<p>I'm a junior who is attending an early college high school (no AP courses, no Honors courses) in California and is currently planning my fall and spring semester college courses. Originally, I was planning on taking general biology, calculus, and mandarin 3 in the fall following with general physics with calculus, comparative politics, and a philosophy course in the spring. However, I recently discovered that the community college district that our high school works with has been audited. Because of this, students at my high school can only take up to 11.5 units now without having to pay the fees (high school students use to take CC classes free), which is 26$ a unit. The biology, calculus, and mandarin class are all 5 units, so I would be paying $338, which is not including other fees. While I do not fall in the lower-income bracket that would have allowed my fees to be cleared, or at least reduced via financial aid, I am considering the possiblity of only taking 11 units to avoid paying. </p>
<p>I am intending to get an IGETC, which are basically the lower division general education requirements of the UCs. Basically, when I complete my IGETC by the time I graduate high school, I can basically enroll at a UC and start taking the courses intended for my major. So far, I am now planning on taking calculus, comparative politics, and human sexuality in the fall. In the spring, I am going to take art history, a philosophy course, and general biology.</p>
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<li><p>In order to fulfill an area in the IGETC, I have to take one humanties course, and one arts course. By humanties, I mean foreign language, philosophy, etc. Should I, instead of philosophy, take mandarin 3 instead? I want to apply to a couple of top-tier private schools and I know that they recommend 3 years of foreign language. While it may not be guaranteed that the course may be available when spring rolls around (it happens), should I place finishing mandarin 3 of higher priority to taking a philosophy class. Then again, I am Chinese who is already pretty proficient in mandarin (colleges may assume this too?), and I feel that I would like to have a more well-rounded education and I'm pretty interested in studying philosophy as a minor in college. </p></li>
<li><p>Should I take general physics with calculus INSTEAD of general biology in the spring? I have already taken freshman biology, but general physics will not fulfill the biological sciences requirement (then I probably won't get my IGETC). I have already fulfilled my physical sciences requirement, which the physics course does fall under, with general chemistry. I'm definitely interested in studying science in college as a major, and I want to get a good overview of different areas of science (which is why I want to take physics). However, general biology at the college is more comprehensive and in-depth than my high school biology class. So far, I have taken high school biology, high school anatomy & physiology, and college chemistry.</p></li>
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<p>I won't be able to take any classes (such as mandarin or general biology) because I'll be working full-time in a lab in the summer.</p>
<p>Sorry, this was a long post. Hope someone can help me out! If something doesn't make sense, I'll try to clear things up. Thanks :D</p>