Hey, I am going to be a sophomore in high school and am planning to major in computer science. I am greatly interested in the field and have been for quite a long time. My high school offers seniors a program where they can take computer science courses at Princeton University, provided they finish all of the comp sci courses the high school itself offers. I am extremely interested in this program, however, the only drawback is that it would use up 4 periods(out of 8). Taking this would therefore make it very difficult for me to take an AP science course in high school as I simply wouldn’t have space. Although I never really planned on doing AP Chem or Ap Bio anyways, I was wondering, will not take AP Physics(my school offers all 3 combined into a single course) hurt my chances at top colleges? If so, should I take it instead of the Princeton program?
What science courses (AP and non-AP) would you take with and without doing this program?
What CS courses would you take at your high school, and what CS courses would you take at Princeton (see https://www.cs.princeton.edu/courses/catalog ) if you choose this program?
It sounds like quite an opportunity! If I understand right, you are asking whether it is worth it to give up a block of four periods during your senior year, plus an unspecified number of prerequisite classes, to take a CS class at Princeton, correct?
How many CS classes would you have to take at your high school? Can you fit in all your high school requirements and afford to block off four periods of your senior year? Are the CS classes at Princeton for dual enrollment credit and weighted as honors/AP?
Is your AP Physics a double class or does it meet before/after school to fit in the labs? Would you have to give up any important ECs to take the triple AP Physics or the CS-Princeton classes?
How many AP classes do you plan to take in each of sophomore, junior, and senior years? Can you do well in all of them? Is the homework load manageable? What kinds of colleges are you targeting?
Most kids are lucky to get in one or two CS classes along with one or two CS-related ECs to prove interest in this area. You are being offered a very intriguing opportunity. Can you map out your high school graduation requirements and other necessary classes CS colleges want to see (like Calculus, at least one year of Physics) and see if everything falls into place?
Yes, it will affect your chances to top colleges if you do not take any AP core lab science (AP CS doesn’t count.) If this is Princeton, I assume you live close enough. From that area, you’ll compete with plenty of kids from local public and private high schools who DO get in at least 2 AP lab sci and other experiences beyond academics. The only exception is when the home high school doesn;t offer certain AP courses (or any.)
You need to be looking at what your possible target colleges recommend for hs prep, as bopper said. You need to be forming an idea of what the expectations are, academically, in terms of ECs, and personal traits.
AP Computer Science is generally considered as a math/science elective, and cannot replace core lab science or math for college admission purpose, even for CS majors.
@Groundwork2022 Hey guys, just for clarification, I will still be taking all of the core science courses(Honors bio, Honors Chem, and Honors physics) just not the AP levels for those courses. In addition, I will also complete all my graduation requirements and this course will probably not affect any of my ECs(which are mostly CS based also). I will complete all the AP comp sci courses(even Principles, because I have to) and will have only one spot left my senior year(after allocating math[probably multivariable calc], gym, and LA). Unfortunately, AP sciences take up 2 spots, and thus I won’t have any space for them and will instead have to take something like AP statistics in that spot.
All the AP CS and AP Stat courses won’t even be remotely helpful for college admission as AP Physics or AP Chemistry would be, even if you have taken Honors level Physics and Chemistry.
No independent AP exam will be much helpful for admission. Only taking AP classes counts.
Ask the guidance office if others have taken this path, and how it worked for them. It will require some planning on your part, but if you know you want to major in CS, it might be worthwhile. Obviously if you would be applying to Princeton, they are going to understand this program, and I doubt you would be penalized in admissions, as long as you meet all of their requirements. We live near Yale, and top local students are eligible to take a series of Yale Classes in the Spring of their Senior year in place of their HS classes. Then end up not getting credit for the classes they don’t complete, but instead being given appropriate HS credit to ensure they graduate.
One question I would ask is whether this really takes up 4 slots in your schedule, or if it simply counts as 4 slots, so you are only required to fill 4 others. If the classes at Princeton are offered in the evening, for instance, you might still be able to take that AP science. And if you complete all your math requirements (including college expectations, not jut graduation requirements) before senior year, you would then need LA, Gym (could this be taken early?) and 2 blocks for a science. Your guidance department should know how the program works, and will be able to offer the best advice.
