<p>Hi!
So I really want to get into stanford, but I dont plan on declaring a science related major. For this reason, I have decided not to take any Science AP classes. Here is a list of the APs I plan to take instead:</p>
<p>AP US Gov (10th grade)
AP Human (self Study 10th grade)
AP English Lang (11th)
AP World (11th)
AP Psych (11th grade)
AP Comp Gov (self study 11th)
AP English Lit (12th)
MAYBE AP French (12th)</p>
<p>Also...
Im a black female. parents are from an african country and I have dual citizenship
I plan on taking the world history sat subject and maybe sat french
I play a sport, jv freshman year, i dont know about the following years</p>
<p>Does not taking an ap science class hurt my chances badly?
Thanks!</p>
<p>If a variety of AP science classes are offered at your school and you choose to NOT take any core AP science classes… it may appear to the admissions committee that you were “AVOIDING” taking any “challenging” classes. Part of getting a “solid” foundation in education is to take subjects like AP Physics, AP Chemistry, and AP Biology…not necessarily all of them but at least one or two.</p>
<p>…most top schools like Stanford want to see students in high school challenge themselves…push themselves beyond their comfort zone…they would rather see that you got a hard deserved B in AP Chemistry than an easy A in regular chemistry…</p>
<p>…also, whether you are a fuzzy humanities person or a STEM person…I know Stanford expects their “successful” applicants to have taken as many of the challenging courses in high school regardless of subject.</p>
<p>…to be competitive with the best of the best applicants in the country…you have to strive to be the best at your “high school”…</p>
<p>…of important note…one of the most important questions your GUIDANCE COUNSELOR will have to rate is the RIGOR of courses you took…the counselor’s true EVALUATION and “type of recommendation” you receive can MAKE or BREAK your application…</p>
<p>…so think about your course choices and be wise. Hopefully this helped.</p>
<p>Well I don’t plan on taking the regular version of these classes. At my school there is Honors
(harder than regular) and GT(harder than honors). If i were to take the GT and/or honors version of these classes, would that be seen as pushing myself? GT is weighted the same as AP at my school…</p>
<p>The adcoms may not notice that you didn’t take any AP science classes, and not doing so wouldn’t work against you. HOWEVER, just by looking at your schedule, anyone can see that not only are you not taking any AP science classes, but no AP math classes either. Thus, you should definitely take at least one, probably two, of either math or science AP classes. There could be dozens of reasons that you didn’t take any AP science classes, but not taking AP math OR science is no coincidence; it is quite obvious that those are your weaknesses, and you failed to challenge yourself in your weak subjects, which may be looked down upon.</p>
<p>I think AP Biology could be manageable for you since you have a passion for history and AP Biology is a large portion of memorization although it has gotten more practical this year in regards to the exam…AP Environmental Science Is probably one of the easiest science classes that you could ever take</p>
<p>Ok… So if I take AP biology, but No Ap math courses, would that look better? I not terrible at math, but at average level. I’m an incomming sophomore, but I taking 10th grade math over the summer through my county’s program. When I’m a sophmore in the fall, I will be taking 11th grade Math. Does that look almost as good as an AP math?</p>
<p>Also, I took the GT version of 9th grade math as a freshman (I dont think its wise to list the specific course, Im kinda Paranoid of people tracking me down) I recieved a B. Had I gotten an A on my final exam, I would have received an A</p>
<p>Another thing to keep in mind…
I have pretty low income (raised by a single mother, and oldest of 4 siblings). what Im trying to say is, I wouldnt have the money for expensive touters if I would need one for an Ap science class</p>
<p>Do you have a high school guidance counselor? You need to contact him/her and have him/her help you plan your path to college. </p>
<p>For instance: have you looked at the Stanford web site for undergraduate admissions?<br>
[Academic</a> Preparation : Stanford University](<a href=“http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/basics/selection/prepare.html]Academic”>http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/basics/selection/prepare.html)
They require 4 years of math and “3 or more years of laboratory science” which means biology, chemistry and physics. </p>
