is my schedule competitive

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

Currently i go to a pretty competitive high school in California with some bright students. Its ranked around #669 in US rankings. it offers 25 AP Classes. the problem is, i hate that we only have 6 periods in our school. Its technically 5 because im doing sports and so im doing PE most likely all 4 years. We can only take APs starting Sophomore year and we can only do 1 in Sophomore. So technically, the maximum of AP classes you can do is 11.
It is really frustrating as i am trying to cram my schedule. Can you guys take a look at my schedule for HS? (P.S. im HS Freshman) Is it rigorous enough for schools like UCI, UC Davis, UCLA, and NYU. i want to major in medicine as i love helping out my community and have an interest in biology and chemistry

My freshman schedule
Bio honors
alg 2
photography
French I
PE
Eng 1 hon

My planned out schedule

im taking world history honors and online health over summer leading to sophomore year
Sophomore year:
Pre Calc Honors
Eng honors
AP human geo/ AP Euro
chemistry honors
PE
French II

Junior year
AP Calc AB
AP Psychology
AP Chem
honors physics
English 3 honors
PE

Senior year (for some odd reason even competive students have 2 periods off for some reason everyone does)
AP Calc BC
AP Economics
AP Bio
Eng 4 honors/ English 4 AP
free periods
Free period/ PE

P.S. in my school u cant even do physics starting Junior year, and i didnt want to jump to AP Physics 1 because i would have no experience in physics, so maybe physics honors is better first

Out of the 11 APs max a student can do, im taking like 7 and maybe 8 if i can handle English 4 AP. I feel like out of the 640 people in our class, my class rigor is in the top 20-25 percent, but i can make my GPA a top 10-15% if i work hard

2

Can you take AP Bio as a 10th grader? Many schools will only allow you to take it in 11-12 but many, like my kid’s school, is pretty lenient towards science classes when it comes to prereqs. This allows you to also fit in Physics, since you don’t even list any at all and many if not most schools will want you to have Bio Chem Physics.

The number of APs matter to a small degree in that the most attractive candidates will have taken a well-rounded curriculum. Taking AP HUG won’t matter since everyone knows it’s a fluff class.

3

no, the only AP i can take sophomore is either AP Human Geo or AP euro

4

For the UCs it’s ideal if you can get in 4 APs total in 10th and 11th grade (because those are the years that count in the UC GPA, and you are capped at 8 semesters for weighted grades on the GPA so more than 4 doesn’t help). But you won’t be the only one applying who isn’t able to fit that in (or whose school doesn’t have APs open to sophomores, or whatever).

I’m seeing that you have 6 classes /year (5 academic plus PE) - can you take a 7th? Like maybe add in AP Computer Science in 11th grade or something like that?

5

thanks for your response @washugrad . You can add a 7th class but i don’t think my counselor will allow me to do that because of the stress it can have on the student. You either start school early at 6:20 or have it after the 6th period until 4 but i cannot do that because im joining sports and im doing some clubs too. Do u recommend not taking French 3 and taking an AP Class.

Also, i want to major in medicine so idk if AP Comp Sci will be a good class

6

Do you live in California?
7v. 8 shouldn’t make a difference, except your UCGPA will only count 3 APs which is few for most UCs.

7

AP Euro is a rigorous class. Can you take it without world history first?

8

IMHO (and remember, on the internet, everyone is a dog), taking vs not taking AP Human Geo is not going to make a bit of difference for UChicago or JHU.

If AP Eng Comp / Lit are out of the question, and even honors-level English might be too much, UChicago IMO will not be a good fit for you due to the Core. Possibly the same for NYU/JHU, but I’m less familiar with what those schools’ distribution requirements.

UCs have idiosyncratic admissions requirements, including a year of the same fine art. I see no such class in your list.

Assuming you aren’t a CA resident, because if you were you’d be aware of the UC admission requirements, your parents should be prepared to be full pay for the UCs and NYU. Have you talked to them about how much they’re prepared to pay for your college? You will not be able to borrow enough yourself to cover the costs they’re unwilling or unable to pay.

