Senior Class Schedule

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Gianime

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Sep 6, 2015
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Hey all!
I am starting to make my schedule for senior year, and I'm torn between two classes: AP Computer Science and AP Economics. Both of them are online courses (my school offers a small number of AP classes) and if I take either one of them I'd end up taking 5 AP classes. I know West Point encourages prospective candidates to take economics and a basic computing class. I'm leaning more towards AP Computer Science, but which class would help me prepare for West Point?
 
AP Computer Science is extremely difficult and time consuming. Go with Econ.
 
Econ vs. CS won't make that big of a difference with regards to admissions.
 
N=1

DD's plebe computer class was one of her most difficult classes first semester.
 
I would base that decision on what you are interested in. If you want to major in Computer Science I highly recommend taking that.
 
Delilah said:
I would base that decision on what you are interested in. If you want to major in Computer Science I highly recommend taking that.
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I was thinking of majoring in American or Comparative Science, Psychology, or Legal Studies. Would economics be better then?
 
Gianime said:
Oh really? Would it be in my best interest to just stick with Economics?
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Absolutely. I'm in AP Econ now and it's fairly easy. Also, i'm not sure if this is true at your school but in my school district everyone graduating high school has to have an economics credit.
 
kndnmc said:
Absolutely. I'm in AP Econ now and it's fairly easy. Also, i'm not sure if this is true at your school but in my school district everyone graduating high school has to have an economics credit.
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Yeah I have to take a 21st century elective. AP Economics would satisfy that requirement - kind of killing two birds with one stone. :)
 
Gianime said:
Oh really? Would it be in my best interest to just stick with Economics?
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My point was that my DD who is currently a plebe at USMA said that the computer science class she just took last semester was difficult and she could have used a better foundation. I see computer science being better for you if you get into WP.
 
I decided to go with AP Econ (it's what I want to major in) and I got appointment! I would say whichever you have more of an interest in, they're both great classes.
 
I've taken four years of Computer Science and loved every moment of it, but unless you plan on majoring in Comp Sci, you'll probably be better off taking Econ. It is not easy if you've never programmed before.
 
Andromeda said:
I'd do what is harder. But it's your choice.
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Keep in mind that West Point, or any other college for that matter, has no way of knowing which class is harder. Different people have different interests and skill sets so what may be a difficult class for them, may be exponentially easier for another person. Additionally, different courses will often have different instructors who grade differently, or make the content easier or harder to understand. Lastly, some school districts place special emphasis on certain classes (like the post above which said that everybody was required to take economics), so some classes may be easier than others.

Basically, there's no possible way for any college to know if you made the "harder" choice in course selection. Though it may sound good to say, there's no way to reflect on the application (besides your grade) that you took the harder class. In the end, they are both AP courses and should be challenging. OP should do what interests him/her, and will lead them to success. Seeking hardship, while sometimes admirable, is not a box to check on any college application.
 
Line said:
Keep in mind that West Point, or any other college for that matter, has no way of knowing which class is harder. Different people have different interests and skill sets so what may be a difficult class for them, may be exponentially easier for another person. Additionally, different courses will often have different instructors who grade differently, or make the content easier or harder to understand. Lastly, some school districts place special emphasis on certain classes (like the post above which said that everybody was required to take economics), so some classes may be easier than others.

Basically, there's no possible way for any college to know if you made the "harder" choice in course selection. Though it may sound good to say, there's no way to reflect on the application (besides your grade) that you took the harder class. In the end, they are both AP courses and should be challenging. OP should do what interests him/her, and will lead them to success. Seeking hardship, while sometimes admirable, is not a box to check on any college application.
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Perhaps I'm a little ascetic on certain things. I do agree with you on this point. I'm simply saying to go for the one that will benefit you the most, although benefits differ for different people. Some want a good grade, others want an easy class, and yet others want to seek out 'hardship,' not necessarily for a college application, but because they can do nothing else. For me, it's a moral thing to choose the harder path where appropriate. Plus, I may have been biased in my answer, to a degree that is debatable.
 
Line said:
Keep in mind that West Point, or any other college for that matter, has no way of knowing which class is harder. Different people have different interests and skill sets so what may be a difficult class for them, may be exponentially easier for another person. Additionally, different courses will often have different instructors who grade differently, or make the content easier or harder to understand. Lastly, some school districts place special emphasis on certain classes (like the post above which said that everybody was required to take economics), so some classes may be easier than others.

Basically, there's no possible way for any college to know if you made the "harder" choice in course selection. Though it may sound good to say, there's no way to reflect on the application (besides your grade) that you took the harder class. In the end, they are both AP courses and should be challenging. OP should do what interests him/her, and will lead them to success. Seeking hardship, while sometimes admirable, is not a box to check on any college application.
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There are certainly AP courses that are respected as more rigorous than others. Ask any guidance counselor. Consider AP Calculus BC vs AP Psychology. Looking at AP test results can also give a clue regarding rigor. AP is standardized so that the content and readings are the same whether one takes it in Iowa or Florida. This, I think, is the point a few of us were making. If one is trying to select courses that will challenge as well as make their transcript stand out, this may be a consideration.
 
Stemmom said:
There are certainly AP courses that are respected as more rigorous than others. Ask any guidance counselor. Consider AP Calculus BC vs AP Psychology. Looking at AP test results can also give a clue regarding rigor. AP is standardized so that the content and readings are the same whether one takes it in Iowa or Florida. This, I think, is the point a few of us were making. If one is trying to select courses that will challenge as well as make their transcript stand out, this may be a consideration.
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STEM-based AP courses are definitely more rigorous, however, the other subject areas have the best AP classes available in that subject area. Certainly, in an unbiased situation, if you have AP Calculus BC vs AP Psychology, take Calculus.
 
Honestly, I would say take the course you think you will enjoy more(with the exception of AP Calc, as this seems paramount to any SA) If you enjoy it, learning it won't feel like a chore. Personally, I don't see a particularly high amount of value in taking certain courses just because they are harder than others. Hey, if the harder course is the one you will enjoy more, go for it, but if the "easier" AP course would be more enjoyable, take that.
 
MABlue said:
Honestly, I would say take the course you think you will enjoy more(with the exception of AP Calc, as this seems paramount to any SA) If you enjoy it, learning it won't feel like a chore. Personally, I don't see a particularly high amount of value in taking certain courses just because they are harder than others. Hey, if the harder course is the one you will enjoy more, go for it, but if the "easier" AP course would be more enjoyable, take that.
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To give you all a frame of reference, I took/am taking these AP classes so far:
AP Biology (took last year, ended up with an A)
AP English Language
APUSH
AP Chemistry
AP Psychology
Next year I'm taking AP Calculus AB, AP Physics, AP Literature, AP Government. I'm still debating on Computer and Econ - now thinking it over Econ would be better considering my course load (Math isn't my strongest subject so I'll have to dedicate more time to that).
 
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