<p>In a week or two I'll be going into senior year at my school, and I have quite a few spares in my timetable so far, which means I can add either Biology or French to my timetable.</p>
<p>If I added Biology, I could either take Biology 12 by itself or Biology 11 Advanced and AP Biology together, and if I added French I would take French 12 (probably not AP).</p>
<p>If I'm aiming for engineering (probably electrical/computer) in the Ivies/MIT/CalTech, which should I take? Help please!</p>
<p>Which one do you want to take? Neither subject is very relevant to what you’ll be majoring. However, such high-caliber schools like to see four years of science (with at least one year of Biology, or one science with a lab, or one AP science depending on the school). They also like to see four years of a language, but I think science trumps language. The more rigorous of the Bio choices is better.</p>
<p>Probably biology. And then just take French at your local community college!</p>
<p>I’ve had over four years of science (including AP Phys and AP Chem) but only three years of foreign language, which is why I’m considering French.</p>
<p>The only reason I’m considering Bio is because it may be useful for engineering, but on the other hand, electrical engineering doesn’t really use Biology. If I don’t take Bio, I’m taking AP Env Sci instead.</p>
<p>As for my preference, I prefer Bio and French equally.</p>
<p>@hd2496 French at a community college isn’t really an option for me though… I could maybe take French 12 or AP French at a distance education school while attending my regular school, but I’d preferably take it at my own school.</p>
<p>Also, if I take Bio, should I take Bio AP with Bio 11A or just Bio 12?</p>
<p>For the “ivies” focus on 4 years of a language. AP french would be a wise choice.</p>
<p>For MIT and Caltech 4 years of a language isn’t so critical. AP Biology would be a wise choice.</p>
<p>No easy answer …</p>
<p>Since you are planning to apply to both I recommend that you make sure that you have 4 years of a foreign language. And I recommend that you avoid the “Community College” route. Take classes in your high school.</p>
<p>Thanks for all you guys’ responses so far.
@fogcity Although I sort of agree, I don’t think I can take AP French, as in Grade 11 I had the choice of taking the two AP Physics C courses or French 11 Advanced, and I chose to take the former with regular French, so going straight to AP would be a bit of a stretch.</p>
<p>Also, the bio teacher at my school wouldn’t let me take AP without taking 11A at the same time, and from what I’ve heard, she’s not the easiest teacher either.</p>
<p>If I just took AP Env Sci, AP Psych, AP Euro History, AP Eng Lit, AP Chem, and Linear Algebra (EPGY), would that be rigorous enough for senior year? I still have half my timetable as spares though, which is why I considered taking French or Bio.</p>
<p>For reference, I have already taken AP Micro and Macro, AP Calc BC, AP Comp Gov, and as mentioned, the two AP Physics C courses.</p>
<p>bump?
Can somebody answer please?</p>
<p>Does your school possibly offer a zero-hour class? If so, take one of those classes before/after school. If it doesn’t, go with the class you feel you will do better, so you can have a higher GPA.</p>
<p>By zero hour, do you mean before school? If that’s what you mean, AP Env Sci, which I’m gonna take, is after school, which is why I have so many spares in my timetable.</p>
<p>You aren’t clear enough with what classes you have taken or not. I have no idea what 11 or 12 means as that is not a designation that all schools use.</p>
<p>But you want to have taken physics, chem and bio in your science coursework for the competitive schools. AP’s whenever possible.</p>
<p>You also want to have at least 3 and preferably 4 years of foreign language, to AP if possible.</p>
<p>After you have these core classes under your belt, that’s when you add electives like AP Env. sci, AP macro etc. unless you aren’t going for super reach schools.</p>
<p>So do the best to fill in what you can.</p>
<p>Oops, sorry about that, I live in Canada so it’s a bit different… 11 means Grade 11 (junior), 12 means Grade 12 (senior), “Advanced” means “Honors” and 11A means 11 Advanced / Honors, etc.</p>
<p>For sciences I’ve taken:
<p>For languages I’ve taken French 9, 10A, and 11.</p>
<p>For senior year, I’m definitely going to take AP Eng Lit, AP Chem, and AP Euro History because, as you said, core classes are important. I’m almost definitely not going to be able to take AP for either French or Bio. I might discuss with my counselor next week and take French 12.</p>
<p>Thanks guys :)</p>