Senior year Schedule Advice, Please

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

Hello,
My '20 student is getting ready to choose senior year courses. Has taken bio, chem, and is in physics this year. Currently in precalculus, physics, AP Euro, (non AP) literature, Post AP Spanish, a chemistry elective and a visual art class. He is very advanced in Spanish and wants to drop it next year to double up in math. Here is what he will likely take:

Calculus
AP Bio
CIS Econ or AP US Govt
Required speech/communication class
12th grade Lit

This leaves two periods - with a lot of great choices.

Options -

-2nd Post AP Spanish class - very advanced, does extremely well in the current challenging one and will likely be able to get top marks. Benefit, of course also includes keeping his Spanish in great shape and improving his Spanish writing with a talented teacher. Parents think this is a no brainer as it is his strength and also a very high level class.

-AP Stats - he is thinking it would “look better” to take AP Stats instead (along with Calculus)

-Science electives such as Anatomy and Genetics (one semester each)

-an advanced visual art class. He has taken several into level art classes and is a talented artist. He says “colleges don’t want to see more art.” Parents think he should take advantage of the opportunity to feed his artistic side and he could get higher level instruction because he has done the prereqs.

He could take one elective science and one art class since they are semester courses. He thinks he “should” take two science electives. To be fair he does enjoy science as lot, as well as art. But he will also have AP Bio.

Does one of those paths really significantly “look better” to colleges? He has all the core elements (4 years English, 4 years social studies, Math through Calc, 4 years lab sciences, and FL through a high level) covered no matter what he takes.

We parents don’t care that much what “looks better” to colleges, but just want to know if he is right since that is how he wants to choose. We feel somewhat strongly that he should take Spanish but won’t force him to. We kind of want him to give himself permission to take art or Spanish if he would enjoy those, because it seems like he is overly focused on “what colleges want.” Can’t blame him, I guess.

He is undecided about his major. He is interested in some selective colleges and has a great GPA but working on raising test scores a bit, so is not sure on exact colleges yet. Nothing Ivy League-ish but maybe a tier (or two) below that.

Thanks, everyone!

2

AP statistics is not considered that hard of a course, and is less likely than AP calculus to get subject credit in college. He can always take a semester statistics course in college, or more advanced ones after calculus.

Spanish AP+2 could very well look better to colleges, since it would be a substantially more advanced course than AP statistics, especially if the previous AP Spanish course got him to AP 5 (versus AP 3) level.

If undecided on major, what areas? Science, social science, humanities, arts?

3

I think he will end up somewhere in the sciences or social sciences. He is thinking Biology or Chemistry right now, but that could easily change once college coursework begins. Or not! I doubt he would go into the humanities, though.

4

How about AP English Language or AP English Literature?

5

I wish he could! AP English is a junior year class at his school, and he was demoralized about literary analysis after two very tough English teachers in grades 9 and 10, He felt those had been his hardest course, so he didn’t want to take AP this year. I think he regrets that now, as he scored 11 on the ACT writing and his English teacher this year has given a lot of positive feedback. Those tough teachers made him a better writer, for sure.

He is actually a great writer and I was wondering if he should maybe take the AP English language exam, as some kids at his school do even if they don’t take the course. Would that make any difference to a college, if he scored well on the AP exam without having the course on his transcript? School does not weight grades and claims all grade 12 English courses are post AP level. I don’t think they allow seniors to take the AP English course.

6

A high level Spanish class would definitely be the most impressive, more so than AP Stats which is an “easy” AP for kids who can’t or won’t take Calculus or just want a fun math elective.
Advanced visual arts: again, not your run off the mill class, showing strength in another academic area as well as intellectual curiosity.
Perhaps one semester of advanced visual arts and one semester of a “fun” class (I think Culinary Arts is an excellent semester class to take if offered, because it’ll serve all year long).