I am currently a high school sophomore trying to create my course schedule for next school year (my junior year). I will have completed Honours Biology and Chemistry by the end of the year, and thus do not need to take a science class next school year. I do however, want to apply to a range of competitive schools, and am worried that substituting a 3rd year of science with an A.P. Human Geography elective will decrease my chances. I plan on going into a political science field.
You will need some level of physics. It does not need to be AP or even honors but competitive schools expect to see some level of bio, chem, and physics.
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If you are applying to selective schools, I would recommend 4 years of all cores, even science for a liberal arts major.
Your best source of information, though, will be your guidance counselor. He or she will be able to tell you what kind of science background kids from your school had when accepted at the schools (or kinds of schools) in which you are interested. The GC likely won’t have anything as quantitative as a spreadsheet with that data, but she can at least tell you anecdotally the level of rigor required for acceptance in the past.
If you go to a bigger school and don’t know your GC, this is a great opportunity to meet with her, ask the question, and perhaps be remembered specifically when she is writing your counselor letter for senior year.
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Depending on the level of colleges you are applying to you may want to consider 4 years. You need at least 3 years for most colleges. The 2 years is most likely the minimum for a high school diploma in your state and that is not aligned to college admissions beyond community colleges typically.
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Also, just to clarify, physical science falls firmly under the umbrella and definition of liberal arts.
I am guessing you mean that you are interested in humanities, social sciences, or languages/literature, but the classical elements of a liberal arts education include literature, languages, philosophy, history, mathematics, and science.
A liberal arts college will still want an English major to have a solid foundation in math and science.
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My kids had to take three years of a lab science for every college to which they applied (recommended really means required). And they were not applying to schools as competitive for admissions as the ones on your list. Well…one did graduate from Boston University.
You need to check the recommended courses for each of these colleges. If three years of science is recommended…you need to take three years of science…at least.
One of my kids took Anatomy and Physiology as one of the lab sciences…but for this kid, that was the fourth science.
Check to see what lab sciences your high school offers.
I don’t think AP Human Geography is a substitute. @skieurope
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I believe OP was asking about taking APHG in lieu of a science, not asking if it would count as a science. Which it wouldn’t.
For the OP, as others have stated, let the CDS be your guide. My guess is that only having 2 years would limit your college options. Many colleges have “recommendations” which exceed HS graduation requirements. I personally would not recommend only 2 years; no college is looking for specialists in HS.
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D is not a STEM kid and took our state’s typical 10th grade science class in 8th followed by bio, chem & physics. The accelerated students usually take AP Chem or AP Bio as seniors but she ended up doubling up on APs from the social studies department instead. Students need to take what interests them but the selective colleges expect to see bio/chem/physics at a minimum.
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I know…What I was asking is if AP Human Geography is viewed as as challenging a course as another lab science.
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It’s an AP course. Admittedly far from the most challenging AP course, but certainly more challenging than a CP course.
But my philosophy has always been that if a college asks for X years of something, a course in another department does not satisfy their recommendation. No college, AFAIK, wants specialists in HS. So preferring X to Y is generally not considered a valid reason to ignore a college’s suggestions.
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I agree that the minimum number of courses you need to take to graduate is typically lower than what colleges look for.
I suggest the OP google the common data set of a few schools he/she might be aiming towards (google “common data set XYZ College”). In Section C there will be a list of required/recommended HS coursework in each subject for that college. Most colleges ask for a minimum of three lab science courses and typically (although it is not specifically listed) look to see a sequence of biology, chemistry, and physics.
Keep in mind that HS is typically seen as a time to get a well rounded education rather than a time to start to specialize.
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I guess it depends on where you plan on going to college, but EVERYBODY in our state of North Carolina is REQUIRED to have 3 years of Science to graduate high school so you would be very much out of the running for any state school in NC. Three years is the bare minimum for kids who won’t even be continuing on to college. You would need a physical science to meet the minimum requirements in NC.