<p>my kid is a rising senior and will be majored in humanity/social science in the college. He took 3 years of science classes already, and will take all AP classes focused on humanity/social science in his senior year. Will the fact that he does not take a natural science class in the senior year damage his chance to be accepted by the most selective schools?</p>
<p>To get into the most selective schools he should take the most rigorous classes he can, that probably includes an AP science class (physics probably). Not all AP classes are viewed as particularly rigorous. What AP classes is he taking and what are the science classes offered that he is opting not to take?</p>
<p>He does not need to take ALL the most rigorous classes available. His courseload overall should be in the category of “most rigorous,” but he does not need AP chem or physics if he’s not a science person. I don’t know whether it’s OK to skip science altogether in senior year. My D took AP environmental science – not exactly a tough class. Ultimately it cost her (though not w respect to college admissions) - she was bored out of her mind.</p>
<p>When your child applies to college, their guidance counselor must complete a Secondary School Report (SSR) that asks them to evaluate the rigor of your child’s course load as compared to all other college bound students at their school. See top section of page 2:
<a href=“https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/Docs/DownloadForms/2013/2013SchoolReport_download.pdf[/url]”>https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/Docs/DownloadForms/2013/2013SchoolReport_download.pdf</a></p>
<p>Selective colleges are seeking students who, according to their GC, have taken the “most demanding” schedule available. So, your child needs to asks their GC if his or her schedule will be rated as “most demanding.” If not, your child might want to consider other courses than the ones they have currently chosen.</p>
<p>Most colleges usually have a section on their website devoted to what classes students should be taking in high school. Yale’s wording is not as specific as Harvard or Princeton, but Yale does say they are looking for students that have taken 4 years of science.</p>
<p>[Advice</a> on Selecting High School Courses | Yale College Admissions](<a href=“http://admissions.yale.edu/advice-selecting-high-school-courses]Advice”>Advice on Selecting High School Courses | Yale College Undergraduate Admissions)</p>
<p>Yale does not have any specific entrance requirements (for example, there is no foreign language requirement for admission to Yale). But we do look for students who have taken a balanced set of the rigorous classes available to them. Generally speaking, you should try to take courses each year in English, science, math, the social sciences, and foreign language. </p>
<p>We encourage you to pursue your intellectual interests, so long as it is not at the expense of your program’s overall rigor or your preparedness for college. Be honest with yourself when you are deciding between different courses.</p>
<p>[Harvard</a> College Admissions § Applying: Preparing for College](<a href=“http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/preparing/index.html]Harvard”>http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/preparing/index.html)</p>
<p>We believe that you should prepare for college by mastering certain subjects and skills. You should demonstrate your proficiency in the areas described below by taking SAT II Subject Tests and Advanced Placement tests.</p>
<p>In summary, we recommend:</p>
<ul>
<li>the study of English for four years: close and extensive reading of the classics of the world’s literature;</li>
<li>four years of a single foreign language;</li>
<li>the study of history for at least two, and preferably three years: American History, European History, and one additional advanced history course;</li>
<li>the study of mathematics for four years, including the particular topics described;</li>
<li>the study of science for four years: Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, and preferably one of these at an advanced level;</li>
<li>frequent practice in the writing of expository prose.</li>
</ul>
<p>[Academic</a> Preparation<em>|</em>Princeton University](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/admission/applyingforadmission/preparation/]Academic”>http://www.princeton.edu/admission/applyingforadmission/preparation/)</p>
<p>If possible, we expect students will complete the following courses before beginning study at Princeton: </p>
<ul>
<li>four years of English (including continued practice in writing)</li>
<li>four years of mathematics (including calculus for students interested in engineering)</li>
<li>four years of one foreign language</li>
<li>at least two years of laboratory science (including physics and chemistry for students interested in engineering)</li>
<li>at least two years of history</li>
</ul>
<p>In addition, most candidates have had some study in the visual or performing arts.</p>
<p>Whenever you can, challenge yourself with the most rigorous courses possible, such as honors, Advanced Placement (AP) and dual-enrollment courses. We will evaluate the International Baccalaureate (IB), A-levels or another diploma in the context of the program’s curriculum.</p>
<p>thank you for all the answers above. He took 6 AP classes in his junior year (calc AB, English, environment science, Econ micro, Econ Macro, US history),and will take other 4 in his senior year (calc BC, US Government, Statistics and AP foreign language), plus an English elective since he took AP English already last year.
