SENIOR YEAR SCHEDULE - not competitive enough for top colleges?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I'm currently a junior and I've taken 7 classes (maximum at my school.. unless you have band 0 period) for my three years of high school. I really would like to take 5 or 6 classes for my senior year, but my counselor told me that I probably need to match the difficulty of my senior course selection with my junior year schedule because colleges like to see consistency. I'm probably going to apply to the Ivies and most of the UCs (hoping for Berkeley, LA, SD).. so is my tentative senior year schedule not competitive enough? Do I need to take more classes? </p>

<p>Senior year:
AP Statistics
AP French Language
AP Chemistry?
Latin 2
Govt/Econ
Psychology?</p>

<p>[I'm hoping to get into regular English 4 over the summer.. if not, I may have to replace AP Chem with AP English or replace Psych with regular English.]
The only other APs that my school offers that I haven't taken are AP US History (too late now.. junior year class), AP Physics (ack), AP Spanish and AP Latin 4 and 5 (not possible), and AP English (ehhh). I wish we had AP Psychology.. I would've definitely taken that one! :( </p>

<hr>

<p>Junior year:
AP Calc BC
AP Biology
AP Music Theory
Honors English 3
Latin 1
French 3
Physics</p>

<p>Sophomore year:
AP European History
AP Calc AB
Chemistry
French 2
English 2
PE
Peer Tutor</p>

<p>Freshman Year:
Honors Alg2Trig
World History
English 1
Foods
French 1
Biology
PE </p>

<hr>

<p>Chances?<br>
I haven't taken most of my SATs yet but anyone have an idea about my chances at the UCs and Ivies? </p>

<p>PSAT - 215
SAT2 MathIIC - 800, planning on taking SAT2 Lit and Bio
Academic GPA (9-12) = 3.97 (UW), 4.24 (W)
Academic GPA (10-12) = 3.95 (UW), 4.35 (W)
AP Euro = 5, AP Calc AB = 5</p>

<p>What I'm really worried about are my extracurriculars though (which are kinda lacking) and I have nothing that sets me apart from everyone else. Any ideas what I should do to improve my chances?</p>

<p>Track - 9
Tennis (private lessons) - 10
Piano - private lessons for ~9 years, but no awards or competitions or anything that proves my ability (if I do well on the AP Music Theory exam, will it prove anything?)
Volunteer - 2 hours/week
Club - VP 10, Co-Prez 11 (probably 12)</p>

<p>.. and that's basically it for my extracurriculars. :(</p>

<p>Anyway, sorry for the LONG post and multiple questions, any advice will be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!! Thanks in advance! :)</p>

2

<p>I think you need to take 7 classes Unless...a lighter load allows you to spend some time each day at a job or volunteer activity, and that can be addressed by your counselor.</p>

3

<p>I think taking 5 or 6 classes is fine. You deserve a break! </p>

<p>I am taking 5 classes my senior year with a 1/2 credit course by correspondence. I was accepted everywhere I applied (including Rice). I do work after school, but to support my shopping habit, not support my family.</p>

4

<p>aznsushi:</p>

<p>Assuming you are a California resident,
UCB/UCLA: Match
UCSD: Safe Match</p>

5

<p>Taking a challenging senior year does matter. However, going from 7 courses to 6 would probably be fine. You will have applications to work on, interviews to go to, and extracurriculars. Make sure that the six courses at least sound challenging, though.</p>