9

^VERY good points @allyphoe.

To have a shot at UChicago (and surviving the core) you should easily get A’s in AP English Lang and/or Lit, plus the most rigorous AP’s (Euro and/or World and/or APUSH, AP foreign language, AP Calc, etc.)

Do you have to take PE every year?
How many periods does your school day have? (5 Academic classes + PE every year would be considered light for top 25 universities/LACs).

What’s your budget?
If you’re not a California resident, your parents must have 250K saved for your college - ask them how much they’ve saved for you and how much they can afford to pay from their current income.
(and if you don’t meet the a-g requirements, including art, your UC application won’t even be read.)

Here’s what UChicago and universities/LACs in the top 25 would expect, optimally:
Sophomore:
Pre Calc Honors
Eng 2 honors
World history honors / AP human geography => AP Euro
PE
Chem Honors
French 2 or 2H
(+ one more academic class or art/music)

Junior:
AP Calc AB
AP Physics 1
AP psychology => APUSH
French 3 or 3H
PE => graduations requirement? If not, switch
Eng 3 hon / Eng 3 (English has always been my weak subject) => AP Lang
(+ one more class)

Senior year :
AP Calc BC
AP Bio or AP Chem
AP economics
Eng 4/ Eng 4 honors (again maybe this class might be too difficult so i might as well do reg english
French 4, 4H, or AP French
PE => if not graduation requirement, switch

And, ideally, you’d have 6 academic classes every year, not just 5+PE.

10

@allyphoe @MYOS1634 I am taking an arts class (photography) for the UC schools

If i try my best i think i can do English 3 Honors, im still in start of Freshman year and I don’t know my capabilities yet. The major im definitly going to do is Pre medicine after high school, so maybe not taking English AP isn’t a big deal???

I live in California and my parents told me they can pay a little bit but i must use student loans, Ive heard that NYU med college is FREE OF TUITION (IK SOUNDS CRAZY) so really i want to go to NYU because of its free cost
Also, note that my school only has 5 academic classes. If I want to take 6 academic classes in 1 year, it isn’t recommended by my counselor because you either take 0 period (6:25 - 7:40) or 7th period (after school from 2:55 - 3:45) I cannot take 7th period because i have EC activities after school. it looks impossible to do 0 period for me

Our graduation requirement is to do PE for 3 years.
Also, since im in soccer PE is kinda required because it is going to be a period in which i have to practice, so IDK X_X

11

@MYOS1634 yes i live in California

12

@MYOS1634 ALso In your schedule you put AP Physics as one of my classes. I dont really know if i could handle the course because right now im taking Biology honors and next year im taking chem honors. For some odd reason, our school doesn’t allow us to do Physics honors until junior year

13

UC’s and good colleges will expect you to have physics, so if your school makes it a junior course, that’s when you should take it. You should take Physics Honors or AP Physics 1, if neither is possible then take Physics regular.

Premed isn’t a major. It’s an intention - it means taking a set of classes with the majors (ie., Biology with Biology majors, Chemistry with Chemistry majors…) and ranking in the top 10% in every class. You have to choose a major in which you’re really good, it could be Chinese or Anthropology or Economics or Math or Music or Computer Science… and do very well in it.

Med schools want to see 2 semesters of English (Composition + Communication or Speech or Literature) and you have to do very well so AP English would be useful - even if you AP exam score allows you to skip Freshman Composition, you still have to take two semesters of English. Honors English in Grade 10, 11, and 12 would be fine.
The premed pre-reqs are: 2 semesters each of Biology, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, and English; plus 1 semester of calculus, biostatistics, sociology, psychology, a diversity-focused course, biochemistry, and many med schools like to see bioethics, neuroscience/cognitive science, and fluency in a foreign language used in the US (could be learned while volunteering and through community education, it doesn’t have to be taken for credit).

UC’s are great universities but they’re really, really, really hard on premeds.

