<p>Good tip to ask for the reading list ahead of time, when you are trying to choose among available courses. Few people know to do this, and it almost always tells you most of what you need to know about the course!</p>
<p>I just wanted to add that my D's counselor was not comfortable with her decision to forgo Math and Science, even though my D showed her the list of requirements she found from researching schools, and had my D contact each of the schools she was interested in to find out if her courseload and past classes were sufficient. My D did this through email, along with a specific question pertaining to her 4 years of required Religion classes- which btw, can't be used as humanities. I must say she received personalized emails back from most of her colleges, I think there were about 12 at that time. Three did not reply at all (think bigger schools with huge populations) and one much loved smaller school was very curt telling her to read the requirements on their website :( I think this was good advice from her counselor as she did learn more from those schools replying to her than she could tell from their lists on their websites.</p>
<p>Melsmom, My D is planning on the AP English but no math or science. She was considering also doing the Shakespeare unit as an elective. She has a a couple of weeks before she has to finalyze her schedule so she can email the other schools she is interested in. Thanks for the good idea. Does your D think that an additional course in Shakespeare will be helpful or just more work and repetitive?
Harriet</p>
<p>Harriet,
My D, like yours, has a pretty good gpa and didn't want to jeopardize it by taking a third AP her senior year, as I warned her about that little virus that many seniors, including my older S, got his last year of HS called "senioritis." Mind you I am not a councelor, but I recommend your D take classes she might enjoy (don't think she would want to take 2 Englishes-so much reading!), and not have to struggle too much with in order to get her best grades to ensure her class ranking. Perhaps an honors course or two that she would find interesting, plus her Sociology along with her 2 APs will help her accomplish this. I highly recommended a study a day for my D, as she will be allowed to go in late and leave school early occasionally, an awesome senior privilege, especially if she is still dancing, singing and college prepping extracurricularly! My D appreciates her schedule very much and is noticing that it is coming in very handy especially with midterm exams rolling around in the midst of college auditions.
Eileen</p>
<p>It is so helpful to hear from all of you experienced parents! It would be interesting to hear the perspective of CoachC, Professor H., DoctorJohn...But all of your personal experiences help us newbies so much! Thanks!</p>
<p>Caromom, My d took exactly the same science classes as your d. Which school did not consider Earth Science a lab science? We also have a lab here.</p>
<p>I think the answer to this question is very related to the schools on the individual student's interest list.
If schools which require an academic acceptance that is at least partially disconnected from the audition are high on your list, senior schedule bears careful consideration. Most admissions offices calculate unweighted, academic GPAs. That means that they do not include arts courses unless they are honors or AP. (I have had extensive conversations with Admissions over this, LOL!) Students get extra "points" (for lack of a better term) in the admissions rubric for AP and honors courses. They get "points" taken away for what is deemed a "weak senior schedule." Unfortunately many arts students get caught up in this because courses they need to prepare for auditions are not necessarily the ones that admissions values.</p>
<p>If the top schools on your list are conservatiories for which the majority of weight is placed upon the audition, then classes for personal enrichment are excellent.</p>
<p>These are tough questions when you don't know what school you will end up at. But for those that go to BFA or BA schools that require gen eds, the AP scores (if you take and do well on the exam) can get you out of several gen ed requirements thus freeing up your time in college to possibly take more 'artsy' courses or whatever. Several good BFA programs require gen eds (mostly the ones that are not conservatory - but they are all very different). My d took AP bio her junior year, and AP English, History, and Math her senior year. She took all the AP tests except the math(calculus) and this got her out of alot of gen eds. She is pretty academic, and I wouldn't recommend it for every student, but if you are a good student and like the academics as well, it is something to think about (as long as you don't take on too much -I'm being wishy washy I know). Check the curriculum requirements at the schools you will be auditioning at. Usually the problem will be that you are auditioning at alot of schools because of the bfa competitiveness and the gen ed type requirements will all be different. </p>
<p>I guess I rambled, but I wanted to point out that the AP credits can be very useful at some colleges if you can handle the load senior year.</p>
<p>My son was glad originally that he got AP credit hours because he got out of several gen ed required classes. This allows for more electives. </p>
<p>He was even more happy about having these credits when it was time this fall to sign up for his spring classes. Because he had so many hours going in, he was able to register for classes sooner than the other freshmen. This helped him get the class schedule and teachers that he wanted. </p>
<p>The APs can help you in several ways, so go for them! Of course, you have to score a certain grade on the ending AP test to get college credit, and the schools will vary on whether you need a 3 or a 4 to gain credit.</p>
<p>Ericsmom - good point and I'm glad you brought it up because I had forgotten about this added bonus. In addition to earlier registration, my d gets a higher priority in the dorm/room lottery (she is considered sophomore status based on the number of credits she has) if she chooses to stay on campus next year. So there are several benefits to doing well on the AP tests.</p>
<p>Interesting...</p>
<p>I love that the PA students are saying that they've exausted their schools Academic Courses, and I at my high school have exausted the schools Performing Arts/Music Courses.</p>
<p>I remember how stressful this was for my D last winter. We read the websites carefully and then called some of the schools to verify because it did seem weird that an MT major would have to have four sciences. SU admissions made it very clear that four years of science and math were required, but at the audition in Nov. we heard some of the current students say that they did not have four years of math and science. It's confusing and frustrating.
