I am a sophomore in high school, and I am more interested in a STEM major. Also I am in robotics, which is very time consuming, but I enjoy it and don’t want to drop. This year, my schedule is jam packed, so I am dropping volleyball if I stay in my honors english class, with all honors other classes. However if I change to regular english (about 5 days into the school year), I will have enough time to take AP CompSci, which I am more interested in, would be able to do my sport again, and wouldn’t be as homework heavy. My GPA would be the same either way, and as I previously said, AP CompSci is more relevant to my interests and desired major. I plan on going back to honors english next year with more careful schedule planning. Should I stay in honors english, or change to regular and do AP CompSci? Also, I can colleges see if I changed course level mid year, rather than signing up originally, and if so would it look bad? I hope to get into UC Berkely or UCLA, etc if it matters.
Make sure that you could actually get back into Honors English next year. Check with your GC.
Do Sophomores usually take AP Comp Sci or is that a junior/Senior thing?
Does your HS not weight honors classes in your GPA?
Mostly juniors and seniors take AP CompSci. Also my school has both weighted and unweighted gpa. I will talk to my GC tomorrow hopefully.
If I can get back into honors English for next year (because in normal English this year I’ll get an A), would that one year of non honors look that bad? To get into Berkeley would I need all honors classes, even if I’m not interested in the subject?
UC’s will not weight your Sophomore Honors English course when they calculate your UC GPA. Only AP English courses get the extra weighting. I would drop down to regular English, if your HS will allow you to take AP Lit or AP Language next year.
UC’s only weight UC approved Honors courses from 10-11th grades. The usual UC approved Honors courses are Honors Chemistry, Honors Pre-Calc and Honors Physics.
You can look your HS’s UC approved Honors/AP classes on this link: https://hs-articulation.ucop.edu/agcourselist#/list/search/institution
If you can get back into Honors English with an A in Regular English, I think you’re okay taking AP CS.
However, also ask your GC whether you’d be allowed to take AP English Language with an A in Regular English and the teacher’s recommendation, which would be detrimental to you if you were an otherwise viable candidate for UCLA/UCB.
I say take Honors English this year and wait to next year to AP Comp Sci. You will be competing against juniors and seniors if you take it now.
The english class I am taking does not give UC approved honors credit. Do you happen to know if colleges can see if I did this course level change mid-term, rather than signing up for regular English from the beginning? Also, I am able to go back to the honors/AP track for next year’s English. I am leaning towards doing AP CompSci and normal english and this year, and I’m 100% confident I can get all A’s. Next year, I can take AP Physics, AP Calculus BC, APUSH, and AP/honors english. I think this is a better fit for me. Also this summer, I can do some extra work to get better at writing for the honors english next year.
Also if I do that schedule, I will have more time for clubs like Academic Decathlon, and maybe a class at our community college.
Depending upon which schools you plan to apply, your transcript will show a course change Mid-year. For the UC’s/CSU’s, you self report your courses and grades but you still have to indicate on the application if they are regular/Honors/AP or IB classes by semester. They will see a switch Mid-year.
If you plan to take AP English in the next 2 years, Honors English could better prepare you than the Regular English so you still might want to stay in the Honors English class and take AP CS next year.
Can’t you change now? I’d imagine the drop/add period hasn’t ended yet?
Is Regular English -> Honors English (11) -> AP English (12) a possibility at your school?
Regular English -> AP is going to be a shock and you may need a tutor at first.
It sounds like taking Honors English this year would allow you to take both AP CS and AP English next year, which would maximize your number of AP classes for your UCGPA.
You have to weight the risks and benefits, not just immediately, but for highly selective admissions.