Is this a good sophomore course load?

Question

Okay so here it is..

Quarter 1

Geometry, Band, US History, Driver's Ed, Enriched English

Quarter 2

Driver's Ed, Band, US History, Geometry, Enriched English

Quarter 3

Explore Medical Careers, Band, US History, Algebra 2, Zoology

Quarter 4

Cell Biology, Band, US History, Algebra 2, Phy Ed.

Clubs: International Club, Key Club, SADD

Sports: Skiing, Track

Answer 1

Your list of courses:

Geometry

Band

US History

Driver's Ed

Enriched English

Explore Medical careers

Algebra 2

Zoology

Cell Biology

Physical Education

My input:

Your year is divided into quarters, while mine is divided into semesters. What is strange to me is the fact that you are taking such a broad range of classes. Nevertheless, I think that this courseload looks very manageable. I too am a Sophomore in high school. I am only taking six classes all year round. Here they are:

Pre-Calculus- Comes after Algebra II

Spanish II- I noticed that you don't have a foriegn language- Most colleges expect 3 (mainly 4) years of a foriegn language.

AP Physics B- Many pre-requisites.

Honors English

Advanced Honors Orchestra

AP US History- In order to get into this class as a Sophomore you need to read a handout, submit an essay, and get a teacher recommendation.

That's all of my classes, now moving onward.

AP stands for Advanced Placement. This means that it is equal to a Freshman/Sophomore course in college

I took Geometry in ninth grade. I thought that it was fairly challenging. There is not much homework involved. I recommend do all of you work, focusing in class, and studying for tests/quizzes.

I took Algebra II over the summer. Another thing that looks strange on your schedule, is the fact that you are taking both Geometry and Algebra II in the same year. If you are taking these as half-year courses, that will make Pre-Calculus and especially AP Calculus very challenging. Algebra II is a lot more equation intensive, it requires a lot of memorization and application. Good luck.

I also took Honors Biology in ninth grade. It was challenging. It requires a lot of homework/memorization. The homework ranged from 1 hour to 2 hours per night. There are also frequent tests. However, you are taking Cell Biology, which is not honors... So I don't know the rigour of that specific course.

Other than that it looks fine. Band, Drivers Ed., and Physical Education will be very easy. Is Enriched English like Honors English? If so, you will be reading a lot of books and writing lots of essays. It's basically tedious work that can obviously become more than arduous at times. I'm taking AP US History, so I wouldn't know a lot about US History. I know that the summer homework in AP US History already challenging. History requires good memorization skills. You have to remember chronoligacally, in terms of dates and so forth. It will also require a lot of analytical skills. You will have to read sections about different events and write about why you think they happened and so on... As for zoology, I can't help you much their. My science class this year is AP Physics B, which is a very challenging AP course. It involves a lot of math- Advanced Algebra, Advanced Geometry, Trigonometry, and introduces concepts of Calculus.

Overall, I think that you have a fairly challenging courseload. The courses aren't necessarily challenging, but it's the amount of courses you are taking that will affect you the most.

I do sports and clubs as well. The key to succeeding in academics while you do extra curriculars is time management. You have to spend you time will and prioritize. Never procratstinate.

And with that, I bid you good luck.