<p>i'm a sophomore in high school right now. freshman year i had a 3.9 in all honors classes. this year i'm taking the hardest classes they offer for sophomores but my gpa has slipped to about a 3.7. how much will this affect admissions to several colleges? and what can i do to show colleges in the future that i'm not slacking off or anything? i also started volunteering at a hospital so i've had to learn how to balance school and other things outside of school. i'm a urm so i'm wondering how that plays out in admissions at several schools including notre dame. thanks!</p>
<p>It's not too late! Work to get your GPA up especially in Junior year, take the most challenging courseload your school offers and try your best to do well on the ACTs and SATs. All your volunteer work is great. Keep it up and don't lose hope!</p>
<p>thanks! i was wondering if it is better to take ap chemistry or ap biology? not only on applications but which one is more challenging?</p>
<p>OP, I think that really depends on the school. For example, until recently, we had a lax AP Bio teacher so AP Bio was considered "easier" than AP Chem. My year, we had a new teacher who was extremely efficient and strict, so AP Bio was considered harder than AP Chem. You should talk to upperclassmen who've taken/are taking those classes. If there is any seniors who've taken both, talk to them and ask them to compare their experiences. </p>
<p>Personally, I chose AP Bio -- I like studying the process of living, growing things rather than balancing chemical equations, etc. In AP Bio you'll do basically no math, where in Chem you'll do some (pretty basic though.) I think it just depends on which you are more interested in. As far as "looking more challenging," neither is considered more challenging as far as I know. They are both classes where you most likely have to exert yourself, but nobody I know (teachers and counselors included) think either is more challenging than the other just by their name. It really depends on the teacher. </p>
<p>Hope this helps and keep it up! :)</p>
<p>if you are a urm with a 3.7 in challenging classes you will be fine</p>
<p>ok thanks everyone for the help</p>
<p>i took ap bio my junior year and as a senior im currently taking ap chem. ap bio was pretty challenging because the teacher assigned a lot of work and demanded a lot out of you. the ap chem teacher however assigns work but its up to you to actually do it. as far as material in the course goes i thought ap bio was harder because it was more info you had to just take the time and memorize whereas chem was math problems that as soon as you knew how to do the problem, youre done studying.if youre looking for a good ap test grade, i have heard many people doing far better on the ap bio exam then chem.</p>
<p>just my experiences with the courses!</p>
<p>this might be a stupid question..but whats an urm?</p>
<p>Under Represented Minority</p>
<p>affirmative action/holistic addmissions stuff</p>