<p>Can you really get into a good college without Physics or Calculus? In the era of the well rounded student, can a kid who excels in subjects other than science and math get a fair shake in admissions?</p>
<p>High SAT CR scores and high SAT II Literature scores are actually significantly rarer than high math scores, and are highly valued by many colleges. Obviously the best is to have high scores across the board, but if you’re going to be unbalanced, it’s probably better to be unbalanced in favor of strong CR and Lit—unless you’re going into engineering or some similarly math-heavy discipline. </p>
<p>On the other hand, I think most top schools would expect 4 years of math (though not necessarily Calc) and at least 3 years of lab science (probably including Physics, though perhaps it’s not essential if another solid lab science is available in addition to Biology and Chemistry). These aren’t absolute requirements at most schools, but they might look askance if you were avoiding math and science in favor of easier subjects.</p>
<p>Not at the very top schools, but at most.</p>
<p>you can get in without physics and i’m speaking from experience. i’d take four years of math, though, and three years of lab science.</p>
<p>Thanks. I’m wondering about the fact that a some schools say that they will accept a minimum of three years of math and two years of lab science…but do they really mean it?</p>
<p>They really mean that’s the minimum anyone can get in with. They need a lot of athletes, so unless you have a hook…</p>
<p>4 years of math (4th year can be AP Stats instead of AP Calc.) and 3 years of lab science is the way to go. Even with 3 years of lab science, I would recommend taking an elective science during your senior year (astronomy, marine bio, psychology, or even a food/nutrition class).</p>
<p>You can…But it’s better to take more.</p>
<p>I had 3 years of math and 4 years of science (8th-11th –> Earth, Bio, Chem, Physics).</p>