<p>Harvard says: "An ideal four-year preparatory program includes four years of English, with extensive practice in writing; four years of math; four years of science: biology, chemistry, physics, and an advanced course in one of these subjects; three years of history, including American and European history; and four years of one foreign language."</p>
<p>My school just added an AP European History class this year, and I didn't sign up for it because 1> it will most likely be disorganized and 2> the teacher was rumored to be a horrible history teacher. Will Harvard look negatively on that?</p>
<p>Also, when Harvard says four years of one foreign language, do years from middle school count? (I just completed French 4, and the teacher and I are at odds quite often, so taking French 5 is a last resort) I don't want to reduce my chances at Harvard even if it means spending an extra year with crappy teachers.</p>
<p>This is only a recommended curriculum. My S gaduated early so he only took 3 years of one foreign language and 2 of another (but rose to level 4 on that one because of having started in elementary school). It had more to do with filling in his schedule than loving languages.
How good was your French 4 teacher? S1's AP-French teacher was very mediocre--and the results were not pretty. If you did decently in French 4, you could skip French 5 and replace it with another course more to your liking that would also show that you are challenging yourself.</p>
<p>A very common social studies curriculum is world history, an honors 10th grade social studies class, AP-USH in 11th grade, and AP-European in 12th grade (some schools offer AP-Euro in 10th grade which I consider overly ambitious). For the AP-Euro, you could substitute another course in social studies. Such courses are usually more thematic (e.g. immigration, the American Constitution; the Vietnam War). It would be important to ensure that the course is taught at the appropriate level of difficulty.</p>
<p>but there are some truly CRAPPY teachers. i've had teachers so bad that i've found it hard enough to concentrate let alone learn durning lectures. teachers with bad attitudes and those who blatantly play favorites. homework both time-consuming and meaningless. i think it's a valid concern. if you haven't had a public school teacher this horrible, i envy you.</p>
<p>Students who claim to not have learned X,Y or Z due to bad teachers are usually fooling themselves and rarely fool others. Some people are genuinely stuck because of a teacher and have no alternative. For most it's an excuse, and making the excuse throws up all sorts of red flags.</p>
<p>I agree that blaming a poor performance on a teacher will not look good. The point is that no matter what the cause, a student did poorly and is therefore not as well prepared as other applicants. However, choosing courses for the future based on the quality of the course and the teacher is a good idea. In fact, it's recommended to college students!
If AP-European history is not going to be well taught (and it's a hard course to teach well to begin with), keep in mind that many high schools have a graduation requirement that includes 4 years of social studies and colleges pretty much expect the same. So the lousy AP-European history class ought to be replaced by a course that is in the same field and taught at the same level of difficulty unless there is a compelling reason for taking a course in a totally different field, usually at an even greater degree of difficulty.</p>
<p>do you have a community college nearby at which you could possibly take an equivalent class? my school is notorious for having some of the worst social studies teachers in the county. students are aware of this, and those with a genuine interest in the subject took a class or two at the local cc instead of taking it at our high school. sis, i completely agree with your assertion that many kids tend to scapegoat teachers for their own failings in the classroom. a disturbing trend, though, is that our public school system (this applies more to some areas of the country than others, of course) is in a state in which teachers are often hired for positions for which they're completely unqualified and allowed to stay in those positions due to tenure/the union/etc.. i wouldn't say blaming bad teachers raises any red flags as long as a student shows he/she's willing to take the initiative to supplement their education in that subject through other means such as cc courses, university courses, etc. unfortunately many students couldn't care less about pursuing these options or are unable to due to financial/time/etc restrictions.</p>
<p>Well, seeing as how it's the first year that it's being offered (in fact, I don't even know if we'll have enough students sign up to form a class), AP Euro isn't a graduation requirement--seniors at my school usually take a combination of AP US Government and Microeconomics, and I wouldn't have dropped them for Euro anyway. So, in short, AP Euro is an elective. Given that slant, should I give up my elective of Computer Science 3 (currently taught by one of my favorite teachers but which is merely a pre-AP class) for AP Euro?</p>
<p>To siserune: I am not blaming my teachers for anything (I haven't had the AP Euro teacher, and I realize that she could turn out to be a great teacher for me, but it's unlikely). I was always more of an independent study person myself anyway. But what I'm saying is simply that I don't want to take classes that I doubt I will enjoy, and classes pass by awfully slowly when you don't enjoy them..</p>
<p>To simianantithesis: Yes, there are community colleges nearby, although I most likely will not receive credit for the course from my school and would be extremely hard-pressed on time during the school year. To be honest, I've never considered taking classes at community college as a viable option, simply because it would require too much hassle with transportation and the such.</p>
<p>if you believe you'll enjoy the computer sci class more than the ap euro class, then by all means, take it. choosing one class over the other shouldn't make a huge difference, especially since you're already taking two other social studies APs this year. i'm assuming that, as an harv applicant, you have at least a few other accomplishments and extracurricular activities you'll be standing on... so choosing a class you know you'll enjoy over some ap you'd be taking primarily because you wanna look more desirable to the admissions committee is seriously not a big deal at all... in fact, i recommend you take the comp sci class... i'm sure that's one of the things of which you'll have fond memories in 30 years when you look back on your high school experience. if you don't get into harvard, trust me, you won't give it a second thought when ur old and gray.</p>