<p>D is finalizing her senior year schedule - she is taking four AP classes, plus a Regents Physics class. She needs to take Regents instead of AP since the school almost never allows a student to take more than 4 APs in a year, and even if they did allow it, she would not be able to schedule AP Physics in without giving up her instrumental music, which she loves and would not give up - she did have to give up her fifth year of Latin due to scheduling conflict as well. How can it be explained in an application that this is the reason why the most challenging level of a course is not being taken? Does she present that up front, or wait until asked about it? She would rather do this than to go into college as a pre-med student with no previous Physics courses at all, at any level, and before and after school independent study is not an option since she is a athlete...THANKS!</p>
<p>I don’t think there is anything worth explaining.</p>
<p>First, if the school usually only allows 4 AP classes, are you sure that the GC won’t check “most rigorous” schedule? If the GC does that, and the school profile indicates that only 4 APs are permitted (which it should), then there’s nothing to explain and she should be fine.</p>
<p>Second, if neither of the above are true, then have the GC explain the situation in his/her recommendation. That’s one of the most important parts of a GC letter.</p>
<p>Admissions officers understand about scheduling conflicts; almost every kid has one or another. And if her love of instrumental music shines through her application, no admissions officer will wonder about the choice.</p>
<p>(Besides, as my d said, “Any school that won’t take me because I didn’t take AP [whatever] isn’t a school I’d want to go to anyway.”)</p>
<p>Mathson had planned to take honors English as a senior, but it conflicted with other things and so did AP English so he ended up in a regular English course. The GC just put a note in her recommendation that he’d ahd to step down a level due to scheduling conflicts. The GC doesn’t have to go into great details about what those conflicts were.</p>