I’m currently a junior, and next year I’m thinking of not doing any AP courses at all, and instead enrolling in 3 or 4 classes at OSU. I’m not concerned about whether or not I will receive college credit for them, but rather if it may look bad/suspicious on my transcript since I am avoiding the AP Englishes and AP Calc BC.
Schedule for next year:
Linear Algebra (DE)
Intro to Psychology / Intro to Sociology (DE)
Some English course - TBA (DE)
Honors Orchestra
IB Art
Questions:
At the end of this year I’ll only have 7 APs; would that be enough for very competitive schools?
Is it reasonable to add a 4th DE course in one of the sciences, or would that be way too stressful? I already have 4 years of science so I don’t really need it, but it would be nice.
I really, really don’t want to take AP Lang or Lit since they are notoriously hard to get As in at my school, and I’m not the best at English (plus, I’ve had both the teachers for those classes and I would NOT want to ever see them again!) Since I’m not looking to be an English major anyways, would it be alright to not have those classes/tests and still be competitive?
^ same question for BC. I am taking AB, though.
Apologies for such a long post and thank you to anyone who takes the time to read and answer any of my questions!
You really need four years of English, whether or not it is your major. It does not have to be at the AP level, however. Seven is the magic number for AP classes, meaning seven is sufficient to prove you can do college level work and there is little academic benefit gained taking more. HOWEVER, talk to your GC about what classes you need in order for him/her to check the box that says you took the most rigorous classes available. Rigor is very important to top schools. As for Calculus BC, if you are going into a STEM major, take it. If not, consider AP Statistics (a good class for business and political science majors).
If you are going to be a STEM major, you need a science course your senior year. Most schools want to see a sequence consisting of bio/chem/physics, and then an AP in one of those disciplines. Also don’t forget about your foreign language.
I also agree with the above to check with your GC to see how your HS will consider your rigor.
There’s no magic number. It depends on what your hs offers and the logic in your choices. (A growing number offer no AP or limited.) Bumping up the number with easier APs is pretty obvious and not so impressive.
But we have zero idea what colleges. Or whether you looked into what your targets recommend for hs prep. (That should be your first action, when thinking of this, well before deciding.)
I don’t see how you think you can replace AP lang or lit with “Some English course.” Even just asking all this hints you really don’t have a feel for what it takes. That’s risky. So is an attitude that a hs course may be hard, when you hope for top college.
Even if the GC marks this Most Demanding, you need what else the target colleges expect (and your competition offers.)
For a DE English class you would probably want to take whatever the required English class is for all programs (Freshman English, College Writing 1, Intro to English 1 - name varies from school to school You could also take a high school honors English instead.
Can you take linear algebra without having BC/Calc 2 first?
If the “some English course” at college is supposed to be frosh/soph level (as opposed to remedial/developmental level), it is likely to be as hard as or harder than high school AP English courses.
Yes, I will be taking four years of English. I’ll definitely talk to my GC about what classes are considered the most rigorous as well, thank you for the advice! I am unsure of doing BC the year after doing AB, though - is that a path that people typically take?
I have already taken AP Chem, AP Bio, and AP Physics 1. Next year, I can take AP Physics 2, APES, or a DE course like Intro to Chem or Anatomy (which some of my friends are doing). I may be going into STEM but I’m still somewhat undecided. If I do decide to, which of those would be the best science option?
Yeah, I have to admit that I am behind in my research about colleges (and about courses in general) – I didn’t really expect to make it this far. But I’ll look into the requirements for sure.
This year, I’m already taking Composition I and Composition II (DE) so there is a larger selection for English for me next year, and I’ll have to look into which courses/times are available and work with my schedule.
I think that I can take Linear Algebra with only AB since I know someone else who went through that progression, but I’ll check with my GC to be sure.
I have 3 years of foreign language as well (Spanish 2, 3, and IB Yr.1), but since IB is considered the 4th level I think it would be enough? Also, I got a 5 on the AP Chinese exam, but since that is my native language I don’t think it really counts.
Calculus BC after AB is common in some high schools, but not in others.
Looks like you have AP level in the three main sciences already, so that looks strong in any case. If you want to complete your basic science knowledge, AP physics 2 will cover the most obvious omission.
In terms of English, are the college English courses you completed considered college frosh level courses? I.e. at the college, do they fulfill an English composition graduation requirement? (Or if it is a community college, does your state flagship accept them to cover that requirement if you transfer those courses there?)
As far as foreign language goes, level 4 or AP level in a non-heritage language tends to meet typical expectations. However, if you intend to go into a field where greater skill in any of the languages (Spanish or Chinese) is needed (e.g. some social studies or humanities study in the communities or regions where those languages are used, or health care where there may be speakers of those languages), you may want to consider more advanced study in high school (if available) or college.
In terms of rigor, DE=AP.
However if you take LL your classes through dual enrollment, you should make sure to have 4 classes each semester and make sure you cover all required fields, showing progress in sequential classes or taking classes that require more advanced thinking in other classes. Since you’d be taking classes at the HS I suppose you could get by with taking three De classes each semester.
Linear Algebra, post- freshman comp English, a social science, a science, and perhaps a foreign language should all appear in your schedule, either Fall or Spring.
DE is not necessarily equivalent to AP. It all depends what the class is. Many who take DE classes at our school to get CC credit will be going to the CC.
Ok, I’ll be more precise: for very selective universities’ admissions, DE=AP.
The content may not be the same nor the depth but the pace is twice faster and a CC class requires far more autonomy than an AP class. Basically “the clearest proof of future college success is current success in a college class”.
A student will almost never get credit for dual enrollment (or AP) at the most selective universities because that’s the default preparation level thy expect for all freshmen.