@MYOS1634 Now for the other question, should i drop a language third year so i can take Honors Physics so i can have a strong backround for AP Physics 1? If im not doing Honors Physics, im having NO experience in physics so i might struggle in AP Physics 1.
AP Physics 1 is meant to be a first year physics course for students with stem aptitude.
AP physics 1 isn’t significantly harder than honors physics so I think you should take either one. Obviously taking AP bio + honors physics, then AP chem + AP physics 1 would make p physics much easier… But itkd remove one period of foreign language, which you need for the colleges you’re targeting.
Taking 3 years of a foreign language is expected for most UCs and colleges of that caliber; 4 years would be better so you can be competitive.
@MYOS1634 So do you think its Ok taking no AP Physics 1 and honors physics? i think in my school it makes a big difference in difficulty between the two.
Take either one (physics honors OR AP Physics 1).
Talk to your guidance counselor. He or she will know the patterns and competition in your hs. Get a Fiske Guide to Colleges and look at the websites of various colleges.
You can’t just dream of highly competitive colleges and, at the same time, say certain courses are too hard for you. Test yourself and aim for your best. The reality is lots of kids will have rigorous courseloads and do very well. For stem that includes high level English classes.
Plan on needing your 3rd year of foreign language. Go look at what the individual colleges say they want in course variety and depth.
Anyway you can take calc BC as a junior and take a higher level math course (linear algebra, calc III)? That could set you apart at some colleges
@lookingforward i dont rly know what my capability is right now. Ive just started high school and am eager to know them. Also, for some reason the pattern in my school is to have 2 periods off senior year. Does that harm you tremendously to do that? Even all the competitive students take 2 periods off senior year
@Econloverguy i was supposed to be enrolled in geometry as freshman but took it over the summer so currently im doing Algebra 2 as a freshman. Plus, my school doesn’t offer anything after AP calc BC and AP stats
i cant find space for language junior year
I think you are generally on target for Davis and Irvine, although I’d try to figure out how to get French 3 in. Maybe online. Check with your school’s guidance counselor for the more selective schools as they must have experience with how kids make it work with their 6 period schedules.
@washugrad do you think that “free period” harms me?
Don’t put down the PE and sports activity. You need to keep focused and working on the academics. These physical activities will strengthen your ability to focus on academic work. Just don’t overdue it. Hopefully you will sleep soundly… another very important ingredient.
The popular trend is for everyone to jump on the AP and standardized tests band wagons. At very competitive colleges, many of these HS AP courses are not even recognized for credit unless the student has an AP score of 4 or 5. Many more schools reluctantly accept 3’s. Particularly math intensive subjects require a very solid, pyramidal foundation. That is your most important goal.
You are conditioning for the big match, but you are not in the Olympics yet. I want my doctor to be cool collected and competent. A cool, hard working, caring student will find a like College or University.
My best MD was a competent immigrant from Turkey who had interned in a large New York hospital. My best friend’s father was a Boston MD and Harvard faculty member who died at 55 from heart issues. It would be good to see good doctors taking care of themselves.
What do you do for fun in you spare time?.
@Cadmissionsnerdz I’m not an expert, just a California parent with one in college and a 2nd currently a junior in high school (and a 3rd who is a freshman). I think it’s great that you are thinking ahead but you don’t have to have it totally nailed down yet. I do think getting the 3rd year of French in would be helpful for a lot of more selective schools. Maybe go with your current plan for the next year or so and reevaluate when you see how this year is going and have a talk with your school’s guidance counselor.
Also do some digging around here on College Confidential about premed stuff and talk with your parents about finances. Med school is expensive and there can be advantages to going to a less selective and cheaper school for undergrad where you can be sure to have a high GPA for your medical school admissions. (Other folks here know a lot more than I do about that).
@washugrad ahh thanks for your support. I have so much pressure to do good as all my cousins that are older have reached some prestigious schools. I am still pretty young and i want to get the best out of myself. It is pretty hard to live under the pressure of my cousins on doing good in high school.
@retiredfarmer I like to play soccer as i have joined the HS JV team as Freshman. I like participating in my clubs like American red cross because of their welcoming environment. I also hang around with my family as i value family time significantly.
Currently im a Freshman attending high school. I was planning to take world history honors and online health over the summer of 2019. But, the problem is, i have family priorities to handle and i have to travel to India during the summer for family needs. If i can’t take World History honors over the summer, then i can’t take AP human geography sophomore year. Our school has 25 AP courses but u can’t take any Freshman year and only 1 in Sophomore year. If i don’t take AP Human geography, i might not have space for my schedule eliminating an AP class. Does it really make a difference?
my dream colleges are the UC’s, NYU, UChicago, and JHU
This is my planned schedule for sophomore, junior, and senior
Sophomore:
Pre Calc Honors
Eng 2 honors
World history honors / AP human geography
PE
Chem Honors
French 2
Junior:
AP Calc AB
AP Chem
AP psychology
French 3 (honors is hard in our school)
PE
Eng 3 hon / Eng 3 (English has always been my weak subject)
Senior year :
AP Calc BC
AP Bio
AP economics
AP stats / AP Environmental science
Eng 4/ Eng 4 honors (again maybe this class might be too difficult so i might as well do reg english
PE
The maximum APs you can take in my school is 5 per year but im just excluding AP English and an AP language because literature and language in general is my weak point.
I just went to a Princeton information session and they stressed how closely they look at the school report when analyzing transcripts. If your school has these restrictions in place, that will be spelled out in your school report. As long as you take the most rigorous courses your school offers, while continuing to take physical education, you will be fine. Admissions will not judge your application against other candidates from schools that do not have the same restrictions.
Does your school do calculus AB then BC or AB OR BC?
Having French 3 would be must- have doe most UCs, French 4 better for the top UCs and top 25 universities/LACs.
I would drop PE senior year to take a class and I would NOT take two periods off. You need 5 academic classes every year as an absolute minimum. Ask your guidance counselor where seniors with two periods off and one PE period apply. I can’t imagine that Having only 3 Academic classes senior year would be helpful at 4- year selective universities.
@GoldPenn Oh thank god, ive been seeing people do 12 APs and i was really mad about it. I was stressing everyday that my schedule isnt good enough
@MYOS1634 my school does AB then BC. Also, i just asked him about it and he said that even they go to many top universities. IDK how they let them take 4 classes senior year. Even my cousin did the same and she got accepted into colleges like NYU, UChicago, UCLA, JHU, and many prestigious colleges