I'm going to be a junior in high school and am going to take 3 AP classes (AP Chemistry, AP French, AP English). I'm wondering if I should take more AP classes for my senior year, or if it won't matter because some colleges don't give credits for Advanced Placement classes?

Colleges are now more strict about giving out credit. You have to score a 4 or a 5 on the AP exam at the end of the yr to receive the credit. Also, Junior yr is really important to colleges so you have to do really good, 3 AP classes are enough. If you decide to go after more, youre going be really stressed and cluttered with work, youre grades will tank and it won't look good for you.

My bad Susan I misread, you can take more AP classes senior yr, but most people like to take that year to relax, also most colleges won't really be that strict when looking at senior yr.

I took 3 AP's in junior year and 3 AP's in senior year. Though it is true that colleges are often strict about transferring AP credits, part of the idea of taking these advanced courses is to 1) prove that you are capable of handling the course load and 2) to learn more. I took both AP English Language and AP English Lit and what I learned in the 2 courses has been tremendously helpful in college. If there's an AP class that intersts you in senior year, by all means, take it. But don't go out of your way to take AP Physics C if you really don't care for it.

Ah, I see... but I've one more question in regards to Mr. Squidward's comment. High school seniors generally apply for college early in the year, so colleges don't even look at the grades you get for senior year, or is there some sort of weird elaborate plan going on? Also, I am planning to take some more APs in classes that interest me, but I have no knowledge of college credits really. So let's say, I take an AP History class, get a 5 on the AP exam, get college credits for that, and then I go on to major in Biochemistry in college. So do those credits that I get for AP History affect getting my bachelor's degree or associates degree or whatever degree in Biochemistry? I seriously know little to nothing about college in general, and I've been trying to learn about it, but college websites don't really help with this stuff.

The grades that a college receives (sees) is dependent on the time you apply. So if you apply early action then the college obviously won't see as many grades as they would if you applied regularly. But if your early application gets accepted, and you plan on going there, then the rest of your senior year can be spent relaxing (if you wish). There's a blog post that goes deeper into this early action/early decision topic. Ok, now the way credits work varies, since some colleges are more or less likely to give credits for completed AP courses than others. Most liberal arts colleges, if not all, require you to take some basic classes like US history, Biology, Physics, Calculus your freshman year even if you plan on majoring and getting a degree in Biochemistry. (That requirement is because ,in most cases, you don't start off college with a major) Therefore, the college credits you do or don't receive matter because its one more or less class you have to take before moving on to your biochemistry major and finally getting a degree in it. It really all depends on the college's credit transfer policy. So best case scenario, you find a college with a great biochemistry department/program (whatever its called) and that is willing to give you credits for your AP courses, which lessens the amount of minor classes you will have to take.

Okay, so when do I pick a major? Second year in college?

Depends on the college, but usually around the end of your sophomore year

So, when do you get your first paper degree certificate or something? At the end of your sophomore year too?

The actual degree is given at graduation. You may choose your major at the end of sophomore year, but many peope spend most of their junior and senior years taking classes to fulfill the degree requirements.