<p>I took really easy classes during freshman and sophomore year(No AP, No Honors) and I have 3.97 UW GPA right now. I am taking 3 AP and 3 Honors classes next year as a junior.
Am I totally screwed up for ivies/MIT?... if I have decent SATs scores, can they make up?</p>
<p>My sophomore year schedule:
Pre calculus
Physical Science -- I am the most worried about this class.. should have taken chemistry, will having this class hurt my chances?
Pre AP english
Us history ( should have taken AP Euro)
Spanish 2</p>
<p>It depends on the context of what other top-performing kids in your class are taking. At first glance, your sophomore schedule looks fine except for physical science, but what’s done is done. You can only look ahead. Don’t hypothesize about whether or not SAT scores will “make up” for anything until you have actual scores.</p>
<p>If at some point in your HS career you take bio, chem, and physics, you will not have an issue. Of course, these schools are all highly selective, so there is nothing to guarantee that you will get in.</p>
<p>I took bio during freshman and planning to take honors chem and AP physics next year. so there is no issue if finish all of them before graduate? Should i not worry anymore?</p>
<p>I agree with @skieurope, did the top students in your class take honors and AP courses their freshman and sophomore years? Even if they did, the biggest question is whether your guidance counselor will check the “most rigorous course load” box in her rec. If she won’t do that (because she doesn’t believe you have taken the most rigorous course load), you will be in a very weak position for admission to top schools. </p>
<p>You are taking 3 APs as a junior and if you take 3-4 as a senior, you’ll be fine for just about any school outside HYPSM, where a different set of criteria come into play. The Top 25 (national or LAC) like to see 6-8 APs, core ones, not light, so if you have that down, you’ve met the rigor requirement.</p>
<p>When you apply to college, your guidance counselor must complete the above Secondary School Report (SSR) on your behalf, which rates the rigor of your course load as compared to all other college bound students at your high school (see page 2, especially top right hand section). Selective colleges are seeking students who have the “MOST DEMANDING” rating from their GC. </p>
<p>It’s difficult to assess the rigor of your course load without knowing what other student’s are taking, so this is a question only your GC can answer. Ask your GC!</p>
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<p>That’s only true for colleges that offer many AP’s. Some high school’s don’t offer AP’s or only offer 3 or 4 of them, so college’s will not hold that against you. On the other hand, if your high school offers 30 AP courses, and you take 6-8, but the top kids take 10 to 15, your course rigor will look weak by comparison. Everything is relative, so ask your GC!</p>
<p>I currently moved to new high school and this new school offers bunch of APs and Honors classes. But my former school offers no honors classes, no AP in freshman, 1 AP in sophomore, lots of AP in junior and senior. Will the fact that I did not take 1 AP class and did take Physical Science instead of chemistry hold against me for top schools? </p>
<p>I am taking as rigorous classes as I possibly can next year as junior. (3 AP, 3 Honors). Do I not even have shots at Upenn, MIT, etc? </p>
<p>If your old school had limited honors and AP classes, colleges will not hold that against you. Build a rigorous schedule for the next two years and perform well in those classes, have passion for your EC’s, get strong test scores, write stellar essays, and get great recommendations. Speculating now is premature and a waste of energy.</p>
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