<p>You also need to take the SAT (in addition to the subject tests you plan to take). The SAT is required or the ACT plus writing. Big NOTE: work on improving your spelling and vocabulary since the SAT does evaluate your reading, writing and math. You can’t get around that test unless you take the ACT plus writing test. (“Touter” is spelled tutor.) Your school should have access to peer tutors, your counselor can help you set that up.</p>
<p>Okay, here’s my Mom side talking (My husband is a graduate of Stanford): Why Stanford? It is one of the most competitive schools and hardest to get into, along with being extremely expensive. If you’re not comfortable with science and math, your SAT or ACT scores will immediately reflect and show that to the admissions committee. </p>
<p>Additionally, yes being an URM helps a teensy bit, but in the long run, if you are not academically prepared and competitive, or don’t have something “spectacular” to offer Stanford, it will be extremely hard for you to be accepted. They already have talented African and African American students, of low-income status’, applying with stellar academics, extra-curricular activities and high test scores. </p>
<p>So if you plan on applying there, you may want to look into those science and math AP classes and boosting those extra-curricular activities. Talk to your guidance counselor.</p>
<p>^ @aunt bea, As embarrassed as I am of having my spelling corrected, I want to thank you for your advice. I have thought of another scenario that I would like feedback on. If I were to take regular physics senior year, along with AP biology, would this help rectify any apparent weakness on my application? How will waiting until senior year to take an AP science class hurt my chances? I would consider taking it junior year, but I simply don’t have the room. In my school district, students are not allowed to take any AP science courses until Junior or senior year, and we are required to take Biology (not ap) sophomore year.</p>
<p>There really isn’t no ticket into Stanford. You could take AP Biology, AP Physics, AND AP Chemistry your senior year and still look weak compared to a majority of the applicants. My advice is to take as many AP classes as you can regardless of the subject area and work your butt off to achieve a high grade, you could also maybe mention in your essays that you have never really carried for science and math and hopefully the committee will see that your tried your best in these areas and will work hard in Stanford. I HATE Math and English but I plan on doing AP Calculus AB, BC, Statistics, English Language and Literature before I graduate along with about 15 other APs that I have either taken the class for of self-studied</p>
<p>Take the AP classes that you love because you want to take them. Stop thinking about Stanford…as the above posters have noted, admission is very unpredictable for almost everyone, so you won’t want to do things just to get in. For the record, I know several Stanford admits who did not take AP/Honors classes in science/math because they simply weren’t interested in those fields. If you want to know Stanford’s take on this, read page 2 of its Counselor Newsletter from 2011-2012:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/pdf/counselor_newsletter/cn_fall11.pdf[/url]”>http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/pdf/counselor_newsletter/cn_fall11.pdf</a></p>
<p>“Contrary to popular belief, students don’t need to take every AP/IB/Honors class offered; rather, we encourage them to follow their intellectual interests while pushing themselves in their respective contexts.”</p>
<p>Sweet cupcake, no one knows how Stanford will interpret your choices, only the Stanford ad-com would know. We can’t give you any REAL guidance because we just don’t really know how Stanford selects its class. We can only give you suggestions as to how to improve your competitiveness for college admissions. You really need to talk to your guidance counselor; additionally, when Stanford comes to your town, go to the information sessions and ask your questions of them.</p>
<p>I would, but there are three things:
- It’s July. I’m impatient
- My counselor also happens to be a football coach at my school. I’m afraid that during the fall season, he won’t have the time or expertise to really help me
- I’m really afraid my counselor is going to just tell me I have no chance because of my freshman year GPA (3.64 unweighted, about 4.2 weighted)</p>
<p>I know these are kind of stupid things, but I’m 14. Bear with me</p>
<p>On the bright side, Stanford has a representative in my state that I can contact.</p>