In the past he took 3 years of science: chemistry, physics (both honor classes) and AP environment. So you can see he hasn’t taken any Physics yet. His GC asks him to drop AP statistics, add honor physics, but he thinks statistics will be more useful for him since he is interested in social science. Should we listen to the GC to take physics instead of AP statistics?</p>
<p>Listen to the GC. Your son can take statistics in college . . . and depending upon what college he is admitted to, taking AP statistics in high school may NOT be helpful, as it might not give him acceleration credit, or the ability to skip the intro college course – that certainly seems to be the case with Yale: [Table</a> of Acceleration Credit | Yale College](<a href=“http://yalecollege.yale.edu/content/table-acceleration-credit]Table”>http://yalecollege.yale.edu/content/table-acceleration-credit)</p>
<p>he decided not to take physics already at his 4th year, but Gibby, you made us reconsider this issure and he might change his course selections. Thanks a lot</p>
<p>I’ve always been under the impression that there is an expectation that students at this level have all taken the “big 3” sciences: Physics, Chemistry, and Biology.</p>
<p>I’d recommend he take biology, preferably at the AP level.</p>
<p>I agree that generally you should probably follow the advice of all of the helpful people above, but remember that there are a lot of specific cases that can prove and disprove pretty much any admissions advice.</p>
<p>I got in SCEA and didn’t take a science class at all senior year. And overall, I only took two honors sciences (bio (9th) + chem (10th)) and one AP (bio (11th)). I plan to major in the social sciences anyway.</p>
<p>My D never took physics in high school. She took AP bio instead. (She is not a STEM major.)</p>
<p>I think we are facing 3 choices: (1) no science at all, just stick with his AP Calc BC and AP Stats (2) drop AP Stats, add Honors Physics since he never took physics before (3) drop AP stats, add AP Bio.
hard choice…</p>
<p>As long as his schedule is very rigorous, the exact course schedule does not matter that much. I faced scheduling conflicts in high school where classes I had much stronger interests in taking overlapped with AP courses my senior year. Admissions officers will not punish your son for taking a course he is passionate about over an AP science just because of the label. </p>
<p>On the other hand, admissions officers can tell when students are taking easier courses to lessen the workload. If he is more interested in the AP math courses, it does not hurt hum to skip AP biology. He can also explain in an interview that science simply did not fit well into his schedule, and if it is a major issue, he can ask his guidance counselor to include that problem in his/her evaluation.</p>
<p>AP Stats is known to be among the ‘easy’ AP classes. If they see he passed up Honors Physics or AP Bio., it might raise questions I’m not saying it will for sure, but you asked in your OP about the ‘most selective’ schools. For 97% of the schools out there, it shouldn’t make a difference, but the top 3% it might. </p>
<p>That being said my kid got in SCEA without physics but was taking Calc 3 at a local State flagship senior year, so his ability in non-humanities areas was clearly established despite his intended major of international relations. The competition is so stiff for those most selective schools you really have to look at presenting your strongest case.</p>
<p>I continue to see misinformation regarding AP Statistics. It is not a “easy” AP Course with only 59.2% of testers getting a 3 or better and a mean score of 2.83. All of the Physics AP courses as well as the AP Calculus ones have a higher mean score and percentage. Chemistry and Biology would be the only ones lower. ;)</p>
<p><a href=“http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/research/student_score_distributions_2012.pdf[/url]”>http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/research/student_score_distributions_2012.pdf</a></p>
<p>If you’re taking AP Stat in your senior year, you are going to get into whatever schools you apply to before you get your score, so that consideration is moot. At my kids’ school it was a way easier GRADE-wise than AP physics regardless of the scores. However I guess other people’s MMV.</p>
<p>@Kdog044 posted last year’s AP score distribution, here is this year’s
[2013</a> AP Exam Score Distributions](<a href=“2012 AP Exam Score Distributions”>2012 AP Exam Score Distributions)
Boy, AP Bio became the hardest test with the lowest scores.</p>