HYPS: Academic Rigor and SAT II Help

Applying to College
1

<p>Hello College Confidential!</p>

<p>I am currently a rising sophomore and I am trying to figure out my class schedule for Junior and Senior Year.</p>

<p>Also, I am confused as to which subject test's I should take and when I should take it.</p>

<p>Background information: I attend a High School in Michigan that uses a trimester schedule with five, 72 minute classes every day. Also, I am part of a Math, Science and Technology Academy within my high school. I am interested in majoring in economics and applying to HYPS, UPenn (Wharton), Duke, U of Chicago, Northwestern and Michigan.</p>

<p>Projected Course load</p>

<p>Junior Year:</p>

<p>Trimester 1, Trimester 2, Trimester 3.</p>

<p>AP Economics x3</p>

<p>AP Language and Composition x3</p>

<p>German IV x2, Physical Education/Health (Graduation Requirement)</p>

<p>Pre Calculus with Trig (Academy) x2 + Academy Elective that is required. (i.e Internships)</p>

<p>AP Chemistry (Academy) x2 + Academy Elective that is required. (i.e. A+ certification)</p>

<p>Senior Year:</p>

<p>Trimester 1, Trimester 2, Trimester 3.</p>

<p>AP English Literature and Composition x3</p>

<p>German V x2 (Going to take AP Exam), Open Slot/ Unknown Class</p>

<p>AP US History x3</p>

<p>AP Calculus AB x2 + Academy Elective that is required. (See above Examples)</p>

<p>AP Physics C x2 + Academy Elective that is required.</p>

<p>This leaves me with 8 AP Classes but ONLY 3 AP Classes Completed at the time of applying.</p>

<p>My school offers about 15 AP Classes, however, my schedule limits me to 8.</p>

<p>1.Is 8 enough to keep me competitive at top tier institutions?
2.Will the fact that I only have 3 completed when I apply hurt my chances?
3. I am planning on taking the ACT, the SAT and 9 AP Tests, do I still need to take SAT Subject Test's?
4. If so, based on the way my schedule is set up, what SAT Subject Tests should I take and when should I take them? (I feel as if I will not be able to take many before applying because of the limitations of my schedule)</p>

<p>Thank You for taking the time to help me out! I appreciate it.</p>

<p>Sincerely, Ty.</p>

2

<ol>
<li><p>It depends on how many your school offers and the restrictions on when they can be taken. There is no absolute number, it is relative to your school and will be reflected in the difficulty of your coursework (most demanding, very demanding, etc.) that your HS GC marks on the SSR.</p></li>
<li><p>Again, it depends on your school and whether or not you had the opportunity to take more APs earlier. Of course it always helps to have taken more earlier and gotten good grades/test scores on them to demonstrate to schools that you can do the work. It matters more for EA/ED schools as you won’t have the benefit of a mid-year report to show grades for your sr year APs.</p></li>
<li><p>You need to go to the college websites and carefully read their testing requirements, there are few universals when it comes to testing. And this is the nuts and bolts type of information that you go to the primary source to learn, not an anonymous discussion board.</p></li>
<li><p>The spring of your jr year would be a good time to take the Math 2 (following precalc) and you could also take the Chemistry Subject test at the same time. I always recommend that you try to get all of your standardized testing done by the end of jr year as you will be extremely busy fall of sr year with school and applications. Also, it’s much easier to develop a realistic list of schools if you have all of your testing completed.</p></li>
</ol>

3

<p>I believe some of those schools require 2 subject tests to see which you want to take you should look on the schools websites</p>

<p>Other good schools for economics are Dartmouth and MIT</p>

4

<p>If you need SAT subject tests, end of junior year would be a good time to take Math Level 2, Chemistry, and an optional third test in a subject you have completed and done well in the course. Of course, the selection of tests would depend on what the colleges you are applying to ask for.</p>

<p>It does not look like you have any potential safeties (University of Michigan considers “level of interest” in admissions, so it cannot be a safety).</p>

5

<p>1) It depends on how your peers are doing. I mean, if 8 APs max is the norm, then you shouldn’t have a problem since everyone else is going through the same thing and colleges will know when they see that you can only get through 8 APs.
2) Colleges don’t weigh APs much when making admissions decisions. That’s because some applicants come from schools that don’t offer AP or for some other reason don’t have AP scores (IB, A level, etc). As for the classes, your senior APs should show up on the transcript as classes you are currently taking. I think there’s also a place on the Common App where you mark senior year classes.
3) As far as I know, all Ivies require Subject Tests. This is because, like I said above, they can’t use APs to compare everybody so they have to come up with another way that offers equal opportunity and access to all applicants. Therefore, you must take SAT IIs no matter how many fives you got on your APs.</p>

6

<p>

</p>

<p>There’s a difference between having a course listed that you will take and a grade for that course.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>The OP says that they are taking the ACT, not all selective colleges, including Ivies, require Subject tests with the ACT. That is why the OP should go directly to the college websites and determine the testing requirements for schools they might possibly (since they are just a rising soph) apply to rather than asking on CC. It is important they understand the various iterations of testing requirements for different schools.</p>

7

<p>You can’t take all the APs anyway. For example, AP Spanish and AP French. If you took Spanish as your foreign language then you take AP Spanish. My daughter’s high school has 20+ APs, I think she will have about 10 APs. I think some of her friends took language in middle school can have 2-3 more APs. I believe they took the most rigorous course load for their high school.</p>

8

<p>@entomom, What’s the big difference between a class you’re taking senior year and a class you have a grade for? In many schools, including mine, students don’t have access to those advanced courses until senior year, when they’ve satisfied all the prerequisites for that class. For instance, people may have to take AP Calc and Honors Physics in junior year before being able to take AP Physics in senior year. Selective college will consider those classes you are taking the same way they consider your course load from all the other years. </p>

<p>That’s why they have a final school report. If your grades drop (after having taken a difficult course that you couldn’t handle), they will know. If your grades don’t follow the same trend they did prior to admission, the college can rescind its offer of admission. </p>

<p>On all my acceptance letters, the colleges included a clause that said something along the lines of “this offer of admission is contingent upon completion of your senior year and continued academic excellence.” If you’re an A student throughout high school, the college will expect you to continue receiving A’s in the senior year classes you are taking. If, say, you receive multiple C’s after admission, that is grounds for rescinding their offer.</p>