<p>(Apologies for cross-posting)</p>
<p>My daughter is partially homeschooled she does the lab-based science subjects at school and all other subjects at home. She is very good at studies, and we believe she has the potential to make it to one of the top 10 universities in the country (of course fathers think of their daughters as the brightest). She is not interested in medical school or bio-engineering or bio-anything. Would it hurt her undergraduate admission prospects if she has absolutely no biology in her transcript (she will have physics, chemistry, math, statistics, and computer science as the science/math courses)?</p>
<p>Apart from admission considerations, might avoiding biology be a bad idea in any other sense (e.g., she might not be eligible for some contests/scholarships)?</p>
<p>I would be grateful for any advice/pointers.</p>
<p>Unless there’s some reason she cannot take any biology at all, I would make the effort to do so. As it is she’ll only have two traditional sciences (chem and physics), and that won’t compare favorably at top schools to students who have the three core science subjects.</p>
<p>I’m not saying the absense of bio in and of itself will eliminate her from consideration, but unless she has some other unique hook it’s pretty important to cover those bases.</p>
<p>Perhaps she could take a summer bio class at a local community college or state univ. Or she could self-study it, or do an online course. I don’t think it will matter SO much whether it ends up being a lab science since she’ll have chem and physics for that, so even if it’s a bio study without labs, that would be better than no bio at all, in my opinion. (And there are online courses with labs, too.)</p>
<p>The one consideration that one might want to address is that some regard the absence of biology to indicate the avoidance of teaching of evolutionary theory. This is a big no-no for a lot of the colleges, so if that is not the case, I would take pains to show that there has been exposure to non-Creationist science.</p>
<p>I didn’t take a single biology class (lots of chemistry and physics though) and it didn’t stop me from getting into 2 top ten universities (Duke and Columbia) as well as Pomona and a couple other schools.</p>
<p>Interesting point, broetchen. I think everyone should study evolution, but my own thinking aside, if that is the reason for the lack of biology and if the parent or student feels the mind must be sheltered from diverse ideas, then at the very least do a self-study with a non-religious books and materials and just skip the evolution chapter. Or you may be able to find an online course from a religious school that omits evolution, and the student could take that. It may also be looked on skeptically, but at least it shows an attempt to learn such a broad and essential area of science.</p>
<p>Why didn’t you study biology, lolcats?</p>
<p>And congratulations on your successes, but I still wouldn’t think it wise advise to most applicants to skip bio when they’re looking at top schools. Which is not to say people without it could never be accepted… for example, you. ;)</p>
<p>I didn’t study biology because it was more an interest and timing thing…I started with Physics and Chemistry (something I have fascinated with since 3rd grade), and I enjoyed Chemistry so much I opted to study Organic Chemistry instead of Biology. </p>
<p>I do think it wise to take three or more years worth of sciences, but I think it’s more important for a homeschooled applicant to pursue something they’re genuinely interested in than a subject that most people take. So if you don’t study biology, there should be an equivalent or better alternative.</p>
<p>Makes sense. I think in core areas where top schools say they want to see 4 years, you can get by with 3 in some cases (my own kid did this with foreign language), but any thing less than 3 might be very ill-advised. But it depend on what else might recommend the student besides grades and test scores. The OP should remember that if a top school is the goal, that virtually all the likely candidates are going to have great grades and top scores. The question is then, what else sets this applicant apart?</p>
<p>I hope you enjoy Pomona! We visited there a couple times, my son did the on-campus interview. He was seriously considering it, but it just didn’t feel like quite the right fit when it came down to it. He ended up at Amherst where he’s totally happy.</p>
<p>I am so glad he found his perfect spot, but if he’d landed at Pomona he’d at least still be on the same coast! Waaaa. (<— Parental self-pity.)</p>
<p>Do you think the same holds for Physics? I have two options this year: AP Biology or (regular) Physics. I opted for AP Biology because I hate physics and because I’d rather have an AP course than a regular course, even in my weakest subject area. As it stands, I’ll have taken Honors Biology, Honors Chemistry, AP Environmental Science, and AP Biology. Is this satisfactory or should I seriously consider switching into standard Physics?</p>
<p>@ 'rentof2: thanks, the first couple weeks here have been absolutely fantastic! I’m very happy with my choice so far and the future seems very promising. </p>
<p>applicannot: I’d say Bio because you’re more interested in it and it’s AP.</p>