<p>These have been the classes I've taken so far in terms of college requirements</p>
<p>Freshman year:
English 9
Algebra I
French I
Integrated Science
American Studies</p>
<p>Sophomore year:
English 10
Modern World History
Biology
Geometry
French 2 (only one semester)</p>
<p>Junior year:
AP Language and Composition
AP US History
Algebra II
Chemistry
French 2</p>
<p>and now it's time to pick my classes for senior year. I really struggle with science and math so I'm not taking either. I've decided on AP Literature, but now it's come down to either AP Government/Economics, or French 3 because I don't have room for both. I'm really trying to get into USC.
So, I don't know which would be more important to them... a third year of language or another AP class? I'm also not sure how well I'll do with Econ since numbers are not quite my thing. Help!</p>
<p>ap class is more important in your case.</p>
<p>Forget about Gov/Econ vs. French for a moment and think about the other parts of your schedules. I’ll say it bluntly: not taking science and math your Senior year will pretty much decimate your chances for USC (assuming Southern California, not South Carolina). Keep in mind that USC is becoming increasingly selective (slightly above 20% admit rate) so most of its admits have taken very rigorous schedules. Selective colleges don’t want you to avoid taking core classes just because you don’t feel confident in them; they want to see you succeed in all your core classes regardless of where your greatest strengths lie. You’re not even in Pre Calculus yet and you haven’t take Physics. It’ll be nearly impossible for you to get in without math beyond algebra II or 3 years of the core sciences. Basically, you have to be intellectually promising in all the main subjects.</p>
<p>Not taking a 3rd year of Foreign Language is also horrible. I suggest you find some way to avoid a scheduling conflict. All of that aside, you will have to take quite a number of honors/APs since your schedules so far are not quite rigorous.</p>
<p>I suggest your Senior Schedule be:</p>
<p>AP English Literature
AP Government / Economics
French 3
Pre Calculus / Math Analysis / Trigonometry (whatever your school calls it)
Physics
1 more class (preferably honors or AP)</p>
<p>The problem is that I don’t even have room for all that. I need three trimesters of PE, so the best I could do is</p>
<p>AP Lit
AP Gov/Econ
French 3
PE
and then Trig, I suppose</p>
<p>I know my schedule hasn’t been that rigorous, but my schools haven’t really had that much to offer. I’ve been going off of the hope that my SAT scores will be there to help me out. Also, when I talked to my counselor she said that when they looked at my classes, they’d factor in my desired major (acting) and that math and science would not matter as much for that.</p>
<p>^you definitely need pre-calc or whatever. you don’t want to go into college with your highest math being algebra II. Regardless of what SAT score you get, strength of schedule and gpa/class rank matter more. If you want to have a legit chance at USC, you should follow through on this new proposed schedule and maybe considering taking another class at a local CC to bolster your “rigor of secondary school record”. Btw, what is your gpa and class rank?</p>
<p>Unweighted, my academic gpa is 3.84 and I’m in the top 4% of my class. </p>
<p>I also have room for Honors Ethnic Studies since it’s only one trimester. I don’t have any interest in it but if you think it might help my record then I could take it.</p>
<p>I suggest that you go talk to your counselor and ask her what box she plans to tick off on the application in terms of strength of schedule (most rigorous, rigorous, etc.) <----this matters a lot. For now stick with your proposed schedule in post #4. Consider going trig honors or french 3 honors if your school offers?</p>
<p>I looked at all my math options and I think I’m gonna go with AP Statistics instead of Trigonometry… so hopefully it all goes well!</p>
<p>^thats a good choice bro. I guess you can take trig in college or summer before freshman yr. at CC. So your senior schedule is definitely rigorous now with 3 ap’s, a foreign lang. class, a science class, and required class. USC is getting more competitive each yr, so next year it may have a sub-20% admit rate. Now just make sure the rest of your app is strong. Your still a junior, so raise those SAT/ACT scores as high as you can because USC seems to like high test scores a lot. I’d suggest taking the SAT II in APUSH this year because SAT II in us history is pretty easy after you take that class. Good luck :)</p>