My HS Class Load is too intense... what do I drop?

Q

questionablecadet

USMA 2027
Joined
Sep 13, 2021
Messages
16
Hello,

I am a Junior in High School and in an attempt to make myself look as good as possible on Service Academy (specifically USAFA) applications, packed my schedule full of APs and Honors classes. If an AP or Honors was offered, I took it. However, as we reach three weeks in, I realize that this was a huge mistake. With extracurriculars, other responsibilities, CAP, and a half-hearted attempt to maintain a social life, it has become wildly apparent that I have bitten off more than I can chew and there's not enough time in a day to complete all I would like to. Thus, I have decided that something needed to change. I was hoping I could hear what would be most beneficial for me to keep in terms of classes, and which ones it may be okay to let go. Listed below are the heavy-intensity classes that I'm considering dropping.
  • AP United States History
  • Honors Critical Reading and Writing (English)
  • AP Calculus AB
The other Honors classes I have taken are appearing to be of little workload and relatively easy, so I plan to keep those on no matter what. Is there anything I could stand to lose, rather, anything I should definitely NOT drop? Thank you for your help, I truly appreciate it.

Respectfully,

Conflicted Cadet
 
Try not to drop maths and sciences. Especially is the reason is work over lack of understanding.

Also keep in mind AP classes model college work load, though they give you a ton more points than college.
 
FlyFalcon said:
Try not to drop maths and sciences. Especially is the reason is work over lack of understanding.

Also keep in mind AP classes model college work load, though they give you a ton more points than college.
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The reason is purely over workload. I feel I could maintain good grades in all classes if I simply had enough time to dedicate to them, yet I do not.
 
emmettwolf said:
It generally ranges from around 3-5 hours if I'm doing everything thoroughly enough to maintain decent grades. This seems minimal but sports do take up quite a bit of time as well.
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Trust me Im not one to judge what "minimal" so if sports are right after school you probably start home work around 7-8 maybe 9, then another 3-5 hours of homework. Means you go to bed around 11 at least and 2 am at most correct?
 
Well, you don't say much about what else is eating up your time. Doubt I would drop any of those classes.

Maybe it's the extra curriculars that need to be trimmed back? Maybe the part time job (if any) needs to be left? Social Media? Over-the-top church activities? The garage band?
 
The SAs love candidates who take the hardest classes their school has to offer, especially in STEM and English. Remember that your competition will include candidates taking multiple AP classes, playing varsity sports and holding leadership positions. If you’re feeling overloaded, make sure you’re putting quality over quantity.
 
emmettwolf said:
Hello,

I am a Junior in High School and in an attempt to make myself look as good as possible on Service Academy (specifically USAFA) applications, packed my schedule full of APs and Honors classes. If an AP or Honors was offered, I took it. However, as we reach three weeks in, I realize that this was a huge mistake. With extracurriculars, other responsibilities, CAP, and a half-hearted attempt to maintain a social life, it has become wildly apparent that I have bitten off more than I can chew and there's not enough time in a day to complete all I would like to. Thus, I have decided that something needed to change. I was hoping I could hear what would be most beneficial for me to keep in terms of classes, and which ones it may be okay to let go. Listed below are the heavy-intensity classes that I'm considering dropping.
  • AP United States History
  • Honors Critical Reading and Writing (English)
  • AP Calculus AB
The other Honors classes I have taken are appearing to be of little workload and relatively easy, so I plan to keep those on no matter what. Is there anything I could stand to lose, rather, anything I should definitely NOT drop? Thank you for your help, I truly appreciate it.

Respectfully,

Conflicted Cadet
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Just telling you, you're not alone. I too struggle with the same situations and having to step in for my father while he's on deployment doesn't make it any easier. Try to maintain that social life to the best you can, so you don't end up having other problems. Also, be sure to do the things you enjoy, love, and are capable of doing. Don't do it because you believe that you need to to it to get somewhere, be like someone, or make someone proud. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future to further your chance of getting into USAFA. Good Luck.
 
