S23 just received his senior year schedule and it seems Honors English 4 does not fit into his schedule because of his Business Academy classes. He took AP Lang last year and got an A and a 4 on the test. At the moment he is scheduled for English 4.
He is also taking AP Macro, AP Stats, Honors Investment & Corporate Finance, Business Law, Entrepreneurship, and Phys Ed.
Does anyone have any experience with not taking Honors English? Will it look like he is not taking the most challenging courses? He is looking at mid level universities.
If it doesn’t fit in his schedule, then the guidance counselor should be able to note that. I would reach out and ask them. Is AP Lit an option?
I’m not sure what you mean by mid level universities, but I would consider a science (lots of schools like 4 years of science). Has he done foreign language as well? Does one of those courses count as a social studies/history requirement?
He is not applying to any schools that require 4 years of Science or SS. He took 3 years of language. All of his other classes are required for his Business Academy. I am not sure about if they count as SS/History.
I sent GC an email but they are Out of Office until Sept 1.
It’s hard from anyone outside your school to assess rigor because that’s determined by your school’s guidance counselor in relation to other students at your high school.
It also would be helpful to share what schools your son is targeting. “Mid level” is also very subjective.
I would also caution you that “required” is not the same as “preferred” when it comes to college admission. Usually “required” is the bare minimum.
I wonder if AP Macro counts as a SS credit- I think I’ve heard AP Macro/Micro counting at my school.
Like @momofboiler1 said, it really depends on the schools. There are plenty of schools where it shouldn’t be an issue. I think the bigger issue might be no science. I would ask your GC once she gets back. What sciences has he taken so far?
Some of the schools he is looking at are UT Knoxville, University of North Florida, Florida Gulf Coast, Rowan, Coastal Carolina and a few others not 100% decided yet. Mid level to me are schools that hover around the 50-60% acceptance rate.
I think for those types of schools, you should be okay, although I will defer to other posters with more experience. I got into 6/8 schools with not a lot of rigor.
I would have your S double check to make sure that he is meeting all requirements for the major if you are applying to one ( I am assuming business?) Some schools have more requirements for majors, e.g. 4 years of science for nursing applicants rather than the 3 for the university.
Four of my kids took regular English junior and senior year after taking honors freshman and sophomore, when my oldest was a rising junior they stopped offering honors English 11th and 12th, just regular and AP. They were/are business majors and were accepted at all of the 50%+ universities they applied to. They took 4 - 6 years of science and math.
Is there a better way to describe them? Mid range maybe? I’ve seen Ivies and Top 20 but there are lots of us on here with kids going to schools where the acceptance rate is a bit higher.
Perhaps state flagships ? I don’t necessarily disagree with your categorization- and those are great schools! Different people have different definitions of “tiers” is all.
Yes he took Honors Calculus as a junior. AP Calc would not be a good choice for him.
I will have him see if the guidance counselor will do that. Do they really write personal letters for all? Our guidance counselors have over 400 students.
Our guidance counselors have a much smaller group and they do write personal letters. It is worth asking. If the answers is no then your son can consider adding one line about the scheduling conflict in the additional information section. FWIW I do think he has a good amount of course rigor for the colleges he is interested in applying to.
I think only UT Knox is considered a State Flagship on that list . Although he does have a few other state flagships on his final list.
Hoping guidance will reply before school starts, that is why I asked here. If it needs to be fixed it should be done before school starts in two weeks. Don’t want to call school if it is not a big issue.
I’m unfamiliar with your son’s Business Academy and even the schools he’s considering. (I live in the Chicago area.) However I do have two kids who were business majors and I want to share something my kids found valuable when selecting high school courses. Besides thinking about what will help one to get admitted to a school, consider how the courses may assist with their future college experience after they’re admitted.
For instance let’s take something like foreign language. The admission requirement might be two years, but the degree the student is interested in May require 4 years for graduation. Your son has 3 yrs so if he chooses a school which will require another year (semester) it might be challenging if he doesn’t take foreign language senior year. He may forget a good amount and it may impact his college gpa. Obviously if he’s very proficient in the foreign language and it will be an easy A, then no worries. So much depends on your son and of course, the school he ultimately chooses.
Another example is math. My daughter didn’t particularly like math. She didn’t want to take Calc senior yr of high school. She stopped at AB Calc and consequently she had to take a semester of math that her younger brother didn’t have to (same university/same degree) because he had taken Calc BC in high school. I’m not sure she would’ve made the same decision if given the choice again…but the point is being aware of the difference between getting admitted to a school and actually completing the degree.
For business, college gpa isn’t the only important thing. It is the skill building and relationships that come with getting involved on campus in meaning ways. I believe my kids’ extra curricular experiences were just as important in their personal and intellectual growth as their time spent on academics. If one can make the transition and class load to college less difficult, it’s something to consider. It depends on what your son wants.
D21’s boyfriend is a sophomore finance major at Haslam COB at UTK. His senior year rigor was probably similar to your student’s (I know this because he and my daughter were very competitive about their respective high school rigor, test scores, etc. and there were lots of discussions).