I am currently a sophomore and in the process for choosing classes for next year. My first question is since I have not taken an AP class yet should I? I go to a highly competitive high school (consistently top 10 in mass and top 100 in the country) and we are not allowed to take AP classes in the first two years. However the only ones I can do are apush, phycology and english literature and composition which don’t really have anything to do with my preferred interests of math, science and technology. Many of the APs that do relate to my interests are only available to seniors (AP calculus, AP physics, AP computer science). This leads to my second question regarding foreign language. I have taken latin for two years which is enough for the graduation requirement, but is it worth to keep doing? I’m only in CP Latin and I don’t really enjoy it much, but I have heard that many colleges want 3 or even 4 years. I would be willing to continue it if it looks better on my transcript. My parents want me to just focus on my math and science classes and forget about “useless” APs and also to not do latin next year so I can fit in other technology courses. I know that everyones schools are different but would having no APs junior year hurt my chances? Here is my current schedule for next year:
Honors Trig and Pre Calculus
Honors Physics
Honors English or AP english literature
Honors US History II or APUSH
Honors Robotics I
Java Programming Honors
Microsoft Certified specalist
Latin IV CP1
Gym
Hurts your chances for what? For admission to the most elite schools? If you’re concerned about getting into a T20 school, not taking the most rigorous courses may preclude your counselor for checking the infamous box for rigor, especially given that you go to a highly competitive school. I would ask your counselor this question.
How about ECs? Will taking APs keep you from devoting time to outside of school interests?
Your very competitive high school offers these classes for a reason: top universities and LACs like (if not expect) AP English language and APUSH. They also expect foreign language through level 4.
Piling up on technology classes will NOT make up for curriculum shortcomings.
For selective 4- year colleges, you need 4 years each of English and social science/history, each from bio/chem/physics, foreign language through level4 or AP, and math through precalculus or calculus, plus a few ‘personal picks’ indicating what you’re interested in academically. If you’re aiming for a California university, an art or music class is required.
Do you have access to DE or any early college programs? It’s a great way to show rigor if you plan to stay in-state and allows for guaranteed college credit.
I’m asking because you seem to have no interest in history or English, but as the above poster said, strong History and English classes are pretty common to see on competitive transcripts. If you took dual enrollment US history and English, you could just get the credits out of the way so you don’t have to deal with the subjects in college. If you don’t have access to DE, at least try one of APUSH or AP English Literature and try your hardest to pass the exam. Frankly, not having a single AP/DE/IB class junior year is very unimpressive for a student who wants to go to competitive universities.
And yes, it’s important to have more than two years of foreign language; a significant portion of the schools recommend (read: almost require) three or more years, and even for the ones that only recommend two years, having three or more years can put you at an advantageous spot compared to those with only the minimum requirements. Technically, if you’re in Latin IV, that counts as having four years already, so you can probably not take it next year.
I would take at least one of the APs next year. They are not useless. At a minimum, it will prepare you for these types of classes in college. It may even allow you to skip some. Many STEM focused students do poorly in their lit/history requirements in college because they are under prepared. I would take at least one AP.
Your parents are smart folks with the best of intentions for you. Even so, I think that you should familiarize yourself with the admissions requirements to top colleges & universities which are of interest to you. For example, peruse MIT & Georgia Tech’s websites. Princeton, the ultimate undergraduate school, would be another to scrutinize.