<p>I will be a senior this upcoming school year and have registered for three classes at a local college in addition to 2 high school classes (one of which is college credit writing). The three local college courses are Philosophy, Latin, and Calculus I and II. However, due to scheduling conflicts, I was unable to sign up for any science courses at my high school or local college. I have been somewhat comforted by the fact that I doubled up on sciences for the past three years, covering all but 2 of the most challenging science courses at my high school. However, I cannot help but wonder if this lack of science during my senior year could negatively affect my chances of admission to a top university by making it seem as if Im falling victim to the senior slide (especially since Im hoping on majoring in biomedical engineering). </p>
<p>Note: I needed the college calc courses because that was the only way I could get both calc I and II during the same year, which is extremely important in order to be a competitive engineering applicant.</p>
<p>Is this a horrible mistake? Should I take the remaining high school science courses and give up the extremely important math? Or will a university like Duke or Notre Dame be satisfied with 6 science courses (one of which was AP Bio-scored 5) and appreciate the fact that Im expanding my academic horizons with courses like Philosophy/Latin and taking them on a college campus?</p>
<p>What science courses have you taken? On the supplement, your counselor has to check off if your courseload is most rigorous or not, and if they don’t check off most rigorous, then it’ll hurt. </p>
<p>For engineering, I’d say calc is a must. Absolutely take calculus. Nonetheless, I really suggest you drop something for a science - especially physics. Engineering and physics go hand in hand and I’m pretty sure all schools want to see you take science all four years if you’re applying for engineering. It’s a different story if you’ve exhausted all your options, but from what I understand, you haven’t.</p>
<p>Junior Year:
Physics/AP Bio (no higher physics courses are offered)</p>
<p>Im sure my counselor would check most rigorous…our school has a VERY limited number of challenging courses. The only remaining science courses for me would be CC Human Anatomy & Physiology and CC Chem. I originally planned on avoiding CC Human A&P because it would seem like overkill in the biological sciences (plus the credits do not transfer anywhere because its taught through some tech school). I had also originally planned on taking a Chem course at my local college, because Honors Chem used to be the highest chem class offered, so my high school would have been forced to pay tuition. BUT since CC chem was suddenly implemented (2010-2011 will be its first) I have no longer exhausted the chemistry department, so I would have to shell out approx. $2400.
Since I’ve exhausted the physics department, I thought about signing up for the local college physics class…but calculus is a prerequisite:(</p>
<p>The local college calculus class Im taking during the fall semester conflicts with both CC Human A&P and CC chem. Otherwise I would take them in an instant. Dropping Philosophy or Latin would not allow me to take either CC class. So basically I have to decide if math or science is more important…or if Calc I alone (which is offered at my high school and would fit in my schedule) would be enough to prepare me for the rigors of tier one engineering. HOWEVER, if I chose this last option, I would not be able to take ANY courses at the local college (time issue) and I think colleges probably like to see students who have been exposed to on-campus learning as opposed to those who remained at their high schools all four years. This could be something to set me apart from other candidates. </p>
<p>Also, would it be worthwhile to sign up for some simple science class (ex: computer science) if it fits in my current schedule? Because there is some time between my morning college courses and my 2 afternoon high school courses.</p>
I think that’s a stretch. They don’t expect you to go to college BEFORE you go to college. Or maybe you should have started in utero :). I guess personally I’d go with the calculus and hope it transfers. Can you cut and paste the course descriptions for Calc 1 and 2 here?</p>
<p>Additional opinions…I’ll need to make this decision before orientation. Any advice from guidance counselors (especially those familiar with ND and Duke preferences) would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Colleges tend to like kids who have taken college courses at good colleges and done well. Do you have the ‘holy trinity’ of science - bio/chem/physics?</p>
<p>Yes haha, I do have the “holy trinity of science” but our physics class was REALLY basic and our school just eliminated AP Phsyics. I can’t take physics or chem at my local college, so I was thinking about independent studying the new CC chem class at my hich school. I’m still not 100% sure if I will be allowed to do this, though:[</p>
<p>Would St Norbert College qualify as a “good college” for my other courses?</p>
<p>Lots of kids take classes at community colleges because there are no good colleges nearby. If St. Norbert is the best one near you, then stick with that.</p>
<p>E-mail the Physics professor and ask if you can take his Physics class concurrently with Calculus. You can read up on calc now so you’ll have the basic ideas, and then practice more as need be.</p>
<p>good suggestion, An0maly. I would totally do this, but I actually just looked into it, and found out that the Physics class I would take at St Norbert has a weekly lab from 1:00 - 2:50, which conflicts with my two high school classes. So I’d have like 10+ absent days per semester, which I’m sure is not allowed. </p>
<p>Would independent studying either CC chem/something equivalent to AP Physics/CC Human A&P still be a viable option (assuming I’m allowed to do it)?</p>