Since the beginning of my school career in elementary school i’ve always been extremely lazy. It got up to the point where in 8th grade I ending up messing up my chances of taking Algebra 1 and Earth Science and took Science 8 and Math 8. I didn’t really care that much at the time since I didn’t realize what I had done. Now, as a sophomore in high school I’m taking H Geometry and R Biology and i’m a year behind in those two subjects from most of the kids in my grade. My concern is how this will affect my future applications. Do colleges really look at what classes I took? (Not AP, Honors and Regular wise) At the rate i’m going now i’m taking Pre-Calculus and Physics in my senior year and this bothers my a lot as most of my relatives are practically geniuses. I’m honestly surrounded by idiots in these classes who do nothing but fool around and don’t bother to open a book after school.
So my question is: Is taking these slow classes going to affect my college acceptance in the future?
Thanks!
These classes could affect your admissions because colleges compare you to people at your school, if you don’t have anything to really set yourself apart from others at your own school you probably will be hurt in admissions.
If you are truly motivate to learn, then you have several options to move ahead.
You could take summer courses in science or math to get ahead, if you can’t afford to do this or are unwilling to spend your summers in a classroom, then you could double up in math and/or science classes during the school year.
Ex.
9th - Algebra 1 & Bio
10th - Geometry, Algebra 2, & Chem
11th - Precalc, Physics
12th - AP Calc, [insert science class here]
Taking advanced courses is a plus when applying to selective colleges, but if taking these classes is detrimental to your health, it’s not worth it. Students that haven’t taken calculus do get into ivy’s, so even if you don’t try to accelerate your math and science, you still have a chance. (And ivy’s aren’t everything, there are many wonderful colleges that are not ivys.)
Edit: You have not messed up your school career.
Don’t worry too much. I took Algebra 1 my freshman year and might actually end up taking AP Calc BC my junior year thanks to doubling up and potentially skipping Precalc. Unfortunately, I don’t think doubling up in math is an option for you now (you need to take Algebra 2 before you take Precalc, and I don’t think you’ll be allowed to take Precalc and AP Calc concurrently), but you can definitely talk to your counselor about skipping Precalc if your performance in Algebra 2 is good enough. Summer courses and dual enrollment are also options. As for science, you could probably double up in Physics and Chemistry junior year and take an AP science senior year.
Yeah that’s why I’m taking H Geometry because they thought it would fit me better rather than both R Algebra 2 and R Geometry. I considered taking Precalc and Algebra 2 next year but I just found out you need to take Algebra 2 before taking Precalc. I am planning to learn Algebra 2 over the summer with classes so I can breeze through that but I did not I could skip Precalc and I may just do that if I’m eligible to. I don’t know if I can double up in science but I’ll try to cause that sounds like a good idea. Thanks for the advice!
And @IAmNotCreativ, I am in 10th grade now so I’m taking Bio now, but anyways I am probably going to taking extra classes in the summer since i’m already going for SAT prep as I said above. I also was curious whether Honors or Regular made more of a difference. Since I took H Geometry instead of R Algebra 2 and R Geometry, should I continue just to do that instead of doubling up? I do know Honors makes a big GPA difference like AP so is it better just to continue that instead of sacrificing a year of regular math/science to be on a higher level? Thanks
If precalc at your school is a review of algebra 2 then that’s probably a good idea.
In my first post I thought you were a freshman (my bad). You would probably be well served doing this:
Summer - Algebra 2
11th - Precalc, Chem, Physics
12th - AP Calc, AP Science
You could take AP Physics 1 and chem at the same time, (AP Physics 1 doesn’t need any physics backround). Taking harder courses looks better (Honors>Regular), however if you do badly in honors courses they’re not worth it.
Honors classes usually aren’t much more difficult than regular courses except the people in honors classes tend to be better behaved and more engaged in learn, but that’s just my experience. If you want to challenge yourself, but you’re unsure about taking the leap, you shoudl sign up for the advanced courses. Once the school year begins, you can determine how difficult/stressful it would be to take that schedule and you can choose to drop down a level in some of your courses. However, some schools don’t allow this so check with your guidance counselor beforehand.