Scheduling Questions

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

Hi there,

As it stands now, school has just begun and everyone is still making sure their schedules are in order. Currently, mine reads as follows:

  1. AP French IV
  2. AP Biology
  3. AP Statistics
  4. Medical Microbiology and Pathophysiology
  5. AP European History
  6. AP Environmental Science
  7. AP English IV
  8. AP Chemistry

Unfortunately, I’m not satisfied with this and would prefer it read something like this:

  1. AP French IV
  2. AP English IV
  3. AP Spanish V
  4. Medical Microbiology and Pathophysiology
  5. AP European History
  6. AP Environmental Science
    7-8) AP Calculus BC

If anyone could give me advice, I would be very appreciative.

Science isn’t really my strong-suit (I do well, but I don’t particularly enjoy it), and I plan on applying as a History major. As I’ve already taken all the AP Social Sciences offered (AP Comparative Government, AP Microeconomics, AP Psychology, and all of the core AP Histories), I’m left with little to choose from. I’m an academic at heart and love to challenge myself, but writing Biology lab-reports and doing Chemistry experiments doesn’t excite me. Is my suggested schedule better/worse/the same as the original with respect to how it will be viewed by Dartmouth Admissions Officers?

Thanks,
Gyan

2

Alright, I went with the following:

AP French IV
AP Biology
AP Spanish V
Medical Microbiology/Pathophysiology
AP European History
AP Environmental Science
AP English IV
Russian I

Yay!

3

AP Bio may not be necessary but a math class is. Switch out of AP Bio and take a math class instead.

4

Why are you taking 3 science classes if science doesn’t interest you? You should take statistics. It’s used in social sciences. Or calculus, also needed for some social science majors.

5

I took AP Biology and Chemistry in place of AP Calculus against my GC’s advice because I enjoyed science.

Unless you really enjoy science, it’ll be better to take the math and science classes because they are more important for keeping your mind conditioned for the math on SAT subject/SAT/ACT

6

The admissions committee wants to see you pursuing your passions, not just taking all the hard stuff so you’ll impress them. I only took 3 IB classes my Junior and senior year and I got in last year. But they were in American History and English, the subjects I liked. So just take what interests you.

7

Thanks for the advice - I made sure I committed to what interested me :slight_smile:

Sorry for the late reply, been a little busy, but the schedule is as follows (I know I listed it above, but here I have some comments):

AP French IV
AP Bio (I’m actually beginning to love this class)
AP Spanish V (Very challenging but most certainly rewarding)
Medical Microbiology/Pathophysiology (Supplements AP Bio, imo)
AP European History (Yay!)
AP Environmental Science (I’ve considered working for the EPA as an attorney)
AP English IV
Russian I (Not sure, my teacher is retiring after the first semester, so if they can’t get a new one, Idk what’ll happen)

Although I recognize the importance of math (and I make sure to keep myself well-acquainted with it by studying outside of school), I enjoy science far more than I do the former, so I bee-lined for that.