My two oldest sons took AP U.S. History during their sophomore year of high school and my youngest son is taking it now as a sophomore. It is a class with a huge volume of reading, writing, and memorization. Great class, but a massive amount of work. That being said, my son who is currently at an Academy received B's in both AP U.S. History and AP Calculus AB. He had so much on his plate between playing multiple varsity and club sports, Boy Scouts, Student Gov't, holding down a part time job, studying for the SAT, etc. that sometimes his grades suffered. He was still so well rounded that an occasional "B" in a rigorous academic class didn't seem to hurt him in the long run. I'd say stick it out if you can. Good luck to you!
 
alliern said:
My two oldest sons took AP U.S. History during their sophomore year of high school and my youngest son is taking it now as a sophomore. It is a class with a huge volume of reading, writing, and memorization. Great class, but a massive amount of work. That being said, my son who is currently at an Academy received B's in both AP U.S. History and AP Calculus AB. He had so much on his plate between playing multiple varsity and club sports, Boy Scouts, Student Gov't, holding down a part time job, studying for the SAT, etc. that sometimes his grades suffered. He was still so well rounded that an occasional "B" in a rigorous academic class didn't seem to hurt him in the long run. I'd say stick it out if you can. Good luck to you!
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Sounds exactly like my son. My DS is at USAFA. He has more free time now, than he ever did in high school. I agree with the occasional "B". Learn to manage the stress and workload now and USAFA will be easier. I see lots of Doolies completely stressed right now because they were never stressed in high school., Well rounded is more important than straight As based on my experiences.
 
Definitely DO NOT drop calculus. Of the ones you listed - I'd say history. But I would suggest re-evaluating how you are preparing for history class/studying for history instead. I think there are probably ways you can reduce the time spent on that class and still do well (I have taken it).

One of the universal constants at USAFA is not enough time to do everything. Studying efficiently is one of the best ways to make it work. Maybe you don't read that whole history section word for word? Skim for the highlights instead. Figuring that out was key for me - I retain maybe 60% of reading at the most if I read word for word (I DO NOT learn by just reading...it just doesn't work for me) and if I skim, it takes me 1/4 the time and I usually get about 50%. So that's what I did when I had assigned reading with no tangible test/graded event attached. If there was a graded event, usually there was another way to study - flash cards, notes, etc.

I'm not saying that exact plan will work for you - I'm saying you need to ID what's eating your time (that is - when you are spinning your wheels and not getting much out of your studying) and get rid of it/make it more productive.
 
One big goal of APUSH is to teach you to take, manage and use large volumes of notes. It's not a bad class one you master the daily work, but it's a grind until you do. If you play a fall sport (like my daughters did) it can feel pretty overwhelming. Just remember that everyone is in the same boat, and that a lot of kids in your class are probably also taking other AP and Honors classes and struggling to find their footing. Try to keep in mind the goal of more efficient note-taking while you read. Maybe talk to a teacher about what you're doing each night and see if there are techniques to help speed things up.
 
Can you reduce the Calc from AP to Honors? You will be retaking Calc, unless you validate out of it, your first semester. So unless you have a real shot at validation, which at USNA requires a 5 on the exam, reduce down to Honors or regular Calc. But agree don't drop it all together.
 
Another check mark for retaining AP Calc and being aware of skills used in AP Hist. Don't drop those.

Reassess what you are doing against the pie chart of admissions and what you would do when no one's looking. The answer may be to modify activities, reassess your class schedule, rearrange your social life, or even in the end, maybe reaffirm what you are doing and double down on the mantra Where There is a Will, There is a Way.

Extracurriculars, plural, you mention sports, plural. What are you doing? How high level? Trajectory to captain, recruited athlete?
Other Responsibilities, plural, what are they? Meaningful, leadership, engagement, vs. laundry list? Unique aspects that a BGO/ALO/FFR would specifically mention in their write-up?
CAP - nice.
Social life - compared to what? Compared to State U bound classmates, or a calculated balance when competing with other SA striving candidates?
 
One other thing. Currently right now I don't get out of the house much as I'm studying and have classes till 17:15 ( not complaining, I actually like the challenge) however that means my social life it uh not normal? I actually zoom when I can mostly to talk and check in on teammates but also to ask questions. Helps both my social life and academics life. It doesn't take away from study time, as it's planned it
 
I second with @SuperFalcon68. You're not alone. I've made a couple posts questioning whether or not I've put to much of a workload on myself, or if I'm not challenging myself enough. If you need someone to talk to about that just PM me! I've gotten a lot of well thought out advice from many members of the SAF.
 
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