if i can interrupt the dick-measuring spat to ask a question of knowledgeable smogon members:
what do i take my first yr of college? i understand this is too broad a question, but like what are dos and donts. Im interested in political science economics and statistics maybe trying to go to law school. I was thinking Stats course - Microecon (which wont be as hard bc i took econ in hs, although still hard, prolly), a political science course, and an english class. it's hinted at in the catalogue i can place out of stats 101 based on the ap score: is this typically good or bad to do? idk im just confused
I had an Excel spreadsheet planning out four years of college - and it didn't go like my plan in HS, but better. Adjust accordingly.
I would definitely be fine with English / PoliSci / MicroEcon - even if you have AP credit in those classes, there are usually variations that are not review classes from high school. Be careful with what Stats you take - there is a HUGE difference between calculus based stats and non-calculus based stats (AP really only covers stats without Calc, and econ / stats majors will most likely need to take calc-based stats). It was also common at Wisconsin for students to not do as well overall if they took a math class their first semester - a bigger issue with calc than stats, though.
The fourth class should be something random and fun, IMO. The more random the better. Enjoy what the massive course catalog has to offer before locking yourself in and facing a crunch to graduate on time.
When deciding between taking and not taking AP credit, remember that 2 successful grades >>> 1 not so great grade. They did help me graduate in 4 years when I wouldn't have otherwise, but it wasn't always a smooth transition from AP to college. Keep in mind that you're not only taking a harder class, you are also competing against students a few years older with better study habits. Hard to top the curve (or even make friends) in that type of class no matter how good your HS background. The material doesn't always change between AP and college, but the pace certainly does.
Also if you have retroactive foreign language credits, take advantage of that by enrolling in a language course. Wisconsin granted retroactive credit for foreign language classes given a B or higher in the first university class taken.