just a few questions ^-^' (sorry about the length....)

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>Like the title of this thread, I just have a few questions that aren't really in any category besides high school. </p>

<p>First, I was wondering which grades colleges look at; do they look at year grades, semester grades, or does it depend? I was thinking year grades but then I remembered that my English and history classes that year were semester classes and I was wondering if that's what would show on my transcript? I would have an A for the year if you looked at it that way, but if it showed the semester grades, I would have had an A and a B. Which would people see?</p>

<p>Second, I'm currently a sophomore and we've started scheduling at our school. What I chose so far was:</p>

<p>AP Eng Lang
AP Psych
AP Comp Sci
French IV
AP Calc BC
AP Chem
AP Phys</p>

<p>I tried to stack up on the AP classes (as you may have noticed haha), but am I underestimating the rigor of the classes? I tried getting feedback from the upperclassmen and from what I heard, I'm thinking that everything but English and French is going to be tough at our school (taking into account the teachers that teach the classes, how well they prepare you, how hard the work is that they give, etc). I've been told not to slack off junior year and that it was a really important year, so I don't want to take all of these classes only to flunk all of them. However, they're sort of just the next classes to take (AP Eng after Honors, AP Comp Sci after Intro to computer programming, AP Calc after Pre-calc, etc). I've been told to just go ahead and take AP Eng Lang since there was more work in Hon 11 Eng and I'm getting high A's in Pre-Calc and Chem. My physics teacher said that whatever grade I'm getting in her class is probably what I'll end up getting in AP (which is currently a B, but I think that if I study more instead of going to the movies or a party every 3 days it could happen :P). I'm taking APUSH right now and it's not too bad considering I have WAY less hw than the honors kids and the only work I usually ever do is studying like crazy for a unit test.</p>

<p>Am I still underestimating it though? How much estimated time will I have per day for extracurricular activities? (I'm currently in the school's environmental club, key club, maybe joining math club for the heck of it since the adviser's so cool. I also pretty much spend half of every Sunday doing church-related activities since I'm in the worship team there and as soon as I get my license I want to spend Saturdays out of the house whether it's to hang out with friends or volunteer work). How much sleep do you think I would get (haha XD)? Any advice as to what classes to take or take out?</p>

<p>Third, I was wondering what sort of college I could get into (yeah I know it's probably too early to figure that out, but best guess?). </p>

<p>7th grade:
Algebra I: B
8th grade:
Hon. Geo: B
French I (7-8th grade. they divided it up for some reason): A</p>

<p>9th:
French II: A
Choir: A
Gym: A (or Pass... I forget which)
Alg II: A
Hon. Bio: A
Eng 1st sem: A
Eng 2nd sem: B (like I said, if it's yearly, then I got an A but I'm not sure what to put -_-)
World Hist 1st sem: either A or B
World Hist 2nd sem: if I got an A 1st, I got a B 2nd; vice versa (same with english)</p>

<p>10th (first sem)
French III: A
Health: A
PreCalc: A
Hon. Chem: A
Hon. Phys: B
Hon. Eng: B
APUSH: B</p>

<p>Let's say I keep this trend going of having a mix of A's and B's (as in I don't keep my promise to myself to actually study XD)</p>

<p>Thank you for reading all of this!!! I truly commend you because I myself tend to have a short attention span when it comes to long and lengthy paragraphs...</p>

2

<ol>
<li><p>They look at Semester grades.</p></li>
<li><p>Your schedule looks really difficult. I had questions on my schedule too (I’m going to be a Junior) and I found out that balance is key. Unless Psych is considered Social Studies at your school, you should prolly try taking AP Gov, AP Euro, or something like that. Drop a science, and take that science the year following.</p></li>
<li><p>EC’s will be big. So plan to stop the partying or whatever you said you were doing. With a class schedule like that, you will have a VERY small social life. That’s not a bad thing or a good thing… but YOU are choosing to that with this schedule. Realize that, and realize to go to a top college you will need to spend your free time (which will unfortunately be little) volunteering, working, or doing sports/ECs. </p></li>
<li><p>Take this advice or leave it: Don’t spend so much time at your church. I mean, go to it and worship but do you have to spend half the day there? Can it just be 2-4 hours instead of 6? That should help you with the amount of time your schedule will take to get A’s.</p></li>
<li><p>Your schedule looks good. You are still in the shot for the top colleges based on your schedule and grades… but remember that’s not the only thing they want. They want grades (you seem to have them), great scores (you’ll see next year… make sure to study for them), AP Test scores (get 5’s), Volunteer work, Work experience, clubs, leadership positions, and sports.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Good luck.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for responding!!</p>

<p>1) ahh darn. I was afraid of that. Oh well I suppose ^-^
2) Yeah psych is considered a social studies class at our school. And I was thinking of dropping one this year and taking it senior year but then I realized that whichever AP science I would take senior year, I would probably have forgotten all of the basic things >-< I think I’m still considering doing that though since I decided not to take AP Bio anymore
4) I don’t think I’ll be spending any less time there because of band practice and such (it doesn’t have anything to do with how fun it is there of course ^-^). I think it’ll be fine though because I usually get to church by 10 and then get home by 2-4 so I’ll have the rest of the day to do homework or study. At worst, I’ll be doing my hw or studying during the 30 minute drive there, the 30 minute drive back, and during lunch.
5) Yay for tests… I think I had a 23/25 on a practice ACT test (forget the name). On the PSAT I got a 72/80 (one of the questions I got wrong because I bubbled in wrong though), a 70/80 on the writing, and a 55/80 on the critical reading. I’ll probably (or definitely…) have to study for my critical reading. I don’t think I’ll have too many problems with clubs or volunteer work, but work experience might not be possible because my parents are dead set against me having any sort of job in high school for some reason :confused: I’m also not that great at sports and our school is one of those schools where they’re obsessed with their reputation in both academics and athletics so I’ll probably spend to much time there.</p>

4

<p>Um it depends on your school. On my transcript it only showed year-end grades. Ask your GC to make sure.</p>

5

<p>I would say you should only get straight A’s. Drop tougher classes if you can’t take the heat. It’s better that way.</p>

<p>Extra-curricular-wise, you’re behind most people who want to go beyond a state school. Your scores and grades as well. If you want to go to a state school, then you’re well-prepared.</p>

6

<p>If you have classes year-round, then they only see the year grade, not the 2 semester grades.</p>

<p>Taking 6 APs doesn’t sound like a good idea if you got a B in your previous AP class.</p>