Hi everyone, I’m new to this site and I was wondering if you could help me out. I’m currently a junior in high school and I want to know if the classes I’m taking right now are good. We’ve just started the second semester, so here are my grades from the last recent quarter.
AP English Language and Composition: B-
AP U.S. History: A-
Algebra II Honors: B+
Anatomy and Physiology Honors: A+
Newspaper: A+
Theater 1: A
I’m sort of bummed about AP Lang because I love English and this is the dumbest I’ve ever felt in an English class. I have never, EVER gotten a B in English before. My GPA unweighted is around a 3.8 and weighted a 4.1, which at my school is just average. It’s just average to have a 4.0 nowadays, the valedictorians and top tens get 5.0+ so that’ s cool.
Guys, I really want to get into my #1 dream college, and I’m sorry if this is turning into a rant, but I am just so discombobulated at the moment. I’m on my school’s track team (I’m a female sprinter) and the season’s about to start and I can’t wait, but I also feel like I’m going to fail the SAT and the AP exams and not get into my dream school.
exhale
I’m trying to come up with a good senior schedule, so if you could please tell me if the classes I’m taking are good enough that would be great. Oh, and you should know that in college I want to major in journalism (focusing on business and entrepreneurial journalism) with a minor in business. I’m not all that great at geometric or algebraic math though.
Senior Schedule 2018-2019
AP English Literature and Composition
AP Stats
Psychology 1
Newspaper (I’m editor-in-chief)
AP U.S. Government (half semester)
Economics Honors (half semester)
I’d also love to complete few online classes over the summer in subjects that teach me how to manage a family and budgeting. My school also has a late arrival or early release option for seniors and I don’t know which one I should choose.
Sorry I wrote so much… But God bless you guys, thank you so much for your help
The college I want to go to is kind of different. It’s a small, private, Christian liberal arts school and they don’t have normal classes like regular colleges. The classes, while rigorous, are smaller and classical, and their acceptance rate is 40%. It’s out of state, but in my state, you’re required to have 2 years of a foreign language, and I took a high school level Spanish 1 while I was in 8th grade, and Spanish 2 my sophomore year. I took physical science in 8th grade, but my family moved to another city in a different county where a private school stupidly made me take physical science again freshman year because it was a “graduation requirement.” I left that school and started my sophomore year in a public school and I’m finishing out high school there.
Have you taken physics, chem, and bio? If not, then definitely add whatever you’re missing into your schedule.
I am also in ap lang and feel your pain, first time getting a B in English for me too. Schools will take into consideration that it is an AP course but you also have a chance to get get your grade up before the end of the year.
Do you have AP econ at your school? That would probably be a good class to take considering your intended major.
I agree with what was said above about math, definitely consider taking precalc.
Well, I took Biology Honors sophomore year, and no, my school doesn’t have AP Econ. And to be honest, Pre-Calc kind of scares me because math is definitely not my strong suit, but when I looked up statistics and how much more tangible it was, I was kind of drawn to it more.
NOTE This is my FIRST year taking AP classes, since the school I was at freshman year didn’t offer any and sophomore year I took all honors classes. So to some are saying that my junior schedule is too easy (in messages), to me it’s pretty rigorous.
Ok, so with an oddball school, the general advice may not apply. Go read the admissions page to see what classes are expected of applicants and read the general education requirements and the department page for your major to see what classes you need to be prepared for when you arrive.
Do the same with your most likely safety school in your state system.
I would recommend taking regular Precalc if Honors Algebra II is scaring you. Ideally, you should be in Precalc this year, but things are different from one person to another. Skipping out on Precalc will make you look worse to applications. Have you taken Chem or Physics yet? If not, do so, even if it is regular, because once again, that will bring down your application greatly.
As for late arrival or early dismissal, I would highly recommend late arrival, as you could have to stay after school for something, making it a bit pointless.
Recommending Late Arrival too
Take Regular precalc and AP Stats, plus regular chemistry or physics or APES to replace Psychology. Since you want to work in science writing, you need as much exposure to science fields as possible (and APES would be especially relevant since a lot of science writing relates to environmental issues). Indeed, you’d have to take Precalc in college so you want a slower paced preview if you’re not confident in math, and AP stats for the rigor and because it relates to what you want to major in.
Guessing you’re interested in Hillsdale, so you better try and take AP Euro if you can, or Western Civ at a local community college.
AP English Literature and Composition
AP Stats - Why not Pre-calculus?
Psychology 1
Newspaper (I’m editor-in-chief)
AP U.S. Government (half semester)
Economics Honors (half semester)
Where is your science?
Take what you haven’t taken of Bio, CHem and Physics.
