How many honors classes to take in 9th grade?

[Anonymous]

My daughter is a rising 9th grader in FCPS. She currently (8th grade) takes all honors classes (inc. Alg. I Honors). She has straight A's, but she does work at it. She plays a travel sport, which takes up a ton of time. I am hearing conflicting reports from people (inc. parents and counselors) about how many honors classes she should take (AP classes start in 11th grade at her school). She wants to do well in school, continue with sports, and not be totally stressed. She wants to go to the likes of VT, Davidson, JMU, Wake Forest, or UVA.

Does she need to take all honors classes (Bio, History, Eng, Geometry) in order to start her "track record" off right? Her ultimate goal is to go to medical school, but obviously she needs to figure that out in a good college.

She is currently signed up to take 2 Honors classes as she was told by some teachers that kids who take too many are a stressed out mess. Others have told her that many kids take all honors, and that the schools mentioned above will be looking very closely at the rigor of her classes, starting in 9th grade - they expect 4 honors or AP classes each year!

I have no idea what to believe... please help me, based on your child's experience. Thanks!