@lookingforward Although I do definitely understand what you are saying in terms of rigor, do you think that since I am majoring in computer science which does not really align with any of the AP sciences(although maybe just a little with AP physics), top colleges could overlook this since I am taking a Princeton course(which is probably quite rigorous) and that aligns perfectly with my major?
*As a side note, the Honors level physics course in my school is actually quite rigorous and many students take the AP Physics 1 and 2 exams after this course(although not C), so I would probably do the same.
@CTScoutmom My school has a weird rotating schedule, meaning that even if the classes themselves do not take up 4 periods every day, 4 periods will still be blocked out of my schedule, so I can’t take anything else those periods. Since I am majoring in computer science, I really would not want to drop math especially since it is quite important to the field, and higher level physics does use quite a lot of math anyway. Really I would only have 1 period left, in which I would probably just have to take AP stat as I mentioned before.
*The Princeton program sounds quite similar to the Yale program you mentioned, and we are also given the appropriate high school credit for the course.
OP, stem is stem. One of the ways a highly competitive college can filter stem applicants is who’s missing stem rigor. Plus when you do research targets, you’ll see how top holistics like intellectual curiosity, not simply unilateral interests and activities. They don’t see themselves as vocational, just prepping you for your preferred career arena.
I’m not sure what your options truly are. But with AP science available at your hs, you can be expected to take advantage.
Time to dig into what targets, how you will match, what they say and show they look for. If you’re open to many colleges, not just top, your options increase.
@lookingforward Although I didn’t mention this before, there is technically a way I can take AP Physics while still doing Princeton, however that would require me to skip Chemistry Honors over the summer, which is quite hard in itself. Even doing this, however, would only allow me to just take one AP science, which would probably be AP Physics for me. In addition, this would also force me to take AP Physics in 11th grade while most kids take it in 12(I would still take AP Calc AB or BC, however). Finally, this is also considered to be one of the hardest courses my school offers, so it would definitely not be easy to get an A. Do you think that if I somehow manage to successfully skip chem and get an A in AP Physics that would be enough?(Again this would be the only AP science I take)
What colleges? It’s too vague, we’re going in circles. Talk to your GC.
I dont think you get what some of us are saying. The P program sounds great. But if you want what we usually see as top, you have to figure how to meet those colleges’ expectations. You need to understand what the expectations are. And not insist that at 15 or so, one year of hs classes, you know your one and only path. Over the next two years, you be exposed to more. Talk to the GC.
@lookingforward I am truly sorry if I haven’t been clear or have misunderstood what you guys are trying to say. Just to elaborate a bit more, I am almost completely sure that I want to major in computer science in the future. I get that I only have had one year of high school, but the way my classes will be scheduled means that I really do have to make this decision now. I have also talked to my GC about this in the past, but she really hasn’t told me too much in regards to what I should do, but rather has just told me to “look at the colleges I want to go to and what they want.” In all honesty, the reason I am even on this forum is because I don’t know what these colleges want. Looking at their website really doesn’t help because they will just usually just list requirements and not really go into any further detail. The reason I like this website is because people actually help out with the college process rather than just saying “do whatever makes you happy.” When I refer to “top” colleges I really am referring to the top 10 or so colleges for computer science(not necessarily ivies). This includes colleges such as UIUC, U Michigan-Ann Arbor, Georgia Tech, UC-Berkely etc. I know how hard it is to get into MIT, Standford etc and am thus really not even expecting to get into those.
Thanks.
For admission purposes of your target major/colleges, I recommend taking at least an AP Calc & either AP Physics or AP Chemistry before graduating if you can do well in them. If not, then change your target colleges and take AP CS or AP Stat. They won’t be a big deal on your admission but they are also much easier to get good grade from. By the way, there are plenty of good Stat & CS courses, much better materials than AP Stat and AP CS, at Coursera from top universities, including Princeton, that you can study at your leisure.