Hi! So I’m a Junior and wanted to get a second opinion on my schedule I work a part-time job at a clothing store, play Varsity Softball, have a literature review blog, do around four clubs at school, and am a natural procrastinator (although Im working really hard to change that this year) I plan on taking the SAT in December so I’ll also be studying for that. I HAVE to do amazing in all my classes, my grades slipped last year and right now I have a UW: 3.61 W: 4.1 My school schedule is as follows:
Philosophy Honors (manageable)
AP US History (again, lots of material but can’t say much about homework yet)
Bio Lab Honors
Business Software Applications (pretty easy)
Spanish 4 Honors
Pre-Calc Honors (manageable, although I’m not great in math)
AP English Language (teacher sends homework every day)
AP Bio (great teacher lots of material to cover and notes)
When I think about it I feel a bit overwhelmed and since school just started I’ve been considering getting a schedule change from AP US History to Honors instead.
However, the fact that my school offers about 18 AP’s and I only began to take them Junior year worries me (before I did Honors) since I would love to attend a great school (Stanford, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, NYU, University of Florida, etc.) although I know admissions are highly competitive. What do you think? Is it manageable? Thank you for your input and time!
Do you like History? Do you love Bio or want to major in the sciences? If either of these classes is going to kill you (or you hate them) then drop to honors. If not, kill off a few of the minor clubs, since they don’t add much to your resume. Your GPA and SATs are going to be key, although those Ivys are already out of reach, I think, unless you have some crazy hook or story.
Also, why did the grades slip last year? Distraction or lack of effort or did you just take on too much? If it was taking on too much (and they were only honors) then you probably should scale back the APs.
I have about the same schedule as you except swap the ap bio for ap chem. I’m fairly certain I can handle is as most people I know can. I don’t know much about how the 4.0 scale is calculated but I do know most people applying to stanford upenn and uchicago have gpas above 3.75 and most are even higher. Stellar test scores are a must. It could be a red flag that your gpa is on the lower side and took a watered down curriculum for your school.
@suzyQ7 grades slipped because of lack of effort unfortunately, I’ve always sailed through Honor courses with ease and would get A’s and B’s with minimal effort but last year I just didn’t try at all. I really like Bio (don’t plan on majoring in it) but I’m not sure if History is my thing I can tolerate it and am occasionally interested. I’m just worried the number of AP’s ill have taken by the time application time comes will look low in comparison to those offered.
@a20171 yeah the average gpa for those schools are above 3.75 so I really have to boost my gap up somehow. Do you think its possible with the classes I’m taking?
Thousands of kids who have over 4.0 GPAs and perfect SAT scores get rejected at Stanford and UPenn. Its OK to aspire to these school in order to keep you focused on getting your GPA, which is key, but realistically, the odds are totally stacked against almost everyone for Ivy league. That way you can have your best foot forward for whatever college you want to apply to. But you should have a ‘wider net’ of schools you would like to attend.
Four clubs at school sounds like a lot on top of a blog and everything else. Consider focusing your activities and only keeping those that reflect your intended major or long-term commitment or leadership.
@suzyq7 Oh for sure! I wholeheartedly agree with what your saying. The ones I mentioned are my dream schools, realistically speaking theres a very low chance of me getting accepted but I just want to make sure my app has at least a standing chance if I do choose to apply. And if I center my academic goals around the standards these amazing institutions have I’ll feel more confident when applying to less selective schools
I think your schedule looks pretty manageable; however, I agree with the above posts. Right now, if you think dropping down to a less intense class will boost your GPA, I think you should try that. AP US history isn’t that bad, but you do get a ton of outside reading and annotating (aim for at least an hour per reading assignment if you plan on doing a complete and thorough job). So if you aren’t interested in history and think it will just take up time, drop to honors.
Coming from a fellow junior! Good luck!
I work a part-time job at a clothing store, play Varsity Softball, have a literature review blog, do around four clubs at school, and am a natural procrastinator (although Im working really hard to change that this year) I plan on taking the SAT in December so I’ll also be studying for that. I HAVE to do amazing in all my classes, my grades slipped last year and right now I have a UW: 3.61 W: 4.1 My school schedule is as follows:
I can tolerate it and am occasionally interested. I’m just worried the number of AP’s ill have taken by the time application time comes will look low in comparison to those offered.