So comes the time of year when juniors begin to pick next year’s classes. I offer my advice and reflections to them, an annual tradition which I began doing just now.
First off, AP classes. Following are all AP classes of which I have had sufficient exposure to form an opinion of difficulty. They are ranked from least to most difficult and divided into social studies/English and math/science. Highlighting denotes classes I have taken. For all the others, I have formed an opinion based on judgments gleaned from those who have taken those classes.
Social Studies
- Government
- Human Geography
- Psychology
- Economics
- US History
- World History
- English Language*
- English Literature
Science/Math
- Environmental Science
- Biology
- Statistics
- Chemistry
- Calculus AB
- Physics
- Calculus BC
*McDonell retired last year so the difficulty of this class may vary.
Some of these classes are two periods for just one AP test (Chemistry, Biology) while others are one period for two AP tests (Government, Economics). Of course the average, high-level, overachiever can’t stop at just one. There is an obvious maximum at six. (Two of the day’s periods must be allocated to PE and lunch or band.) For certain classes, the time of day is fixed year-to-year. A few others may be more accommodating.
This is a schedule for 2007-2008 for the predominantly senior AP classes. Notable changes from 2006-2007 were the addition of 6th period Calc BC, the addition of Environmental Science, and the transplant of Biology from 7-8 to 1-2 (making the coveted bio-chem combination possible).
In addition, there are two college classes that I know of. College Western Literature and Thought (CWLT) is the final boss of Senior year English. Rumored to have more reading than actual university classes, it accepts only the school’s top 45 Seniors, who receive college credit from Harper upon completion. Those who don’t get in are relegated to AP English and must hope for college credit through the AP test (which is also open to those in CWLT). The other college class is Calculus 3 which is taught at Buffalo Grove High School starting at 7:00AM for those who took Calculus BC the year previous (which sadly is a dwindling number). Students must therefore provide their own transportation and their first period.
The standard load for an overachieving senior is four AP classes. (Chem and Bio each count as one even though they both offer two separate six point ‘A’s.) A select and suicidal few take five and a rare elite takes six. The six is possible but would have to conform to the schedule for 2008-2009 (which should bear many similarities to the table above) and forgo Bio and Chem. Circumventing the schedule above is independent study for AP classes which, though not unheard of, is rare.
The “Big Three” sciences are Bio, Chem and Physics. There is only the option of taking two and Physics and Bio cannot be taken together. Having two of these three is known as Senior year “Double Execution Style”.
My day?
It starts at 6:50AM on most days. Kemp had always been cheesed that she only had one period to do the equivalent of what Cassidy or Francis did in 2 periods. So she added a “lab period” before school. Where past years have done straight physics calculations for 50 minutes, this year’s class gets to apply concepts and derive formulas and other insufferable things for an additional 40 minutes. Whether this counts as another class is still unclear. The lab period shows up on transcripts as “SCIENCE IS-AP”, presumably an independent study, and counts for half the usual credits. How it affects the GPA calculation has so far been impossible for me to determine.
There are several types of people who enroll in Physics C:
1. the future engineering major
2. the student that seeks a challenge
3. those with something to prove, to themselves or otherwise
The intimidating low unit test scores (as low as 22% for one unfortunate individual) are not a result of difficult material. It’s understanding the damn test questions that’s hard. Otherwise, it’d be just plain equation memorization.
Chem on the other hand has lighter equation memorization. Cassidy also has an obsessive valuation with understanding over memorization of concepts. It’s one part utilizing equations, one part memorization of facts. A sort of middle ground between Bio and Physics. Obviously more right-brained than the latter, and more left-brained than the former.
Psych is a vocab class. Most days, the lecture and notes don’t do anything. You spend a lot of time unnecessarily socializing when Mrs. A round robins everyone about what they did over the weekend. It’s all part of being “a family” according to her.
CWLT is time-consuming. But luckily for some, it is characterized by a direct relationship between time devoted and grade. The only limit to your grade is time and your genetically inherited biological resistance to insanity and Plato.
And of course, there’s the college/scholarship apps that pile on top of this. That’s like adding a whole ‘nother class to the fire. I managed to sneak by with CLWT, Chem, Physics, and Psych, but I only applied to three colleges and my extracurricular load was pretty light. So if you’re going to take a path the slightest bit more intense than mine, do your apps over the summer.
Secondly, there are many more non-AP electives you can choose from to fill out your schedule. Over my high school career, I took Art, Computer Programming 1 and 2, A+ Computer Repair, and Cisco Networking.
I took Art 101 for two semesters to satisfy my fine arts requirement. Only later did I find out that I only needed to take the one semester variant. Still, I learned to draw and I got a nice gopher/spaceship painting out of it. Computer programming 1 taught me that beginning java was easy. Computer programming 2 taught me that intermediate java was hard. A+ Computer Repair is a genuinely useful class. That playing-Counterstrike-all-period rumor is only half true: only about half the period is devoted to that. Otherwise, you really do learn the basics of building your own PC, however practice is only with outdated components and the finer points are gained only through experience. I thought Cisco Networking would help me take full advantage my home network. Well, unfortunately, it has me securing Cisco’s corporate routers and memorizing the layers of the Internet. Real-world knowledge? Not much, unless you’re going to be “the IT guy” somewhere.
Well, there. I hope that was useful. Gee, I just wish some juniors read this.
Good studying, future Seniors. Go… with Honors.