Desperate In Need Of Schedule Help!! Pls Help me!! Thanksssss!!!!

Parents Forum
1

<p>How's it going?</p>

<p>Currently I am a Junior, but need help signing up for classes next year (Sr. Yr.).</p>

<p>Here is my transcript.</p>

<p>Geometry & Algebra in Middle School.</p>

<p>Grade 9 Summer<br>
Computers - A </p>

<p>Grade 9 Fall<br>
English H - B<br>
Advanced Algebra - B<br>
Architecture - A<br>
Biology - B<br>
Basketball - A<br>
Spanish Year 1 - A </p>

<p>Grade 9 Spring
Englsih H - B<br>
Advanced Algebra - A<br>
Architecture - A<br>
Biology - B<br>
Spanish Year 1 - A<br>
Tennis - A </p>

<p>Grade 10 Fall<br>
English H - B<br>
Health - A<br>
Pre-Calculus - C<br>
Physics H - B<br>
Spanish Year 2 H - B<br>
World History H - B </p>

<p>Grade 10 Spring
English H - B<br>
Pre-Calculus - C<br>
Physics H - B<br>
Spanish Year 2 H - C<br>
Tennis Boys - A<br>
World History H - A </p>

<p>Grade 11 Fall<br>
English H - A<br>
AP Chemistry - B<br>
Graphic Design - A<br>
Statistics - B<br>
U.S. History - A<br>
Business Elective - A </p>

<p>For 2nd semester so far I'm doing roughly the same. Maybe a tad bit worse.</p>

<p>Academic GPA Non-Weighted: 3.32<br>
Academic 10-12 GPA Non-Weighted: 3.18 ( :( )<br>
Honors Semesters: 11 ( :) )<br>
AP Semesters: 1 ( :( )</p>

<p>So, what classes should I take Senior year?</p>

<p>Math wise, my only option is AP Calculus, which is really hard at my school, and after getting Cs sophomore year in Pre-Calc, it would probably be hard for me. Or I could retake Pre-Calc, but that would kind of suck, or something at a local community college?</p>

<p>The Spanish year 3 teacher is really bad and hard, and after struggling in year 2, I decided to only do the 2 years required, rather than the 3 years recommended by colleges. Should I maybe try year 3 even though it's really hard and I don't enjoy it?</p>

<p>I plan to take normal English. Maybe AP Lit. I could even do AP Lang.</p>

<p>History wise, I plan to do both AP Economics, and AP Government. Both are year long classes. (2 APs to make up for lack of Spanish and Math Sr. Year, Or should I take either math or Spanish??)</p>

<p>Science wise I plan to take AP Environmental Science.</p>

<p>I have a good elective too, and a sport.</p>

<p>So that would make:</p>

<p>AP Environmental Science
AP Economics
AP Government
English Normal
Business Elective
Study Hall
Sport</p>

<p>Is that fine?</p>

<p>All three of those APs I can handle, they are the easier APs for Sr. Year. Plus, it's a substantial jump from only taking 1 AP Jr. Year.</p>

<p>As you can see my GPA isn't that great. I did better Jr. Year, but that's because my course rigor wasn't that hard Jr. Year.</p>

<p>I plan to apply to colleges like: UCSB, UCSC, UCD, Cal Poly Slo, Long Beach State, UMiami, Pepperdine, ASU, Santa Clara, Chapman, U San Diego, etc..</p>

<p>So remember I'm not like most kids on the forum applying to super competitive schools, I'm your more average smart kid, not super wizz...</p>

<p>Is my schedule fine?? Or should I change something? Help me out!! Is it fine to have only taken 3 years of math in H.S. Does algebra and geometry in middle school actually make it 5 years?? How much will not taking a third year of foreign language hurt me?? Please help? How's my schedule??</p>

<p>More background is:</p>

<p>PSAT = 176 without prep. Hopefully with prep I can get SAT around 2000, maybe 1900s.</p>

<p>Rather good ECs.</p>

<p>Over the summer I plan to take a course at community college like psychology.</p>

<p>My H.S. is public and ranked about 50th in CA. So pretty good!</p>

<p>I plan to major in business.</p>

<p>I gave you a lot of information. haha Anything else you need? I would love some help, advice, and recommendations!! Thanks!!</p>

2

<p>Can I get a B? B. Can I get a U. U. Can I get a M. M. Can I get a P? P. </p>

<p>Bump!</p>

3

<p>Your schedule seems okay, but I'm concerned about the impact of only taking two years of Spanish. If you are thinking of taking a CC course, maybe you should try Spanish.</p>

4

<p>Okay. Well I could probably without much effort get an A in like psychology.</p>

<p>But Spanish would be hard, but I could maybe manage a B. How hard is Spanish 3 at community college compared to high school?</p>

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<p>I don't know. I took German 1 for review at Pasadena City College and it was about the same level of difficulty as German at Harvard except the book had much more practical vocab and we didn't have to read a novel on the side. Both courses covered a lot more material than a typical first year high school course.</p>

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<p>I would totally recommend suffering through your 3rd year of a foreign language. Most colleges require three years of foreign language ("highly recommend" which is basically the same as "required"). Take it in your high school. Foreign languages taken in a college setting tend to move at a much faster rate.</p>

