<p>Hello! I'm currently a rising 9th grader.
I live in an extremely competitive town and our school system has loopholes that allow for lots of course skipping. Without course skipping, the most rigorous courses you could take in freshman year would be Geometry Accelerated and Biology I Accelerated. (My school does Alg II Acc before Geometry Acc, so I took Alg I Acc 9th grade.)</p>
<p>I'm taking Precalculus Accelerated and Biology I Acc freshman year, because currently I am taking a Geometry Acc course over the summer. It sounds like a pretty rigorous course load for freshman year, but the problem is, my math/science course choices seem very commonplace in comparison to the other students in my grade. </p>
<p>Fifteen freshmen are also skipping Geometry I Acc right now with me, three others are going to take AP Calc BC, and another is going to take Multivariable/Linear Algebra. Also, four rising eighth graders and one rising seventh grader will also take Precalculus Acc in September.
I also believe around five people are doubling up on/skipping science courses, so some are going to take multiple AP science courses in 9th grade. </p>
<p>I'm concerned that for colleges, my courseload will be seen as average because I haven't tried to skip as many courses and after all, at least fifteen people are skipping with me.
Each year, we have 2 extra classes in addition to academic spots. Usually we use them for electives, but as I've mentioned earlier, many people use them for double up on classes.
Right now, I think that I'm going to use one of those spots for AP Macroeconomics and AP Microeconomices, since they each count as half a course, so I'll have one extra spot. I'm still deciding whether or not I should use 9th summer and the extra spot to catch up with the people who are ahead. </p>
<p>For science, I think this could work:
9: Bio I Acc
9 summer: Chemistry I Acc
10: AP Chemistry
11: AP Biology
12: AP Physics C
which means I'd get all the basic science APs completed.</p>
<p>For math, it's harder because the courses are all sequential so I am not quite sure how I could utilize that extra spot. Maybe to show colleges that I'm taking the initiative, I could take extra classes on my own in extra topics?
Is there any point in advancing in more classes? Or should I use my time on something else? Any input would be helpful. :)</p>
<p>What school do you go to?</p>
<p>Studying chemistry over the summer is way harder than studying it during the year b/c chemistry is much more complex and harder to understand unlike the mostly memory based biology class. </p>
<p>Also, calc bc and Multivariable Algebra as 9th grader. ■■■.</p>
<p>But rigorous courses are not enough. You need community service and ECs</p>
<p>This is actually exactly what happens at my high school. Before 9th grade, so many people were skipping bio and I felt behind that I didn’t because I didn’t even know you could do that. Eventually I did skip courses over the summer, especially to get pesky graduation requirements out of the way. </p>
<p>I don’t know how big your freshman class is, but even when it seems like “so many” people are skipping, it’s probably just because you hang out with those kinds of people. The vast majority of students never skip a course, except maybe an elective for graduation. Just a little perspective if you feel behind.</p>
<p>I think as long as you take top level courses at your school and maybe some dual enrollment courses with a local college, you’ll get the “most demanding” schedule designation from your guidance counsellor. Granted, there will be several others along with you, but colleges will look for exhaustion of all course options at your school. As long as you do that, you should be fine.</p>
<p>But honestly, let me warn you: it doesn’t impress anyone to see someone sacrificing their free lives to study 24/7. The kind of student who skips courses is generally that kind, unless the academics aren’t challenging enough for them and they just breeze through. Skipping courses is not easy, especially if it’s a core academic one, during the summer when there’s limited time. Sometimes people who skip can’t handle the higher level course and end up getting B’s or whatever their idea of a bad grade is (disclaimer: I don’t think B’s are bad grades unless it’s because you didn’t do any homework). Does your school require students to pass a final exam to actually get credit for the courses they skip?</p>
<p>I do hope that you’re spending time doing non-studying things that you actually enjoy (I do like studying but not all the time). It’s more worthwhile to do that. Because in high school, you honestly just learn how to get the highest possible grade with the least possible effort; you don’t NEED to put in 100% toward your grades all the time (and I don’t recommend that you do, unless you don’t want a personal life). AND colleges like to see something other than only good grades on applications. Please remember that if you are skipping courses already, you are definitely smart, and you’re not any less smart than the people who are “ahead”, okay? </p>
<p>Calling the ever insightful and helpful @halcyonheather to the scene</p>
<p>
Your ECs can involve community service, but they don’t have to. Community service is not privileged over other kinds of ECs. An EC is basically anything productive you do outside of school, other than really passive things like reading. It doesn’t really matter what you do specifically, because the goal is just to show focus, dedication, accomplishment, and leadership in whatever you do.
What will the multivariable people take next year?
I went to a small rural high school, so I tested out of classes so I could take dual-enrollment classes full time in my senior year. I don’t regret it, because it was a wonderful experience and it essentially means I’m getting to go to college for five years instead of four (and the first year was free, because I live in a state that pays for dual enrollment). In my case I think the intellectual benefits outweighed the harms, but testing out of things is not an ideal way to learn if you have other options. Self-study is the blind leading the blind, and there are some weird gaps in my knowledge that could have been avoided if I hadn’t skipped classes. </p>
<p>There’s no reason you should have to skip classes in order to take the most rigorous courses your school offers **by the end of your senior year<a href=“taking%20multivariable%20as%20a%20freshman%20is%20useless%20if%20you’re%20not%20going%20to%20advance%20beyond%20that%20until%20college”>/b</a>, unless you were behind when you came in. You should only skip classes if it will give you the opportunity to take more advanced classes in high school than you would have been able to take otherwise maybe through dual enrollment or something, but colleges can’t really give you extra “points” for doing things like this because most people don’t have the opportunity to do these things. Taking the best courses your school offers is enough for college admissions, so if you want to study topics outside of what your high school offers it should be for your own intellectual benefit.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.tjhsst.edu/research-academics/math-cs/math/index.html”>http://www.tjhsst.edu/research-academics/math-cs/math/index.html</a>
Unless you go to a school with unlimited math choices doing this is not necessarily the best idea.
At thomas Jefferson “Last year, only two freshmen successfully placed directly into AP Calculus BC.”
The reason I use TJ, is because it’s one of the top schools in the country.</p>
<p>@wcao9311 that’s not entirely true. I go to tj- thats only counting those who took the precalc skip test, which is very difficult to pass (i studied for it myself but decided not to take the test). This is a highly discouraged option, but many still try. But there are usually several other students who have taken precalc in middle school, which are not included in those statistics.</p>
<p>and that’s also ignoring the fact that most kids come in taking algebra 2 or precalc already.</p>
<p>@guineagirl96 thank, but I was just trying to put this in a context.</p>
<p>What the heck, yo. I’m a rising senior and I still don’t want to take Calculus hahaha.
Listen OP, forget about other people. I’m not kidding when I say that the key to not losing your mind is knowing your limits. Push yourself, but don’t drive yourself nuts with an insane workload (and what if you don’t do well in your extremely difficult classes?).</p>
<p>I go to a top public school that is right next to a prestigious university. My class is of roughly three hundred. After the Multivariable student finishes, he has to take AP Stats in sophomore year but then he can take two semester courses at the university each year. Honestly I don’t know how he’s going to handle so much work but he’s a really capable student, so good luck to him.
I’m kinda stressed though because these people who are skipping classes are the most competitive and will be the people I’ll be up against for college admissions in 4 years and I don’t want to be behind them. XD I just planned out my schedule for the rest of my high school years and I think it looks rigorous enough for my counselor to check that box, so I feel better about that. Also I’ve been thinking and I’ll finish Multivariable in junior year, but I’m not even sure if I want to take AP Statistics in senior year…</p>