I’m a junior at my school. I am planning to apply as a STEM major to colleges (my ideal colleges would be Georgia Tech, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, UC Berkeley).
My school requires I take 4 years of history. However, I have taken honors Lincoln Douglas debate as a class (which counts as a history class) for the past three years, and will take it again senior year. I have also taken non-honors history for the past 3 years.
Since debate is a history class, that means I don’t have to take a history class as a senior. As such, I was wondering if colleges would care if I completely dropped history next year and took AP computer science instead. It’s impossible for me to do both, because my schedule is already full from debate and chorus, both of which are 4 credit classes.
It’s also worth noting that I wasn’t planning to take an AP history class next year, I am subtituting a normal level history class for AP comp sci.
Will colleges care if I don’t take history my senior year?
I know most colleges only require 2 years of history minimum, but some recommend 4, and I was wondering if that actually matters.
UC Berkeley requires this minimum:
History/social science (“a”) – Two years, including one year of world history, cultures and historical geography and one year of U.S. history, or one-half year of U.S. history and one-half year of American government or civics.
I wouldn’t be too worried about it. Colleges are more concerned about GPA, class rank and SAT/ACT scores. If you get rejected, it won’t be because of that. It will be because you applied to a selective school.
As long as you take four years of English, math, and foreign language, colleges won’t mind dropping a subject if you take something clearly related to what you want to do with your life instead.
School is about forcing yourself to do things you don’t want to do that you believe still benefit you. Taking a class that on a subject that you are already interested in will just make you less interested.
Although your school considers Lincoln Douglas Debate a history class, many colleges wouldn’t, unless the class is described precisely making it clear why your school gives history credit for it. So ask your GC for a school profile and check with your GC what s//he’d write about that in
your recommendation.
Most colleges want 1 year of us history, 1 other history, and one more social science as a minimum but the most selective ones expect 4 year long units in history and social science.
Are you instate for UCB?
Have you discussed with your parents what your college budget would be?
What classes are you taking this year and what classes would you take next year?
So as long as your 3 regular history courses covered that ground, you should be OK.
Most colleges would be OK with you not taking any history senior year, and more so if you are instead taking an AP course closely related to your intended major.
If you’re not instate, it means that your high school will not have watched for A-G requirements and honors classes don’t count in your UC GPA. (It also means 60k, no financial aid).
Colleges may mind that you didn’t have a 4th unit in social science but they won’t ‘not consider’ your application for it, especially since you took an AP class that matches your choice of major.
You do need to make sure that LDD will be described as a history class on your school profile or many colleges may not, and even with that stipulation some still may not. So I think you’d be better off taking both history and CS. Your school day should have six periods and both should fit once you’ve picked a math, a science, an English class, and if necessary level 3 in a foreign language.