Hi I am a junior who is hoping to apply to business schools next fall/winter. My GPA is decent 3.78/4 and I have pretty decent SAT scores 1470/1600, but my course rigor is definitely not the hardest it could be. Although I have realized this now and have totally switched gears to the hardest course load I can take, it is relatively late. I took only 2 AP classes junior year (Psychology and Human Geography) and 3 honors. Over the summer, I plan to take Calc 1 and Calc 2 at a CC. Next year I am taking all AP (Bio, Italian, Stat, Comp Sci, Micro). Since I am only just taking hard AP classes my junior summer and senior year, will this put me at a severe disadvantage for colleges? I am only worried since I go to a very competitive high school in which the kids challenge themselves extensively. How does my course rigor look for top business schools?
Thanks
Ask your GC what they will say regarding course rigor in your record. That’s what counts.
Taking BOTH Calc1 and calc2 in accelerated format at the CC may not be such a good idea, unless your goal is then to have space for an “easy” class such as AP stats; otherwise, why not takeCalc1 over the summer (and another college class of your choice, if you want to demonstrate rigor as well as versatility), and take BC over the year?
Check whether the CC credits may be accepted by the schools you planned to apply. For instance, UMich does not recognize many OOS CC credits. In that case, you better off taking AP Calc BC at school during regular semesters.
Shouldn’t put you at a disadvantage. Talk to your GC and see if he/she, based on your track, can say that you are taking the most rigorous courseload you can take.
@TheDidactic I don’t know about at your schools, but at my schools the guidance counselors are really not helpful at all and don’t really care about the students to be honest…
@MYOS1634 I would definitely do that, but I don’t think the head of the department would allow me to jump into BC. Its strange that most people think Stats is an easy course overall, but at my school i have heard it is challenging and not an easy AP.
I’ve heard all over/all around that guidance counselors aren’t the most helpful people in the world. However, it is in their job description to help you and “guide you” and answer any questions you have regarding the college process. The question that I pose above can be simply articulated to him/her.
Does your school not offer AP Calc AB/BC? I know you’ve posted about this before so I apologize for asking again.
Anyways, most of us here can’t really answer how Stern and Wharton will perceive your transcripts. My advice would be to apply, but also have a good list of backup schools.
@NavalTradition Yeah they are offered, but I wanna get ahead, because I am only on track for AB and I think taking summer classes would also look good and strengthen my course rigor perhaps.
@SternBusiness Normally I would recommend maxing out the resources available to you at your high school over CC/DE courses. In general from what I’ve been able to gather that looks best to adcoms. You, however, seem to be passionate and determined about taking calc at CC. That’s worth more than a little. Good luck.
Summer courses would strengthen your transcript, but if your school offers AB, take AB (colleges don’t make a difference). Another thing would be to take calc at the CC, then register for BC - check with your GC if that’s okay.
In any case, take rigorous summer classes: philosophy perhaps, statistics… A college statistics class will “look better” because it’ll be more rigorous than AP Stats. (Your high school’s version of AP stats may be especially rigorous, but the colleges won’t know, so you’d get all the downsides and none of the benefits :D… you’ll learn as much in a college class and the course rigor WILL count in your favor.)