Hey I’m a grade 11 student in Canada planning on applying to some competitive business schools in the United States.
In Canada we take 8-12 courses per year and 4 per semester. This semester I took biology but I have a feeling I’m not going to do well in it (my other marks are very good). Now my guidance teacher told me that if I drop the course before a certain deadline, then the universities will not know that I dropped that course. However my question is tbat will they know that I only took 7 courses in grade 11 and how will that affect my chances of getting accepted? Thanks, and some schools I am considering are Stern, Ross etc
Most high schools in the U.S. (at least, in my area) require 6 classes per semester, and 12 per year. I don’t think it would be a problem to drop an elective, but you might want to be careful about dropping a core class like science. A lot of more selective colleges like to see that you took science all four years.
That being said, if you think this is the only way to save your GPA, I would go for it. Many students choose to take an open hour for a semester of Junior or Senior year, and this is probably how colleges would view the missing class.
Do business schools also want their student to take science through out highschool?
It’s something that colleges usually like to see, but, as far as I know, it wouldn’t be a requirement. I can’t imagine that missing a semester of science would keep you out of any good business school. I’m not an expert, but I think your GPA and class rigor are way more important to colleges than which particular subjects you took. Just be sure to look on your target university’s website - I know that some of the Ivy Leagues and more selective schools list the number of semesters of each subject they prefer.
You might want to talk to your guidance counselor a little more. See if she has any connections with colleges that could give her some more detailed information.