Do you know of any summer camps in Maine that offer French language classes?

Which AP classes should I take for junior year?

• Hello, I'm currently a sophomore deciding my junior year schedule, and I'm truly debating which classes I should take. I'm definitely taking AP US History and AP English Language and Composition (that's the norm for honor students here). However, I'm contemplating whether I should take AP Chem and/or AP Art History. It would be either taking AP Chemistry or Honors Chemistry. I'm currently taking AP Biology so I run the risk of jumping into the AP class without a thorough background. However, I could try to take summer classes (but this is iffy because I heard there's an age requirement at the colleges and my high school doesn't offer them there) or buy a book to prep myself. And I did the same with AP Bio--I took the class without taking a biology class beforehand. I barely have an A, but I'm sure AP Chemistry is much harder. I have a few peers who are going to take this class (but I'll get into more detail of that later). I could still take Honors Chem this year then AP Chem senior year, but that would take up another elective spot (as I'd be doubling up on sciences by taking Anatomy and Chemistry). It's also a debate between AP Art History and Yearbook. I heard that AP Art History is a tough AP class with lots of memorization and a difficult exam. Since it's Junior year, I'm afraid it might cause unnecessary strain on me, especially with my other extracurricular activities and AP classes. Also, since I want to become a doctor, I don't know if it's totally necessary or important to take. On the other hand though, it does sound interesting, and considering it's an AP class in an elective spot, it could bump my GPA (a few peers are doing this). Also, it could fill my art requirement for high school. But taking this class would take out the spot for Yearbook, which the advisor asked me to join (she was my English teacher freshman year) and told me I had a chance of being editor senior year (of course that's not certain). It sounded like a good opportunity as well because: it's another extracurricular, I could push myself to "get out of my comfort zone" more through interviews, it could emphasize my passion for writing, and just sounds plain fun, haha. But it would not bump up my GPA, and I might not be taking full advantage of the AP classes available. It may sound ridiculous that I'm basing some of my decision on what my peers are doing or with the bump of GPA, but it's a factor for me because I'd like to keep my class rank. Currently I'm #1, but my other classmates in the top 10 will be taking more AP classes and could get a bump in GPA I might not get thus lowering my rank (if I don't take the AP classes). Rank shouldn't be so important, but considering my high school is not very competitive, I feel that I would need a higher rank to be competitive with other high school students. Also, I'm worried I'm just not taking enough AP classes for colleges to be competitive. However, my couselor said 2 AP classes and the other honors classes I would take with them (pre-calc, chem) plus Spanish 3 would be a good balance considering my other extracurricular activities. Because besides school, I'm on the tennis team, Key Club (journalist), and NHS (secretary) so they may also play a factor in how well I could manage my classes. And lastly, thank you to anyone who read this completely, and I apologize if I sounded like I was bragging in a few parts. I'm honestly not trying to--these are just factors in my decision. Again, thank you for any help! :)

• Answer:

  You should take AP Art History instead of AP Chemistry. AP Chemistry is supposed to be extremely hard, but on the other hand, it sounds like more fun. If you really like Chemistry and are very good at math, then take it, but if you want a fairly easy schedule for next year, AP Art History may be better for you. Hope I helped. Good luck!