So, I’m currently a high school junior and I did pretty terrible the first two years, and I guess I was average this year. I always took as many honors classes as I could, but it is very apparent that that courseload was too much for me, as I currently have a GPA of about 3.0 UW, and I heard that my school no longer weighs honors/AP classes, which is bad for my class rank (which I haven’t checked) because along with all the honors courses I have taken, I had three AP classes this year: AP Physics 1, APUSH, and AP English Language. I did decent in the History and English, but not so well in physics (curse those conceptual questions!).
I plan on turning it all around next year, despite it being my senior year, the time everyone is supposed to settle down. I plan on taking 6 AP’s in a 7 period day (though, it’s mostly because my school is paying for all AP exams), those being: AP Comp. Sci, AP US Gov, AP Stats, AP Calc BC, AP Physics C, and AP Lit, with the only other class being Physical Education (as it is a requirement in NJ). Along with this, I will be the treasurer of FBLA, the president of robotics club, and possibly the president of math team. I have only taken the SAT’s once, but I got a 1960 (620 R/690 M/650 W), although I plan on taking the SATs again, as well as the ACT. If it helps any, I plan on majoring in electrical/computer engineering
I agree with rualum that it is a lot to take in one year. That is too many APs. Since Stevens is an engineering school, why not take your APs in the STEM subjects and take the rest as regular courses? Perhaps don’t take AP Stats. If you earned a 4 or 5 on the APUSH and AP English Language you can get college credit for them at Stevens. Can you study all summer and raise your standardized test scores? Have you taken any SAT IIs yets? You really need to improve your SAT math score to at least 700. Then try to get at least 700s in the Math II and Physics SAT IIs.
Well, I’m taking AP Lit because I have heard great things about the teacher, but I’m considering switching out of AP US Gov. The only problem I have is that there aren’t any scheduling conflicts and I don’t want to make any drastic changes. The classes I’m taking are basically the rest of the AP classes offered at my school, aside from AP Calc AB and AP Bio (which will be the same period as Physics C). I usually take the hardest courses offered because of the atmosphere of those classes.
I’ll definitely have time to study over the summer, I don’t do anything over the summer, anyway, plus I didn’t receive as much summer work as I expected. My math score was lower than expected, as I got a 73 in math on the PSAT. All seniors have to take the SAT on a Wednesday in October, and I can take the SAT IIs in October as well. I took the ACT since it was also offered by my school, but I ended up getting a 28 (33E, 27M, 27S, 24R), so I won’t send those scores in.
Good luck to you! Just be aware of all the deadlines so you get all your testing done in time for college applications. Do a search of this website to find recommendations for ways to prepare for the SAT and SAT subject tests at home.
My son had a 3.7 non weighted average, 28 on ACT, SAT Math 750, Reading 630. Tons of extra curriculars, sports etc. He did not get in and he has a sibling attending. He was not even weight listed.
There are many great schools out there. You might want to save your application $ and apply to schools you may have a shot getting in.
@Snappin Your son’s stats are good and sorry he didn’t get in. I do recall hearing that Stevens weights standardized test scores pretty heavily, so the ACT score might not have been high enough. The incoming freshman class is small (+/- 700) so there are not as many spaces as some schools. You are right - there is a college out there for everybody. That’s what makes a forum like this so valuable.