Before you think “I want to be a doctor”, though, volunteer in places where you’ll meet people different from you. It could be in a soup kitchen or a retirement home, refugees or families new to your town…

Basically, being in soccer means you have two class periods fewer than your peers, which is a problem for the schools you’re aiming for. If you’re aiming for your state flagship, it’s not a problem.
Talk with your parents about the money they’ve saved or are saving in your college account.

14

@MYOS1634 Thanks for your advice. If i take honors Physics/ AP Physics 1 in junior year, then i only have 2 APs junior year because you are taking off AP chem which will have AP Calc AB and AP Psychlogy remaining. Maybe its a wise decision to take honors physics in senior year? Ehh i am still start of Freshman year and im worrying way too much i have a lot of time.

15

@MYOS1634 Thx for ur advice. Im pretty new to all this stuff because i just started Freshman Year of high school. The problem is that if i take Honors/ AP physics, then i have to take either AP Chem or AP Bio in senior year. Does it harm your application if you only take one of them?
My main aim is NYU because they offer FREE TUITION for medicine.

16

So wait, you have the option to just take AP Euro next year instead of the other 2? Why not just do that?

Are you at a public school that only has 6 periods a day (plus optional zero period)? Or is it private? Just curious… most schools have 7, I think. And I think most of the schools in CA only require PE for 2 years. Or maybe that’s just our district.

17

@washugrad Yeah the only options are Euro/ Human geography/ World history honors but like ive heard AP Euro is pretty hard so i thought Human Geography is also good and im thinking about taking WH honors over the summer. In order to take the APs, you have to first take WH honors
Yes, im at a pretty good public school but the problem is they only have 6 periods a day plus the optional zero period. PE is 3 years requirement too, but idk i might have to do all 4 years because of soccer since im on the school team.

18

NYU med school is after 4 years of college and is not related to attending college at NYU - any college will do. Surviving the weedout process is the hardest part - 75% freshmen never make it to the med school application stage, and of those 60% don’t get into any med school. To improve your odds you need to attend the best college where you’re top 25%. It may mean St Mary’s of California, or Occidental, or Pitzer, or Whitman, or SDSU, or UCR or UCSC or ULaverne or Lewis&Clark or UPugetSound or a WUE university like Montana State or Colorado State or WWU. There are 3,700 colleges in the US, any on the “Princeton review’s best colleges” list will work equally well for med school.

Good point about Ap’s soph/jr year for the UCGPA: take AP Chem junior year and AP Physics 1 senior year.
Try to take AP Euro next year if you can.

I know it’s overwhelming if you’re a freshman in high school. Do your best, get involved in your community, see what you like among the clubs at your school, sleep 9 hours each night, see your friends face to face not just online.
A long can change: perhaps you won’t feel so strongly about soccer and will be able to drop it junior and senior year, so you’ll be able to add one or even two more classes without having to take period zero (DO NOT take period zero, it goes against your biological clock as a teenager and would harm your brain. I’m serious, teenagers function best starting after 9:30 so that period zero would be pure torture and unlikely to be productive.) Or perhaps you’ll LOVE soccer and get so good at it that as a junior you’ll be recruitable by Division 3 colleges.

19

@MYOS1634 again thank you for your time and advice. But, doesn’t taking a sport look good on ur college Apps? Im not playing any instrument, so it makes sense to do sports. Everyone is telling me doing a sport for all 4 years is very good.
Also, if want to do AP Physics 1, i want to do Honors physics because i want a strong backround so I don’t fail like the 67% of people do. The problem is, I might not do a language for a third year. Is that ok?

20

Well, for yourself it can be fantastic but for colleges it’s just like any other EC, like DECA or MUN or Student Government - unless you’re recruitable, ie., really really good. Typically recruitable soccer players play both in HS and in clubs but D3 colleges include lots of “meet need” colleges with good soccer profiles.
(Look up Pitzer, Whitman, St Olaf, Grinnell, Muhlenberg, Skidmore, Davidson, to have an idea of top notch colleges for science that have D3 sports and generous meed need financial aid).