<p>edit: Oh man, I just realized that you didn't take Spanish this year. Not good. Perhaps you can get a tutor for the summer and brush up on your Spanish before you start up again in the Fall.</p>

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<p>You should have taken Spanish this year--gaps will only make the class harder and doesn't look good. Is there no CC non-calc math class you could take, like discrete math?</p>

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<p>Or take a Spanish course this summer so that Spanish 3 this fall won't be so hard.</p>

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<p>Thanks for all the feedback. If I do end up taking Spanish 3, I would probably just take 2 APs because that would be too much for me with all the ECs. Remember, I'm just a 3.3 student...</p>

<p>Would taking Spanish 3 with a bad teacher and struggling through it and probably getting a B, maybe a C even worth it when I could take an AP class with a good teacher, learn something interesting, and probably get a B, maybe even an A.</p>

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<p>You want to major in business but want to avoid math and Spanish? That doesn't make sense. I don't know anything about your universities specifically but I really think you should do what you can to take Spanish. My suggestion is to take Spanish at the community college this year. Ask for a placement test and, if they don't give you one, go talk to the department. You will probably go into first or second semester Spanish. If you get through the second semester, you will have a good foundation to continue Spanish at the high school.</p>

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<p>i personally despised spanish (just way too easy/boring) and dropped it as quick as i could for ap physics my junior year. i doubt it impacted me in the UC/SLO engineering admissions game. you are only required to take 2 years of spanish for the UC's. </p>

<p>so i say, if you really don't like spanish, and would be more interested in something else (possibly something more difficult), then take that.</p>

<p>are you counting ap gov/econ as 2 separate ap's?
at my school it's a semester of both, culminating with the gov (us) ap exam.</p>

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<p>Okay, I'm glad I got someone who said don't take Spanish. haha.</p>

<p>Well AP Gov is a year long class, which is weird at our school. Students say it's the easiest AP at our school.</p>

<p>AP Econ is macro one semester, and micro one semester. It's brand new this year, so I have no clue about that.</p>

<p>Maybe I'll stick with my original schedule and take a math class in the summer (like what though?? re-take Pre-Calc / Trig or something??)</p>

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<p>and i actually want to learn Spanish, it's just that the teacher's suck, and it's hard. It ruined my GPA, and I don't like learning it in school! hahaha</p>

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<p>oh yeah i 4got there was an actual ap econ haha</p>

<p>You only get 1 semester credit for each math year in middle school, and I can't remember if it starts at Algebra 1-2 or Geo. So you'll either get 1 or 2 semesters worth.</p>

15

<p>You already passed pre-calc witha C - there's no reason to take it over and I doubt your school would let you anyway. Most people would take AP-Calc following pre-calc. Yes, it might be hard for you but as long as you know that going into it you can work harder, devote more time to studying for that class, find a class-mate who understands the material well and see if they can help you if you end up needing it, work with the teacher more to cover areas you think you're having a hard time understanding, see if there's a tutor who can help you, etc. Basically, deal with it if it's not an easy class for you. It'll be good prep for college anyway.</p>

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<p>AP Environmental Science - ok</p>

<p>English Normal - ok</p>

<p>Sport - ok - everyone needs one fun class</p>

<p>AP Economics - ok - are you sure this is a full year? Many places it's half a year.</p>

<p>AP Government - ok - again, many places this is also one semester.</p>

<p>Business Elective - ok, but you'd do better with Calc AP. Many colleges expect you to already have Calc and you'd probably need it for Business anyway. </p>

<p>Study Hall - as posted earlier, colleges really expect that third year of Spanish. If you can take Spanish during the Summer, then go with the Business elective you wanted. </p>

<p>Option - If you find out Govt and Eco are one semester each, then throw in anything but a study hall. Newspaper, yearbook, video tech, debate, theather arts or another computer class would all look good for Business. </p>

<p>Is your hs small? I ask this because you are taking 6 classes and that may very well put you at a disadvantage which is in no way your fault or anything that you can change. Many of those college applicants you're going to be up against took 8 classes each year so are way ahead of you in terms of college prep and AP credits. Don't give your prospective college any excuse to say no thanks. Take a deep breath, square your shoulders, and do your very best next year.</p>

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<p>Thanks. </p>

<p>Yeah, I'm sure Gov & Econ are both full years.</p>

<p>I did JV Business, and will be on the varsity team next year, so I think that'll look good, and I have a leadership position in that class, so I plan on keeping it.</p>

<p>Maybe intead I'll take Spanish instead of studyhall. But, I probably wont do good. I still really dont want to do it!</p>

<p>I dont think i cuold handle AP Calc... not sure what to do!!!</p>

<p>anyother advice? hahaha thanks so much everyone.</p>

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<p>bump 7897987</p>

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<p>buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuump</p>

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<p>I don't know much about the colleges you are applying to, but I strongly suggest you go to their websites and see what they recommend for their applicants. How many years of language and math are they looking for? You aren't applying to the top universities that require AP Calc and four years of language -- but if the schools you are applying to want to see more than you are offering, you need to take them next year. But those schools may be fine with what you've taken already, and you may not need to take more Spanish or math. Another option for language is to take the first year of a different language instead of continuing with Spanish.</p>

<p>Is your guidance counselor any help at all?</p>