<p>Should I be concerned if I don't have 5 science credits? At my high school it's a hot trend to graduate with 5 science credits. Usually this means Physical Science, Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, Chemistry, and Physics. However, I didn't want to take A&P, so I didn't sign up for it. It just really wouldn't interest me. In addition, since I had the slots open, I'm in Chemistry and Physics. My school has no honors or AP. My plan is to take 2 sciences this year and leave next year open for other electives I want to take (like Computer Graphics, Speech, Creative Writing, Newspaper, Accounting 2, Band, Spanish 4) that I haven't been able to get so far. That leaves my senior schedule to look like this:</p>
<p>English 12
Government/Economics
Calculus (if my school still offers it)
Computer Graphics
Creative Writing/Speech
Newspaper
Accounting 2
Band
Spanish 4</p>
<p>So my transcript will look like this:</p>
<p>English: 4 or 5 credits (I'm not sure if Creative Writing/Speech count towards this or not)
Social Studies: 3 credits (that's all my school has)
Science: 4 credits
Math: 5 credits (I'll do Calc at the community college if my school nixes it next year)
Electives: 13-15 credits (not sure how all of these add up)</p>
<p>By the time I graduate, I will have pretty much exhausted my high school's courses. But there is still that one science class I didn't take because I didn't want to. The catch is that it's offered only every other year. My senior year will be Environmental Science, which is what the dumb kids take to fulfill their graduation requirement.</p>
<p>Will this lack of 5 science credits be a negative factor in my admission to a top university?</p>
<p>^You're the reason I'm so concerned about this. Obviously, it's a little late to change this now, but can anyone else offer some more insight? Is it really necessary for me to have so many science credits? If it's of any help, my three most probable majors are Economics, Finance, or Operations Research.</p>
<p>I just thought of something else. Could I compensate for this by doing research projects? I've done one the last three years in a row, and I was planning on doing it my junior and senior years as well. How would this fly with the adcoms?</p>
<p>You want an honest answer? The answer is no. You are far well off with 5 science credits. I was thinking about taking a fifth one this year, but I decided not to. If you have 4, you are perfectly fine, and have nothing to worry about. The top schools like 4 science credits, and won't question you for not having 5 or 6. Don't mind aisgzdavinci.</p>
<p>That's perfectly fine. My prospective schedule will leave me with only four credits in science, and I plan on majoring in the sciences. On the other hand, I'll have 4.5-5 in English and 4.5 in math.</p>
<p>But your school doesn't offer as many as mine (there are 7 science courses, and I could have taken 6 at the most), so it shouldn't be a problem at all.</p>
<p>Where do you want to go and what is your intended major? Without this info, any response is meaningless.
FYI though, I took Adv Physical Science (stupid required freshman class that really doesn't count as a science), Honors Bio, Honors Chem, AP Bio, and Physics. My school offered AP Chem, but there was a schedule conflict, and I chose not to take Anatomy/Physiology, Earth Science, Environmental Science or Oceanography. So that put me at like 4 science classes taken out of 9 offered. Big deal. I'm at Caltech now, so I guess it didn't matter.</p>
<p>The important thing is to take the classes that you're passionate about and don't be lazy. I took 7 semesters of band instead of all of these above mentioned sciences because I loved band (and I let that be known in my app). More importantly, schools do not examine your courses against your school profile with a microscope. There are just too many applicants from too many schools, so they mainly rely on how rigorous your courseload is when compared to your classmates as deemed by your counselor (you can see this in the school report supplement in the common app).</p>
<p>So my advice is, be more specific and go with your passions.
Good luck.</p>
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If it's of any help, my three most probable majors are Economics, Finance, or Operations Research.
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</p>
<p>I'm more into liberal arts colleges than big research universities, so I'm thinking of Princeton, Brown, and Amherst as my reaches. Yes, I realize they don't all have the operations research thing, but I'd say that's my most unlikely major out of the three. Economics is my most likely.</p>
<p>I really don't count the Physical Science for too much either, but that's all freshmen can take, and it's a science credit nonetheless. With my current schedule, I have no free periods, and I have a multitude of ECs, plus I have a part time job. It should be the same my senior year, but I will have exhausted most of the academic courses, so it will be those filler classes, plus maybe a couple at the CC. I certainly wouldn't say I'm lazy.</p>