<p>So school started today for me (senior). I got my class schedule and I was devastated and very despondent by looking at it:</p>
<p>Gym
Honors Physics
Spanish IV Honors
AP Statistics
Lunch (I never took this! They gave me this :( !!!)
AP Lit. & Comp.
AP American History
Honors Trigonometry</p>
<p>I had chosen 4 AP classes, and only got 3 AP. I should tell you right off the bat that my school has a TOTAL of 8 AP classes (which is utterly ludicrous, ugh). The classes offered: AP Lit. 12, AP Calculus, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics B, AP Psychology, AP American History, & AP Statistics, of which AP Chemistry and AP Physics B JUST got introduced to my school. I got AP Lit. 12, AP American History, and AP Statistics. They did not give me AP Psychology. And it can't be changed because if I want it, I would have to change it for AP American History. I can't take AP Bio/AP Chem because I already have one science. I've taken Honors Physics A this year (I took Anatomy and Physiology last year thinking I'd take AP Bio senior year since I wanted to be a doctor before). Hence, I also cannot take AP Physics B. I also cannot take AP Calculus because I have Honors Trigonometry this year. </p>
<p>Before the APs, I had taken all Honors classes throughout high school, with exception of one CP English in Freshman year. Honors- Bio 9/Chem 10/ Anatomy & Physiology 11, Honors- Algebra 9/Geometry 10/ Algebra II, Honors- Eng 10/11, Honors- US History I 9/ US History II 10/ World History 11, Spanish I/II/III, and rest electives. Spanish IV is considered Honors and I took it this year. </p>
<p>My question is that how can I ever apply to great colleges such as UC Berkeley, UIUC, Carnegie Mellon Uni, UT-Austin, Stanford, and Princeton? My hopes are crushed. Whereas many apply to those great universities with over 10+ AP classes BEFORE senior year, I'm only taking 3 senior year. I even have a 4.30+ Weighted GPA and a rank in top 10%. I had such high hopes. I don't know what to do. What the heck do I do with that stupid Lunch? Do you guys at least recommend me to change that to an elective like Robotics if only it'll help even a little since I'm going to Software Engineering?</p>
<p>You are competitive for any of those colleges, assuming that you have test scores and extracurricular activities to match your GPA. They are all selective, and there are no guarantees, but they will recognize a school’s limited offerings when considering your curricular rigor. Some high schools will not allow a student to take more than six academic courses per semester. My sons attended one. My younger son needed permission from parents and counselor, along with an established GPA, to take seven classes as a sophomore. Juniors and Seniors who were in the IB program, as he was, or who took the most demanding classes could not take seven classes. They were required to have a free period, so that they could schedule consultations with teachers, meet with college representatives on campus, study, or simply catch their breath. How much difference is there between “Honors” and “AP” Physics? Will they use the same syllabus? Are the teachers equally respected? </p>
<p>Do you have a good rapport with your guidance counselor? If so, he or she should be able to comment on why didn’t take AP, instead of Honors, Physics, if it was really a matter of scheduling logistics. Unfortunately, the large public universities generally do not accept letters of recommendation. The good news is that your GPA and curriculum should be adequate for most of them. Stanford and Princeton are a long-shot for everyone, and they look at applicants from all backgrounds. There are plenty of “great colleges” out there. Most of them recognize that high school students need to eat lunch.</p>
<p>Before complaining that you school offers only 8 APs, keep in mind that many offer only one or two and some don’t offer any at all. Consider yourself lucky that you get to further your education in the way that you do.</p>
<p>Colleges will evaluate your transcript based upon what is offered at your school. They recognize that scheduling conflicts happen, so I would not be concerned.</p>
<p>That said, AP Physics B was discontinued last year, and was replaced by AP Physics 1 and 2. AP Physics 1 should not require a previous course in physics, so you might want to investigate further.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about the AP Psychology class. Many private colleges won’t give you credit for that. It is not considered in the same league as AP English, APUSH, or AP science classes. Take the Robotics class that aligns with your career interests.
If you were my child, I would advise trying harder to get into AP Physics or see if you can self-study for the AP exam in Physics by supplementing your (Honors) coursework. Talk to the teacher/s about it. Also, you might want to explore the possibility of taking AP Calculus along with Honors Trig and drop the AP Statistics (which is also considered a lightweight AP class by most colleges). It depends on how easy math comes to you, of course. My guess is that most of the other kids applying to Engineering programs will already have taken a year or two of Calculus and you are slighlty behind the curve on this.</p>
<p>@woogzmama I do not know the difference. I believe the course is labeled as “Physics B”. What I took is simply Honors Physics. I will, however, ask my Physics teacher tomorrow.</p>
<p>@Ranza123 Yes I do realize that. However, I’m aiming for colleges that REQUIRE such classes. By no means am I being supercilious towards the schools that lack such classes nor ignorant of what I have available.</p>
<p>@skieurope Thanks, that’s definitely helpful. I’ll ask my Physics teacher about what you said. Hope whatever turns out will be for the better.</p>
<p>@PolarMama Thanks, I’ll ask the teacher if I can transfer to AP Physics. Oh, and I’ve been studying for SAT II’s, so I sort of do have knowledge of Trigonometry. I know the basic Trig identities and formulas and unit circle. Is that adequate?</p>
<p>What do you do with that stupid lunch??? I don’t know, here’s an idea… eat lunch!</p>
<p>Also, do not attempt to get into calculus. With only algebra 2 completed, you do not have the background at all.</p>
<p>As noted above, no college requires APs. You have to take the most rigorous courses at your school, be that AP, IB, or honors. And that includes with the restrictions your school has in place. You are compared to what’s offered at your school and what you could reasonably complete given pre determined tracks (eg math track won’t allow you to get to calc, you won’t be penalized). Don’t compare your APs taken to others not at your school. Some schools offer 30 AP classes- you better believe students at those schools applying to top schools have taken 7+ aps. But at a school that only offers 8, 3-4 is great!</p>
<p>Hey, my school used to offer 2 AP classes, now they are removing one and adding two (so 3), but guess what, due to schedule conflicts, I can’t take all 3, LOL. </p>
<p>Your schedule is good. Honestly, offering 8 ap classes isn’t anything to complain about. If you feel so compelled, self study for other ap tests. Homeschoolers do it all the time.
Also remember that you’re not the only student at your school. I’m sure they didn’t just think hey, let’s screw this person over. They have to accomodate as many people as they can, and it’s not going to be perfect. Seriously, people who graduated from schools without ap courses go to the colleges you mentioned.</p>
<p>This really depends on what your school is like. At many schools Alg2/Trig classes have very weak trig curriculum. If you go straight into calc without a good trig foundation you’ll fail.</p>
<p>Pre-Calc probably a good idea, you will want at least pre-calc when you graduate.</p>
<p>UPDATE: A BIG, BIG thank you to @skieurope for telling about Physics I. I found out Physics B had, indeed, been cancelled and the only AP Physics class offered was AP Physics I. Basically, I’m good for it! I just got it changed earlier this week after my principal told me I should really take it as the class requires no previous knowledge of Physics. I have 4 AP’s now. I can’t thank you guys enough. Thanks so much!! Oh, and don’t worry about Lunch, as it is mandatory for the class! We have two lab days and three days of lunch so.</p>