Hi! i am going to be in 10th grade in about 2 months and i messed up on making my schedule and selected to do yearbook, but it is not very bad because I am interested in writing and can always switch it out.
here is my courses i have decided so far, please tell me if I should change anything.
10 grade:
math: algebra 2 honors
science: chemistry honors
history: AP world history
english: english 10 honors
gym: gym, drivers ed, health
elective 1: yearbook
elective 2: spanish 3
online: ap economics
11 grade:
math: pre calculus honors
science: AP physics
history: AP US history
english: AP language
elective 1: AP chemistry
elective 2: health and medicine
elective 3: health and medicine
12 grade:
math: AP calculus BC
science: AP biology
history: AP US government
english: AP literature
elective 1: AP statistics
elective 2: medical assistant
elective 3: medical assistant
i am wondering if i should take spanish 4 and other ap classes rather than medical assistant and health & sciences because i am not sure if they will boost up my chances of getting in (they are both worth 2 elective spaces)
Also i love math, history, english, and science so please don’t worry about me having too much work. I work really hard and enjoy learning all of them but i will probably drop ap english if i must.
i have all A’s so far and is actively volunteering at a local nursing home, clinic, and library. I have already planned out my extracurriculars so that i can manage to take hard classes with them.
(i’m not trying to show off my classes or anything, i think that i’m behind everyone because everyone is so ahead in math and took classes over summer but i can’t afford them so I’m waiting until i can get a part time job to pay)
Your projected schedule is rigorous. My advice is to take one year at a time, see how things go, and then finalize the next year’s schedule. You may find the courses get progressively more difficult, you may find a new EC that you feel strongly about and it is time consuming etc. Don’t lock yourself into a corner by per-determining your entire HS experience based on your experience in 9th grade. Keep in mind that HS should be a time of learning but also of personal growth – it should not be regarded solely as a 4 year college preparatory experience.
A few comments:
–Most importantly there is no pre-med major in college. You can major in anything and as long as your do the required medical school coursework you can apply to med school. I know people who got into med school with a variety of majors.
–There is nothing wrong with doing yearbook if it is something you enjoy.
–The decision as to if you should take Spanish 4 will depend on the schools you plan to apply to. Some top tier colleges do recommend 4 years of Spanish (meaning taking it through level 4). When you have a clearer idea of what schools you might be interested in applying to you can google the common data sets for each school and see what HS coursework they want to see. If you want to be safe, I’d opt for Spanish 4.
As @happy1 said, if you are premed, there is no required major. You can major in anything and complete the premed classes. It might be a bit easier if you major in something that facilitates a high GPA and overlaps with premed requirements to some extent (Mechanical Engineering is NOT the first thing that comes to mind).
Also, you can go to any of a very wide range of universities and be premed. You in-state flagship should be fine, unless you are in California in which case your in-state numbers 3 through 8 or 10 are fine. You definitely do not need to go to a “top 50” university to find a very good premed program.
As such your proposed high school schedule is definitely fine for leading to premed, and is IMHO significantly more rigorous than you need. It is a good plan to take some chemistry and some physics and some biology somewhere during your 4 years in high school. Calc AB is fine. Don’t skip over courses in math. Math is an area where everything you learn is based on what you learned last week and last year, and you want to have a solid foundation for multiple reasons, including the fact that premed students want to be used to getting a lot of A’s.
The various forms of volunteering in health care related areas is a good thing if you want to be premed. Also, when it comes time to pick universities for undergrad, pick one which will leave you with as little debt as possible, preferably no debt at all through your bachelor’s degree.
I might add: If you want to do yearbook, then do yearbook. It is fine.
Thank you for helping me. I will try to be less concerned about college and enjoy my high school life while I can. I want to go to UVA and they recommend students to take four years of language but I don’t know what I should take out to take out take spanish 4. @happy1
If one of your target schools recommends four years of language then I would prioritize Spanish 4 over any elective. Talk to your guidance counselor when it comes time to schedule your 11th grade classes. I would think that taking Spanish 4 and continuing with yearbook (if you enjoy it or another elective if you don’t) would be preferable to taking health and medicine (FWIW no medical school will ask or care about any HS electives you take).
I would also eliminate the online AP econ – your time would be better spent focusing on your rigorous academic schedule and getting more involved in ECs. Your schedule without the online course will show sufficient rigor that one more AP won’t make any difference. If econ is a graduation requirement perhaps take Spanish 4 and economics junior year as your electives.
@happy1 I was thinking of not doing health and medicine but it is a perquisite for medical assistant in which if I complete the course, I will earn a CPR Health Care Provider Certification, First Aid and Bloodborne Pathogens Certifications, and become a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant. I am not really sure if those are useful since it is taken in senior year.
If it is something you are interested in doing it then it is fine to pursue it. I would find a way to get Spanish 4 (perhaps in the summer at a CC or with an accredited online program – again you should talk to your guidance counselor.)
I second replacing the later electives with Spanish 4 and sticking with yearbook for more than a year. (You can always take health and medicine senior year but it really won’t later to colleges at all.)
The rest is fine.
Note that biology is a major with a very low ROI so you may want to think of other majors beside that one.