I’m a bored and ambitious 8th grader, and I have made a course plan for high school.
Do you guys think it’s good? I want to go to Johns Hopkins and major in biology, and minor in computer science, on a pre-med track.
–9th Grade–
[SCIENCE] Honors Biology
[S STUDIES] World History 1
[MATH] Geometry
[MATH] Algebra 2
[ENGLISH] Honors English
[LANGUAGE] Latin 1
[LANGUAGE] Latin 2
[ELECTIVE] Biomedical Science
–10th Grade–
[SCIENCE/ELECTIVE] AP Chemistry
[S STUDIES] AP Human Geography
[MATH] Trigonometry
[MATH] Pre-Calculus
[ENGLISH] Honors English
[LANGUAGE] Latin 3
[FINE ARTS] Art
–11th Grade–
[SCIENCE] AP Biology
[SCIENCE] Anatomy & Physiology
[MATH] AP Calculus AB
[ENGLISH] AP Literature
[TECH] Computer Science Principals
–12th Grade–
[SCIENCE] AP Physics 1
[MATH] AP Calculus BC
[LANGUAGE] AP Language
[TECH/ELECTIVE] AP Computer Science
[ELECTIVE] Human Body Systems
–Online Summer Courses–
(8th Grade) Health & PE 1
(9th Grade) Health & PE 2
(10th Grade) US & VA History
(11th Grade) US & VA Government
(11th Grade) Personal Finance
Taking AP CalcBC and AP Physics 1 is going to be tough. Although most mathy kids do well in AP CalcBC, if math isn’t your thing it can be extremely tough, Physic 1 is one of the most difficult of the APs, not because physics is difficult, but because they are teaching it using algebra, rather than calculus (and, because it’s an AP course, there is no way it can be changed). It has the lowest % of kids getting 4s and 5s among all APs.
If you are a mathy kid, I would recommend that you take AP CalcBC straight in 11th grade. If you are less mathy, I would recommend that you just take AP CalcAB in 11th, and maybe take AP Stats in your senior year.
You will also need at least three or four years of foreign language for many competitive colleges
MWolf
I know AP Physics & AP CalculusBC are gonna be really hard; I’m extremelyyyyy good at math, but don’t colleges want to see my challenge myself and rather see me have a lower grade in those courses then a higher grade in easy courses?
I think you’re going to be back here in a year or two asking if you can still get into JHU if you’ve got a couple of Bs or Cs on your transcript. Ease it up a bit. Make sure you make time for extra curriculars and accomplishments outside of school.
Agreed. While it’s great that you’re doing a prelim 4 year plan, know that it will probably change over time. You might be a bored 8th grader now, but HS is totally different than MS. Revisit your 10th through 12th grade plans next Spring. In the meantime, let’s look at your 9th grade plan.
Pending an answer to my question earlier, I’m assuming that Latin 1 and Algebra are courses that you’ve taken in the 8th grade. As a general rule, I’m in favor of knocking out grad requirements before you start plugging in electives. So, I would do Art in 9th grade and push Biomedical Science to a later year.
Ask the GC, but revisit the topic next year based upon how your grades next year are. quote US & VA History
(11th Grade) US & VA Government
(11th Grade) Personal Finance
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Again, revisit later, but I don’t understand the rationale for wanting to take them online and over the summer when there is room for them in your academic year schedule. Summers, particularly once you’re 16, can be better spent doing non-academic things. Few colleges are looking for one-dimensional academic drones.