<p>Hey all, I'm currently in the process of selecting classes for the coming year.</p>
<p>After some review and discussion with my counselor, I found a problem.</p>
<p>I know Harvard and all selective schools encourage taking the most challenging schedule possible, which is what I am planning to do for junior year.
I'll be taking AP English Lit (2 semesters), (1 semester) Physics 30~Grade 12 physics and selfing physics C, AP Bio (2 semesters), AP World ( 2 semester). </p>
<p>I am out of math at my school and my local university will not allow me to sit in on any classes. So I was thinking of taking Linear Algebra and Calc 3 from UIUC Netmath. Is Harvard okay with online math classes? I'm not too big of a fan, but this seems to be the best option.</p>
<p>Also for foreign language- I am taking grade 11 and grade 12 french (no honours) online. This is because I moved from the States a while ago and did fairly well in a very high level French class which does not match up well with the new country's curriculum. Will Harvard be okay with online foreign language? I plan to enrich it by doing some additional studying and possibly writing the AP in Senior year.</p>
<p>Lastly, if I go through with my desired schedule, I will only have 1 class of interest left for me- AP Euro. I'll be done with all the English, Math, Science and FL that my school offers. I was thinking of just taking AP Euro then and possibly spending the rest of my time doing research in a lab. Is this all right, or would you advise me to try taking some more classes online? </p>
<p>I was thinking of graduating early, but I talked to my parents and they would prefer for me to spend an additional year for some personal reasons. I'd also have more time to boost my app, which is a plus.</p>
<p>Any advice/suggestions will be greatly appreciated! Thanks for everything :)</p>
<p>If you’ve “maxed out” the academic resources at your high school and local colleges, I can’t think of a reason why the Harvard Admissions Committee would disapprove of you taking online classes. If you are concerned that the AdCom might question the legitimacy of your online courses, it might make sense to contact Harvard directly about the issue. As you know, all online/distance education programs are not created equal.</p>
<p>Many of my fellow Harvard classmates reported taking courses at their local colleges when they were in high school. It sounds strange to me that your local college would prohibit you from enrolling in its courses. Perhaps you should speak directly with an officer of the local college (dean, chancellor, etc.) about the possibility of making some sort of exception for you. Get your parents and/or your high school principal involved if you think it might help.</p>
<p>On a side note, your academic load sounds rather time-intensive. I hope that you are pursuing your extra-curricular interests as well. Applicants who take a ton of AP classes are a dime a dozen.</p>
<p>FYI, the vast majority of Harvard students who take enough AP tests (and do well enough on them) to obtain “advanced standing” generally decline the opportunity to graduate in 3 years. College is too much fun to cut short. :-)</p>
<p>Thanks for responding! </p>
<p>You have a good point there about talking to administrators. So far I’ve only really talked to the rank and file registration people who don’t have much flexibility. I will try talking to someone higher up too. The emailing seems like a good idea too.</p>
<p>Re: courses. Thank you for the warning 
I’m trying to stay out of the mindless AP trap as best as I can. </p>
<p>I have a few ECs-mainly research, business, writing and MUN that I’m pretty devoted to. I’ve also been lucky enough to do well in competitions for many of these ECs and have won some state/national awards for them. Additionally, I’m running a few clubs in school that I really care a lot about, so hopefully I’ll do all right on that front. </p>
<p>Er, this is slightly off topic, but do you (or anyone here) think it would make sense for a student to apply early (as a junior) to college if they’ve ran out of resources at their schools and are presumably good students with good ECs/test scores? Quite a few people, even from my own school have been encouraging me to apply to college a year early and see if I get in or not at the places I want. I’m kind of conflicted about this because the application process is both time consuming and nerve wracking and I’d only really go for it if it made sense. I’d really appreciate any opinions on this! :D</p>
<p>Thanks again for your help! :D</p>
<p>I don’t get it. Why are people advising you to enter college after your junior year in high school?</p>
<p>A great deal of social development occurs in high school and college. Given the way the U.S. education is structured, I don’t think I’d want to short myself a year in either high school or college. All of my friends who qualified for advanced standing at Harvard (could graduate in 3 years) opted to stick around for a fourth year.</p>
<p>My advice to you would be to remain in high school for the typical 4 years. Deepen your involvement in your extracurricular activities. Make a difference in your community. Continue to do well academically. Speak with deans/chancellors at your local college about making an exception for you to take college classes. Any reasonable school officer would allow a bright high school student to take whatever college courses he was interested in, provided that he had taken the proper prerequisites.</p>
<p>Enjoy the college application process. It can actually be sort of fun if you approach it with the proper attitude. Understand that there is an arbitrary element to it all. I’ve certainly heard of students getting accepted at a highly selective school and getting rejected by a second-tier school. There isn’t always a rhyme and reason to it.</p>
<p>Just remember that wherever you go to college…it was meant to be. Make the most out of it. Make a lot of friends. Interact with people of different ethnicities, nationalities, religious persuasions, socioeconomic backgrounds, and sexual orientation. Take challenging courses within your major, but don’t afraid to take random courses that you never thought you’d take in a million years. That’s the best part about college – exploring your interests which may turn into a career…or just interesting small talk at a party 20 years down the road. Have fun!</p>