<p>Ok, my first question I asked a little while ago on the "How to impress Adcoms with your ECs" thread, but having recieved no response (not that I really expected one) I decided it would be better suited to its own thread. But it didn't want stay its own thread for long. This is where the second and third questions come in. These three questions are unrelated to each other, they just decided to live in the same thread to save on rent costs and mooch off each other's food. </p>
<p>First, ECs: Does self-studying a language count as an EC? For the past two years I have been trying to teach myself Japanese. I have a strong, genuine interest in the language, I spent six weeks in Japan this summer, and I intend to have Japanese as one of my majors in college. It takes up a fair amount of my time, but I have no real formal structure like 5:00-6:00 everyday or something. Can I still put this down? How would I indicate it then?</p>
<p>Second, teacher recs: I'm positive I want to have my Honors American Lit teacher be one of them because I feel she really knows me well personally as well as academically. I recieved an A- in her class. For the other rec, I'm torn between a number of teachers. One, my Spanish 4 Honors teacher who knows very well what I am like as a student, recognizes my passion for learning languages, and I know she could give a well written rec. I have a good relationship with her, but she doesn't really know me outside of the classroom save for a few conversations and when our class went out to dinner at the end of the year. I recieved a B+ in her class. Two, my American History Honors teacher who is also my advisor. She knows me fairly well outside of the classroom because of being my advisor, and she is known for writing killer recs. On the other hand, history has never been my strong point and though I did work my a** off in that class I'm afraid there were many moments that did not put me in the best light as a student. There was only one paper/presentation (that I can remember) that she ever really praised, though that happened to be at the end of the year so I at least ended on a good note. I recieved a B in her class, though it should be noted that she is notorious for being the toughest teacher in the school and the GCs make sure to let schools know about this. In contrast to both of these, my GC seems to think that it would be better to have a "well rounded" app by getting a teacher rec from the math and science side of things as well. The thing is, even though I worked hard in both of those classes last year, I am not a math/science person whatsoever and niether of them know much about me outside the classroom with the exception that I spent a good bit of time in each of their offices for extra help. I got a B+ in Honors Pre-calc and a B in Honors Physics. So who do you think would be the better choice? And should I listen to my CG about the math/science thing?</p>
<p>Third, courses: My schedule for next year is as follows:</p>
<ul>
<li> World Lit Honors</li>
<li> AP Calculus AB</li>
<li> Social Justice and Spirituality</li>
<li> AP Studio Art</li>
<li> AP Spanish Language</li>
<li> Chinese I</li>
</ul>
<p>The thing is, I was originally going to have Honors Psychology in there as well, but got an email this summer saying they couldn't fit it into my schedule. My fear here is that I now don't have a science or a social science. I don't know what my options would be for adding another class, but do you think I should really try to add another class? I would really like to avoid a history class if possible, because I have never particularly cared for the subject and I have almost always done poorly in those classes..But I still worry that my schedule as it stands is not enough. What do you think? (Please comment on the schedule itself as it is now as well)</p>
<p>So there you have it. ECs, recs, and courses. The three big bads. I have asked my questions, I now eagerly await answers....please?</p>