@cptofthehouse When you say “other tremendous thing,” I obviously can’t think of one, but certainly by taking these online courses, I will have a lot more time to devote to CS. My parents don’t care if I go to a good college or not; they said they will support me if I go to the University of New Hampshire. They do, however, encourage me to get ready for the workforce. They encourage me to take these APs so I can transfer credits; although it doesn’t seem like much, they say that one less year in college is less money I’ll need to spend, and more money I make. That’s why I see some ECs as pointless—people do them solely for college. Yet I personally want to go to a good college.
It’s not unbearable for me to work with my classmates. I enjoy going to school. I like the environment, the thrill of learning. I’m not at all socially awkward; I still have quite the social life. Now I’m just confused.
If your goal is to shave a year off college, go to it. You have time to research the schools that will best take your AP scores as credits. Don’t know UNH’s policies on that. Are you also planning to graduate early from high school?
@cptofthehouse I never planned to graduate early from high school, but my counselor thinks I should (or could, at least. All I need is an online ELA class).
I might, however, take a gap year just to travel and do some productive things.
it is okay to be a high schooler in high school.
It is okay to take HS classes in HS.
it is okay to take college courses in college.
Let us say you take all of these advanced courses and you
Do well? What will you take junior /senior year? Take DE classes? At some point you are a HS senior taking 2nd year college classes? Your grades have to be good! And then when you do start college, will you go to your state college so you can save a year or two in tuition? Or will you go to a top school where your credits won’t be accepted and you will have to start in junior level courses…and you are still expected to do well?
Don’t do well? Then that will not be good for you to get into the college of your choice.
So if this is all for real…slow down on some of the courses.
Course loads like that are not to be suffered but savored. That’s what bothers me about this. Yes, many kids suffer school subjects that are necessary. We all suffer from having to do certain things we don’t want to do. But extra school courses like that, taking up your time, are not supposed to be suffered unless they are necessary. You don’t do that extra to suffer.
Stanford:
We expect applicants to pursue a reasonably challenging curriculum, choosing courses from among the most demanding courses available at your school. We ask you to exercise good judgment and to consult with your counselor, teachers and parents as you construct a curriculum that is right for you. Our hope is that your curriculum will inspire you to develop your intellectual passions, not suffer from unnecessary stress. The students who thrive at Stanford are those who are genuinely excited about learning, not necessarily those who take every single AP or IB, Honors or Accelerated class just because it has that designation.
I guess I don’t see why you posted. You don’t seem to want any advice. Anytime anyone makes a comment or suggestion, you just refute it. If you are happy with this schedule then go for it. Good luck!
I was going to do a really vigorous schedule similar to yours. but as a junior and quickly changed my mind. Don’t do this. Seriously, I know so many people who have taken way too many courses that are high level and ended up doing awful. I know a couple people in my grade who do all AP’s online and get 95+ but have no EC’s, sports, clubs, or anything. Even if you do end up doing well, you should make room to be in a club or something if you haven’t already, and try to work your way up to eventually be a leader. Maybe try out for a sport or something.
Don’t make everything about academics, because it isn’t as interesting or impressive to colleges as you may think.
@squ1rrel Given that you like argumentation, have you thought of Speech & Debate or Mock Trial as extracurriculars? What about writing editorials for your school newspaper? It sounds like you already compete in Geo Bee, maybe there are other academic competitions you could investigate like Science Olympiad.
Club membership shouldn’t be a meaningless box to tick but should be an activity you enjoy.
BTW, as far as college admissions is concerned, the grade you get in an AP class is at least as important (if not more so) than the score on the test. So that B or B+ in AP Calc will be evaluated, even if you obtain a 5 on the exam. The same would be the case for Physics C.
Try joining a club that interests you so that you’ll have fun and enjoy it. Colleges are looking for leaders and people who are in one or two clubs and very involved in them as opposed to numerous clubs that you’re just a member in. Try joining a club, then work your way up to be a leader in it like an officer in FBLA, for example.
@mamaedefamilia I already have a thread asking if a B+ will hurt my chances. The general consensus is no, not freshman year in an AP class. However, you are right that I should be weary when it comes to Physics C. Next year’s teacher is notorious for being terrible at teaching and not giving any extra credit/grading hard.
I don’t have many clubs at my school. I go to a large almost all white school where academics aren’t held to a high standard. I would certainly participate in more clubs if my schools was actually GOOD at them. @hudachi
An issue with your plan is the projection.
Going Physics C-> AP Chem → AP Bio is weird.
You should increase rigor not decreasing it.
I would recommend Honors Physics + AP Bio → AP Chem → AP Physics C
Sophomore → Junior → Senior
AP Calculus BC → Calculus-based Stats, Linear Algebra → Discrete Math, MVC
AP Com Sci A → Freshman level Dual Enrollment CS class → Sophomore-level Dual Enrollment CS Class (Spring)
AP US History → AP European History → Honors Economics or Political Science
Honors Physics + AP Bio → AP Chem → AP Physics C
Honors Spanish 3 → Honors Spanish 4 → Honors AP Spanish
Honors Sophomore English → AP Lang → Senior English seminar, Honors
Your senior year clearly shows a STEM bent, with post-AP level classes in Math, CS, and Physics (C = level 2), while keeping a good background in Social Science, Spanish, and English.
@MYOS1634 A lot of those courses aren’t available at my school. I’m taking bio this summer and honors chem over next summer; I don’t think there is a lack of STEM there. I’m not sure I want to change Physics C for next year, I worked very hard to get the course for next year, and I also have started to learn AP Physics 1 in preparation for the class. It would take me a lot more effort to get into Honors Physics, which is supposed to be a senior class. I could take AP Bio junior year and AP Chem senior year if that helps…
For ELA, I plan to take Honors Soph. ELA → AP Lang → AP Lit (honors senior english is a joke, lit is good for credit)
You got my language plan right.
For social studies, I think I’m taking APUSH + APHUG → AP Psyche (likely self-study) + AP Gov → AP Macro/Micro; we don’t offer AP world history, AP human geo(that’s why I’m taking it online), political science, or european history.
I can’t dual enroll in any classes; that’s what happens when you live in New Hampshire, unless I can get something going with UNH but math will already be crazy.
I have another thread on what to do for math, which will be hard to fit in because of the whole commute situation…
What about dual enrollment online through UNH online campus.
The problem is that after physics C Sophomore year there’s not much you can get into.
You shouldn’t think APs in terms of credit. If you’re aiming for top schools, AP will the expected default class. You won’t get any credit for it (sometimes you may get credit for 1-3 classes, at most.)
(Also, few colleges give credit for both AP Lang and AP lit).
@MYOS1634 It’s only C Mechanics; I can always self-study E&M…next year is the only year for sure which we will have Physics C; they may very well remove it after next year, as most people aren’t prepared for the course. I see only around 10 people being in the class next year.
I looked into the UNH thing and I can’t seem to take individual classes. It looks kind of complicated; they have an online school, but I don’t know how I would enroll or what…this is all causing me headache lol
I agree decreasing course rigor is not the way to go. Its also short sighted to jump into AP physics C with no physics background or chemistry. You can shave a year off of college without having this schedule. If you enjoy high school savor it while you can. Its a once in a life time opportunity if you are happy there. Online classes can really eat up time and are not as rigorous and everyone pretty much knows that. The reality is find something to fill your time other than just classes as you need balance in life. Maybe consider a part time job.
