Help regarding college admissions and...STRESS!

Applying to College
1

<p>Alright since I am one of those people who stress out WAY too easily…lemme tell you my story.</p>

<p>I have taken the SAT 1s and 2s, I did mediocore (1840) on the SAT 1s, and poorly on the SAT 2s (510 for US history and 580 for Math 2c). I am scheduled to take the ACT this september, and am preparing for it, so hopefully I’ll be able to pull off a 30 (I think my only problem on the ACT will be speed…I need to test faster).</p>

<p>However, I want to take the SAT 2s again in december. I definately want to take math 2c again, and am deciding which other ones to take (it’s hard for me to decide, because I don’t know whether I want to major in engineering - most schools recommend a science subject test - or some liberal arts major). However, I will have very little time to prepare for these tests, because of my monsterous courseload. </p>

<p>AP Calc
AP gov/econ
AP lit
Physics (deciding between AP and regular, school might not offer AP if it doesn’t get enough people in)
Orchestra
Spanish 2 (haha, a joke, I know. I HATE foreign languages).</p>

<p>I am TERRIFIED! I have never taken more than one AP at a time (school only offers 1 ap, World History, for sophmores, and last year I took AP language, honors history (AP world in 10th was a traumatic experience, so no AP US), and honors anatomy/physiology, and precal (school offers no accelarted, honors, or AP math classes except calc). So now I’m stuck in a rut because basically every class I want to take has only an AP or regular option, not that nice in between honors.</p>

<p>Then, to add onto all this stress, is horseback riding. I compete on a national level, and will have horseshows basically every weekend from september-november (this includes missing school on many fridays). On top of this, I will be competiting back east in harrisburg PA and syracuse NY (both in october), so I’ll miss about 2 days of school (atleast) for each of those shows. </p>

<p>Add college aps, and I will have WAY too much on my plate come fall. So here are my questions:</p>

<li><p>My main class quandry is between AP physics and regular physics. I’m the straight-A type of kid, and I will basically kill myself to get these grades. So don’t know if AP physics is such a good idea, seeing as I already will be swamped. However, if I don’t take AP physics, I fear I will not be as “desirable” to colleges. And, if I have any thoughts of majoring in engineering, I feel as if taking AP physics will be mandatory. So, what would you do?</p></li>
<li><p>Subject tests: I really will have next to no time to prep for them, and I’d like to know how much I should be stressing over them. I will put my best effort into preparing for math 2c (haha I usually consider myself good in math and I was really dissapointed in my last effort), but I don’t think I’ll have time for much else. Also, will my good GPA and class rank (4.0 unweighted and top 1%) and good extracirriculars (horseback riding and orchestra) be able to balance out not so good subject tests? Also, will I be setting myself up for disaster if the physics sat 2 in december, with only a few months of physics course work under my belt? Again, what would you do if you were in my shoes? I’d feel much better about taking AP physics if I didn’t have to worry about the subject tests (weird, and probably makes no sense haha).</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Keep in mind that I’m looking into the UCs, mainly UCLA, and I attend a huge, noncompetitive public school in southern CA.</p>

<p>Thanks for listening to my rants, guys!</p>

2

<p>first things first...breathe.....now...imo...in reading your post, i would agree with you that you have a lot on your plate. Question? If you get mostly A's.and w/in the top 1%..and attend a public high school, you should check with your counselor to see if you are in the Eligible in the Local Context (ELC)---this will provide you with 'safeties' in the UC system---last year it did not include UCLA however....My D found Calculus and Physics tie in nicely. With that being said, you may wish to drop AP Govt/econ and p/u the AP Physics.
Good Luck1</p>

3

<p>Take regular physics and save yourself some stress. I doubt that AP physics would make or break you. For SAT2s, if you're really worried about the science, try taking the math 2c again, take lit if you're good in English, and maybe bio or chem. </p>

<p>I know how stressful competitive riding is; I'm in NJ and I rode from 6th through 11th competitively, and I stopped competing senior year because I couldn't do everything I wanted to do in the time that was left after riding. Take a breather, chill out. I know you're probably going for points (esp. if you're still a junior), but you should realize that there are definitely more important things (like sanity!), especially if you aren't going into the horse world professionally.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

4

<p>wellll...money is a problem, unless i get a scholarship, which means i have to have good numbers. haha vicious cycle, eh?</p>

5

<p>no no I don't need a scholarship to go to a UC, I just need one if I plan to go to a private college (my parents are good for all public colleges in california...thank goodness). And, it's weird, cuz I've always considered myself "good at math." It's always been pretty much my easiest subject, and for the CA state testing we do every year, i've always been in the 95+ percentile for math, which is why I thought it was weird when I did so horribly on the SAT Math.</p>

<p>But anyhow, I really have no idea if I want to major in engineering. It's just a thought, cuz both of my parents majored in it, and it seems semi-interesting.</p>

<p>And yes, there are are some division 1 schools that recruit for riding, but I'm not crazy about the idea of riding on an NCAA team, and the few schools that offer NCAA scholarships didn't really appeal to me.</p>

<p>and one more thing:
If I don't plan to major in engineering...should I even bother to take physics?</p>

6

<p>No, you definitely do not need AP Physics to get into a competitive college. If balancing out everything is a problem, it's not a bad idea to take regular Physics instead. I never took AP Physics and I got into MIT =p You don't want to sacrifice your overall performance just for the sake of AP/regular. I think you have a lot on your plate already.</p>

<p>And I don't think you should take Physics SAT 2 if you haven't had any background on Physics. You seriously wouldn't get a good score because with a December Physics knowledge, you'll probably be forced to leave everything on light, optics, electricity, and magnetism blank on the test, which = not a good idea. Take another SAT 2 that you can prep by utilizing previous knowledge. Perhaps lit, bio, or chem? </p>

<p>I think regardless of what you go into, physics forms the foundation of one's science classes. If you are even thinking of entering any form of science, you should take physics because it would be hard work in college having to cope with taking freshman physics without any previous physics knowledge. I think it's almost became a "core class" now in HS - but if you know for sure that you are going to do humanities, then I guess it wouldn't be that big of a difference. I'd suggest taking it though, as it shows you are not just "taking the easy way out."</p>

7

<p>Apply to University of Arizona ASAP. It's a decent safety for you, they have rolling admissions, it's reasonably cheap even for out of state, you'll hear within 4-6 weeks, and knowing that you have been actually accepted somewhere would relieve much of your stress.</p>