Is science a necessary class during senior year?

Applying to College
1

Right now, I’m a high school junior and I’m making my schedule for next year as a senior.

I asked my guidance counselor if I could have 1 and a half off periods (1 off one day, 2 off the next day) instead of taking a science class. She insisted that, and I quote, “No selective college will EVER accept you if you drop a science class for an off period,”

Now, to me, this sounds like quite a stretch. Not only are science classes what usually bring my GPA down but I also am 200% sure that I’m not going to pursue anything in the science field. But I also don’t want to not-take a science class as a senior if it really will hurt me (in terms of admissions) in the end.

Below is a list of the main courses I have taken in high school up until now.

(I took Earth Science (a lab science) in 8th grade)
9th- Honors English, Spanish II, Accelerated Geometry, Pre-AP History, Accelerated Living Environment
10th- AP World, Pre-AP English, Accelerated Chemistry, Spanish III, Accelerated Alg 2/Trig
11th- AP Biology, AP US History, AP Lang and Comp, Spanish IV, Pre-Calc
(planning to take next year:)
12th- AP Literature, Calc AB, AP Government, (possibly Spanish V or AP Psych)

I’ve also weighed my GPA up until now and its a 3.9-4.0

Some schools I’m currently interested in:
Barnard College
UCLA
Cornell
Binghamton U
NYU
Macaulay Honors College

I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to major in but some things I had in mind were English, Law, Business, Theatre, or Art

Do you think it’s necessary for me to do another course/year of science as a senior?

2

For the UCLA, the Earth Science in 8th grade will not count towards the a-g course requirements. I would take one more science class such as AP Environmental, just to be safe even if you are not leaning towards a STEM major.
You want to go above and beyond in the a-g courses to be competitive for UCLA.

3

I should also add that if you want to apply to UCLA, you need 1 year of a Visual/Performing art course to qualify.

http://www.ucop.edu/agguide/a-g-requirements/

4

I’ve taken art classes all 3 years so far and I’m building my portfolio next year. The classes i listed in my post are only my main subjects.

5

The only classes that I think were available for me were only AP Psych (which counts more towards social studies than science), Marine Biology, and Science of Natural Disasters. But the last two are definitely joke classes in my school. They’re not anywhere up to par to the APs.

6

Listen to your GC. You should keep 4 cores for all 4 years. You may search for the HS course requirement for each school on your list.

7

Looks like you have only chemistry and biology (unless “accelerated living environment” is a science course, which looks like another biology course). Colleges may prefer that you take physics as well.

8

@imnahc, my daughter doesn’t want to take a Science course in Senior year either.

I haven’t spoken to her Guidance Counselor yet, but I’m curious to hear what others have to say.

Does anyone know if an intro college level CS course(taught at the High School) is considered a substitute for a Physical or Natural Science course?

@imnahc, do you have any interest in Computer Science?

9

No I don’t

10

My son didn’t take a science class his senior year but he had doubled up on science classes earlier in high school so still finished with 4 years (or more) of science. He also had taken all of the schools computer science classes but those aren’t counted as science classes here. I’d recommend at least 4 “years” of science to be competitive.

11

Each school’s most recent Common Data Set will say the number of years they require or recommend for each subject. (Some say one or the other, some say both.) Requiring or recommending 3 years of science with 3 years of them lab classes is pretty common. Some (like NYU) recommend 4 years with 4 years of lab.

I don’t know if Living Environment counts as a lab, but it sounds like you may be at the minimum for required, but not necessarily for recommended for everybody. Sorry to say, but it may be a class like Physics (and non-AP would be sufficient) is the only sure way to have as much science as anyone could possibly expect.

12

Has she had all three of biology, chemistry, and physics?

While California public universities’ viewpoint on the subject may not be universal, note that they consider CS to be an academic elective (“g” category), rather than a lab science (“d” category). You can look up classifications such as https://hs-articulation.ucop.edu/agcourselist#/list/details/2034/ .

13

Most top colleges will want to see candidates complete bio, chem, and physics coursework. I’d listen to your guidance counselor and take science.

14

You definitely need to take physics if you haven’t yet.

15

I got into Berkeley L&S OOS with no senior year science. However, I doubled up on sciences by taking APES and Bio sophomore year. I also was a prospective humanities major and had the 3 core sciences.

16

@ucbalumnus, thanks very much for the information.

My daughter has taken Bio(freshman year), Chem(sophomore year), and AP Physics B(non Calc- Based, Junior year).

I spoke to a fairly selective Liberal Arts College(top 40 US News) today and they said that CS is an adequate substitute for a Natural Science.

I wouldn’t want anyone else to make a decision based on that, but I hung up feeling comfortable that my daughter wouldn’t be at a disadvantage if she chose CS.

I don’t want to out myself, but if anyone wants to know the specifics, feel free to PM me. Unless it’s everyone, in which case I’m outing myself :slight_smile: