Advice on senior year schedule

Applying to College
1

<p>Hi all,</p>

<p>I need to turn in my senior year schedule next week, and I keep going back and forth on this so I'm looking for some input, As it stands now, I'm planning to submit:</p>

<p>Shakespeare
Advanced Topics in Spanish (20th Century Authors)
AP Art History
Multivariable Calculus (Fall)
Advanced Topics in Physics (Intermediate Mechanics - Spring)
Intensive Mandarin
Advanced Acting</p>

<p>Some background: I'm looking to major in physics and possibly minor in theater. My EA choices will be either Harvard, Chicago, or Stanford. I've taken the following AP Exams: Calc BC, Chem, Physics C (both parts), Italian, and Music Theory, and scored 5's on all. I will take an additional 4 in May (Engl Lang & Comp, Spanish Lang, USH, and Macro).</p>

<p>My school does not label any class as AP as they do not "teach to the test." However, the course catalog does list several classes that in the description state "This course prepares the student for the AP XYZ exam." There is neither the expectation nor the requirement that we take an AP exam. The school neither weights classes nor ranks students.</p>

<p>So my question is: Will my schedule raise an AO's eyebrow because I am not taking courses to prepare me for the AP English Lit or Spanish lit exams? I opted not to go that route for numerous reasons. 1/ I am not a big fan of the "race through the ages" type of class, preferring a more thematic approach, and I already have the"shovel 10 pounds of *** into a 5 lb bag with Art History. 2/The 3 universities listed above, and most of the others on my list either limit the amount of AP credit they give and/or give credit for lang or lit but not both.</p>

<p>Since I will not get a GPA boost, I think it makes more sense to take classes that interest me and save my parents the $178. Thoughts? </p>

2

<p>Is your high school an academically elite one where the courses you are considering seen as being as rigorous or more rigorous than the AP courses that you might otherwise take, or is it a more typical high school where the content and rigor drop off significantly for the non-AP courses?</p>

3

<p>Your boarding school probably feeds to several top private universities/LACs which will know very well that the rigor involved in the class exceeds that of AP classes, so don’t worry about the tests.
DO take the SAT Subjects though (basically you should be able to ace Math2, Spanish, Italian, Physics, and English Lit so take your pick for whichver you think is most likely to get you a 750+ with the least amount of studying).
Don’t worry about your schedule, it’s excellent as it shows great academic strengths with a coherent plan.</p>

4

<p>@ucbalumnus I would say that the workload is similar.</p>

5

<p>@MYOS1634 Thanks. I’ve already taken the SAT subject tests in Math 2 and Physics and scored well. Should I take more?</p>