Nova says 3 years of science required, 4 “recommended”. if HS does not offer a class of interest for 4th year of science,do you think they’d look down on something more technical like Comp Sci or Cybersecurity for 4th year?
No, it is better to take a class you are interested and more in the path that you want to take than taking a science that you aren’t interested just to take it
Different schools and different admissions reps likely have varying definitions and interpretations of the word “recommended”. Based on the experience we have had with T50 schools (and Villanova falls into this category), it’s typically in the applicant’s best interest to at the very least meet the standard of recommended. Nothing wrong with taking classes that are of great interest (as electives?), but the top applicants at these schools typically take at least four years of the highest level possible of the five core subjects (English/Social Studies/Math/Foreign Language/Science) available at their respective schools. These five courses also act as a baseline for admissions to compare candidates because they demonstrate what is roughly considered a common college prep course load, which gives admissions officers the opportunity to compare “apples to apples.”
When an applicant decides to not take one of these core classes, you’re now at a disadvantage going up against 20,000+ applicants who have. Taking science doesn’t necessarily indicate a student is going into STEM, but it does develop demonstratable critical thinking skills, which admissions can use during their assessment. Neither of my kids are taking a STEM curriculum in college, but they took the three primary sciences at the honors level (Physics, Chemistry and Biology) through their junior year of HS, then took an AP level science course senior year which at our school includes one of those three, or if the student wants to lighten the load a bit (and they are not going into STEM related studies), they can take AP Environmental Science or something along those lines. If your school doesn’t have AP available, then as long as the student is taking the highest level possible, they won’t be penalized.
The other pet peeve I have as it relates to the term “recommended” (which at times can be interchanged for the word “optional”) is when it is used in the context of the application essay. Some schools have “optional” essays, which in reality if you want to be a viable candidate at a competitive school, is actually mandatory. Essays are an excellent opportunity to demonstrate who you are to admissions officers, and applicants who choose not to complete optional/recommended essays are losing out on that opportunity. And again, the other 20,000 or so applicants are most likely completing those optional/recommended essays.
It’s crazy competitive out there right now…
What are your choices for senior year science? Have you taken biology, physics and chem? If so, at what levels?
I would suggest you follow all of the recommended coursework.