My D ended up taking AP Calc., AP Bio.& AP English, because she wanted to apply at SU, CMU,& U Mich.and didn't want to take any chances. My other daughter is a freshman in college this year. The acceptance of AP courses played a part in her final selection process. She realized that all of her AP credit would be accepted at U Mich. and U Maryland, allowing her to graduate in three years. When you consider the price of some of these schools, that AP credit could add up to $50,000!</p>
<p>Has anyone received clarification form Syracuse about their science requirement?
The website clearly states it as 4 years of science. Is this 4 yrs of lab science and is it hard and fast for MT students as well?</p>
<p>Great thread, so helpful since it's that time of year to meet with guidance counselors and choose next year's courses.</p>
<p>If I were in your guys' shoes (and I will be, next year!) I would call or email individual schools to ask specifically about science and math requirements. I would also hope that guidance counselors at individual schools might know the answer to this, but perhaps that is asking too much! :)</p>
<p>Mamalu, I cannot speak for Syracuse and agree with NotMamaRose to call and get clarification. However, while this is not the most accurate source, the data Syracuse provided US News and World Report lists 3 years of Science required and 3 years of lab science. Also, not many schools require four years of LAB science. Even if they recommend four years of science, they are often requiring 3 to be lab, not four. Some only require two years to be lab. I feel certain if your kid has four years of science classes and three are lab, that is fine for just about anywhere, and surely must be for Syracuse. Many selective schools require three years of science and three years of lab, but recommend four years of science. I have not seen four years of LAB science required.</p>
<p>I also don't think the requirements for MT students are going to be different at Syracuse than general admissions. The student still needs to get into the university. The student still will be studying some liberal arts classes.</p>
<p>My son was accepted to Syracuse last year and only had 3 years of science. You should still check in case things have changed.</p>
<p>I called and spoke to a Syracuse admissions person,(who by the way was a Syracuse BFA in art herself).</p>
<p>I was told that Syracuse was a competitive liberal arts university and that 4 yrs Science and 4 yrs math were required for all applicants. However, she stated that if the student's record is excellent and well rounded, they would be admitted on their record, academics, SAT's and EC's, and they would not hold less than 4 and 4 of math and science against the applicant.</p>
<p>She kinda went around in circles, but couldn't quite say that 4 and 4 were recommended, rather than required. She did say that they were very understanding of the senior yr. for BFA in MT applicants, because of audition preparation, show involvement, etc. </p>
<p>So I received a mixed message, but bottom line if your kid is missing a 4th yr of math or science, it's probably ok if they have a strong record and less ok if their record is weaker.</p>
<p>I also think four years of science would be recommended for a selective college. But I don't think four years of LAB would be. I think that 3 of the four years of science could be lab such as Biology, Chemistry and Physics. The fourth likely could be a non lab course such as Earth Science or Environmental Science.</p>
<p>PS...I forgot to mention that my daughter got into Syracuse's BFA in MT and had three years of science. She graduated after her junior year and so that is why she had three years. However, she took math through AP Calculus due to acceleration.</p>
<p>I guess my son and Soozie's daughter had good enough records to be admitted to Syracuse, even without that 4th year of science. My son did go all the way through Calculus BC in AP classes (4 years math), English AP (4 years English), history or social studies 4 years, including 3 APs, and he had all As, graduating as valedictorian. I think the AP class grades are given extra weight by some of the schools.</p>
<p>Ironically, as a student interested in the arts, he won the Math award at school when he graduated!</p>
<p>We only have one AP class at our school and i'm taking it. It looks bad on all my transcripts :(</p>