I am currently taking or will take
APUSH 1.5
AP ENG Lang 1.25
AP Calc AB 1.25
Gym .5
Health .5
Honors Chem 1
Usually at my school people have 7 credits built into their schedule but because I decided to have independent study (A non credit class and will not show up on my transcript) I will have 6 credits. Will colleges punish me for taking the independent study instead of a class. I have mid 90’s for the 3 AP classes I’m taking this semester. My school does semesters with 4 blocks/ classes in each. So for the whole year I have 1st block as an independent study as I sacrificed my lunch and a .5 elective both semesters.
Also I want to attend schools like BC and ND.
What sciences have you taken so far?
Make sure your GC mentions your independent study in their recommendation
Otherwise it seems great!
Please list every class taken and what you plan to take next year.
Foreign language? ND prefers 3-4 years of foreign language.
What kind of independent study is it? I agree that your GC should address that in your recommendation if it isn’t going to appear on your transcript.
I have taken AP Bio (Got a 3) and Unified Science (A required sci classes in my school which is a mix of all parts of science)
I have taken Spanish 2 and 3 in HS but 1 in middle school. Also the independent study is basically a study hall for me where I do my HW.
I have taken
Honors Geometry in 9th and Honors Pre Cal in 10th (skipped Alegabra 2 Trig) (Alegabra 1 in middle school)
Honors English in 9th and 10th grade
Honors World History in 9th
AP Euro (Got a 5) in 10th
AP Bio (got a 3) in 10th
A year of chrous in 9th
A half year of band in 9th
Gym in 10th
Spanish 1 (in middle school) and Spanish 2 and 3 in highschool both in 9th
Honors Unified Science (A mix of sciences in one class required in my school) in 9th
Business Basics (a tech elective) in 10th
I plan to take next year
AP English Literature
AP CALC BC
AP Stats
An Economic class at Williams College
Accounting and Finance
I want to go into accounting or economics.
Many top colleges like to see a sequence of bio, chem, and physics – so if you haven’t taken physics yet I would do so next year.
In terms of schedule rigor the person whose opinion matters most is that of your guidance counselor. Ask him/her if your schedule is sufficient for him/her to check the box on the recommendation saying you have taken the most rigorous schedule available at your HS. Top colleges want to see that box checked off.
Honors Geometry in 9th → Honors Pre Cal in 10th → Calculus AB → Calculus BC (or BC-> Dual enrollment math)
Honors English in 9th and 10th grade → AP Lang ->AP Lit or Honors English
Honors World History in 9th → AP Euro (Got a 5) in 10th → APUSH → AP US/Comp Gov, etc.
Honors Unified Science in 9th=> AP Bio (got a 3) in 10th → AP Chemistry → AP Physics 1
A year of chrous in 9th
A half year of band in 9th
Gym in 10th
Spanish 1 (in middle school) and Spanish 2 and 3 in highschool both in 9th → Spanish 4-5 in 11th → AP Spanish
Business Basics (a tech elective) in 10th => AP Econ in 11th → Dual enrollment Economics
(HS accounting or business classes etc will NOT be seen as rigorous. Advanced math and social science matter more. However participation in DECA can be good.)
What’s your gpa?? Your schedule seems fine and it shows that you’ve challenged yourself. Your SAT scores and GPA are what are going to help you most getting into these top schools. If you’re looking at BC and ND, you’ve gotta get an SAT score in the high 1400s or low 1500s to at least be a competitive applicant. You’ve gotta also have a high GPA, something over 4.0 weighted to say the least. You’ve still got time to also pick up a summer program at either of these schools or pick up more extracurriculars. These are all things that are gonna compliment your pretty decent schedule and set you apart from the thousands of applicants who likely have a similar schedule to you. Do you challenge yourself OUTSIDE of the classroom as much as you do inside? Consider all of these factors. Don’t slack off when picking your senior year schedule.