agree with @timeless , you will do fine at AP Statistics, then. I would've taken it if it were offered at my school.

AP Chem- Known as the monster AP, and easily the most difficult science AP along with AP Physics. I have to take a science though. I hate Bio (so no AP Bio) and I'm scared of dissecting = no Anatomy. I think people say it's harder than it is....

Maybe. I tried the AP Chem test and it was my lowest grade, with a 3. Then again I wasn't actually in the class, just studying the extra material and taking tutoring in it.

Apparently, Lit provides a lot of practice for the SAT too as well, people say it feels easy after this class and I feel compelled to take it too.

I had that experience. I aced my writing SAT after AP Lit.

The idea of reading some of the novels over your break was a good one, if you have time.

AP Chinese- I speak Chinese fluently...LOL

Gimme class. Nice.

AP United States History- I don't know why I'm taking this. I have mixed feelings that I'm not describing here because it's gonna sound even MORE stupid than the above.

It wasn't that bad. Just another history class, seriously..history is history, just a lot of information with metaperspective. I took AP history all my high school career, though, so I don't have a good baseline for comparison.

The teacher for that class at my school assigned a lot of papers, which might have been nice to know before I took it.

In the long run, I don't know which ones I want anyways and how realistic this is also depends largely on what teachers you get as well.... I just need to make sure I'm not out of mind. I have 3 honors now, but I pull straight A's with little study (you could say none) and just doing my homework. This is provided that I pay attention in class. I just need to make sure I'm not gonna die..... I'm sooooo scared. Flatlander your probably a genius that's why you can talk calmly about it!

I'm 27; it's been awhile since I was in high school. I just kind of got through school, though..I was less worried about my grades than people expected me to be, and that worked out to my advantage because I could just focus on the material and enjoy learning.

Some perspective, though - I had parents who supported me through school and didn't try to pressure me about what university I was going to go to, just encouraged me to study. Trying to plan my future while undergoing such a load of courses might have been far more trying, too much pressure.

IF I WAS INTELLIGENT I NEEDN'T BE NERVOUS.

Having gone to a "top-tier" college, I can tell you, some of the most intelligent people I've ever met are also some of the most nervous - about academics as well. Nervousness is more about biological/personal tendency, and you don't sound at all unintelligent.

...Why would you take Community College classes along with all AP's?!

To get out of school quicker.

Community college was one of the easiest school experiences I've ever had, hands down. Easier than my high school at that point.

Along with this..... during the summer
-SAT camp
-summer homework for all those AP classes
-community service
-study abroad 3 weeks
-prepare for my music tests
-play a summer sport

If you're doing community service, see if you can work somewhere that's isolated and not busy, with a comparatively light workload. I did community service in a mailroom for a hospital when I was building my resume up, and at least 70% of the time I got to just read/hang out.

 

[koalaroo]

Also put this into perspective:

Wherever you're considering going to college, see what AP courses (and at what number on the grading scale) they take as credit. See what they give you credit for. See if these are prerequisite courses for any potential majors you're considering.