senior year schedule

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

My schedule is:

AP Human Geo
AP Psych
AP Stats
Cadet Teaching (2 block course)
Business Law and Ethics
Current Problems, Issues, and Events
Study Hall (1 semester)
AP Calc AB (retaking 2nd semester)

One concern I have is that I don’t have an English class, but I have taken every honors/AP english class my school has to offer, and I even took AP Seminar, which counts as an English at my school since it is scheduled with Critical Thinking/Argumentation. Will colleges take this lightly since they have access to the course offerings at my school? My school does offer senior level English classes such as Dramatic lit, world lit, short stories, novels, but they’re not designed for students who are on an accelerated track.

Another concern is that I have not taken regular Physics for high school credit. In 8th grade I took freshman science which is Integrated Chemistry and Physics (ICP), which teaches the basics of both subjects. My state, Indiana, counts ICP as a science course for grad requirements. If I am not going into STEM, rather public policy, do I need to take physics?

Lastly, I am also on the advanced math track so I took AP Calc AB junior year. I got an A first semester, B+ second semester, and a 2 on the exam. Is it worth it to retake, considering I’m not going into STEM? My only reasons I suppose are to get an A in the class and retake the exam.

Like I said, I want to pursue public policy or something similar in college with a pre law concentration. My list of schools right now is:

Brown - reach
Vanderbilt - reach
Purdue - safety
Rutgers - match
Penn State - match
Georgetown - reach

Would these schools have a significant problem with my concerns? Also, does anyone know any other schools that have good education programs? Not education as in actual teaching, but education policy.

2

Yes, the schools (except Purdue) you listed would have significant concerns over your schedule:

  • you’re taking one “gateway to AP” class meant for freshmen or sophomores
  • you’re taking 2 AP lites
  • you don’t have an English class
  • you don’t have a Foreign language class
  • you don’t have a science class

What s “Cadet teaching”?

For the type of universities you’re listing, this is an example of an expected schedule

  • AP, dual enrollment, or honors English. If you took AP seminar, it’s half of a two part course, its complement is AP research.
  • foreign language level 4 or AP.
  • AP European or world history
  • AP us and comp gov and/or economics
  • Current events is fine as an elective
  • AP stats is fine
  • one science class, could be APES or forensic science or regular Physics

Can you take virtual school classes ? What about

Educational policy tends to be a Master’s degree program. Students may come from history, political science, or general policy makes, with a minor in educational studies there cover history, sociology…

Have you run the net price calculator on each of these universities?

3

I have taken literally every single AP class offered at my school. Stats, psych, and human are the last 3.

I’ve taken every English class I can possibly take without going back in skill level.

My school cut AP Spanish (I was signed up) so I can’t take a language.

I’ve taken my required sciences, and don’t plan on going into them. I’d rather take something I’m passionate about than something to please a college.

My school cut AP Research so I can’t take it, definitely would have taken it though.

I took AP World sophomore year, got an A & 4.

I’m self studying the AP govs and econs (the actual classes aren’t offered at my school).

My school offers neither APES or Forensics, so I guess physics is my only option.

And I could take online classes through a CC if I wanted to.

And cadet teaching is where I would shadow a teacher at the elementary or middle school and learn how the classroom works, and I would eventually teach my own lessons. I think it would be beneficial to understand modern education, effects of certain policies, etc.

Some of the schools I listed offer education policy or education studies as an undergrad, I was just looking for others to expand my list.

I’m not worried about price for Purdue, I’m in state. A few of the others are meet need, and honestly I don’t have thousands of dollars for any college so I’ll have loans/debt anyways. There’s no perfect solution for me.

4

Also, I have a feeling not including my 9-11 classes gave off the wrong message. I’m not starting easy APs senior year, those are just the only classes I have left to take. I attend a small rural school that doesn’t have the funding/teachers to offer anything but the “basic” AP classes, they just cut AP Spanish and AP Euro this past year. I’ve taken AP Lang, World, Lit, Calc AB, USH, and Seminar. All As except Calc 2nd semester, which I’m retaking. My senior year schedule is sub par because I had to fill it with whatever classes I found remotely interesting. Another question not answered yet, will colleges take this course work not as harsh due to the actual course offerings at my school? I know they have access to the course catalog.

5

They don’t have access to the course catalog, only to a box your GC checks (“most rigorous” or not) and the school profile that typically statez something like “Number of AP offered:8; students can complement with online dual enrollment classes”. You can include the fact all these classes were cut in your brag sheet so that your GC includes it in your recommendation.
But large public universities rarely have time to go into much depth. Instzte universities like Purdue should know your school so you should add IU too.
Penn State and Rutgers will not have any financial aid so you should cross them out.
And no matter the reason your senior schedule won’t pass muster as is. Private colleges will want to see five core classes no matter what even if indeed they shouldn’t dock points beyond that due to “context” if that context is clear.
(The tickets is to make your GC make that context clear).

What about the dual enrollment online CC? Those are considered equivalent to AP classes.
Taking dual enrollment English, Spanish 3, Political science and calculus 1 in the Fall, and statistics, philosophy, science or history of education or sociology of education or sociology and whatever strikes your fancy in the spring+ AP Human Geography, AP psych, and/or Current events at the high school, would make for a solid schedule that wouldn’t impact you negatively. Would that be possible?
You’d add the two periods of Teaching Cadet.
(Teaching cadet won’t really help you for selective schools (it’s a non academic elective and seen as just above a study hall) but it may cement your interest in education. )

Have you run the NPCs? If you’re lower income or Pell eligible, meet need schools are your best bet. If your parents can’t afford their EFC then you’re looking for merit.
You’re limited to 5.5k in debt for freshman year. You can’t just take loans - your parents would have to take them for you and you really interested want to do that to them.

Davidson has Educational Studies, as do Dickinson and Macalester. All three “meet need” and would take the time to parse your situation as a rural high school student (as long as you do have 5 academic classes).

6

The problem with taking the CC classes online is that I would have to pay for all but 2 of them (my school pays for 2), and I can’t afford all of that.

I am also not a good online learner, I think combined with procrastination and my learning method that I would end up failing/doing poor in all or most of the online courses.

With my two courses paid for by the school I suppose I’ll take an English and elective course. I don’t think I would do well with online Spanish or online Calculus.

I would commute to the CC and take any class I want for free, but the nearest campus is 45+ minutes away.

7

Could you do cadet teaching just one semester, skip Business and study hall/the calc retake, and get early release to go to the cc in the afternoon for the free courses ?

Learning to pace yourself, study skills and time management in general, will be crucial in college so you could see the aded benefit of learning this way for our two free online classes.
Taking political science or Philosophy at the CC would add rigor to our schedule.

8

Taking the classes at the actual school wouldn’t work because I would have to be back when school ends due to sports, decathlon, etc. I’m going to do the two free courses for sure though.

9

Ok, what would your new schedule look like?

10

1st semester:

ap human
ap psych
ap stats
econ or DE gvt through IU (mandatory for graduation, take 1 each semester)
business law DE (might drop to have time for online CC)
current probs
study hall

2nd semester:

ap human
ap psych
ap stats
econ or DE gvt
ap calc ab
cadet teaching (2 blocks)

This is obviously 3, so which one should I not enroll in?
Into to American gvt and politics (online CC)
Intro to Ethics (CC)
Social Problems (CC)

11

Drop Business Law - it’s seen as a vocational class at the HS level, not academic/rigorous.

DE Govt through IU meets your graduation requirement, counts as a DE, AND counts as a Government class which is important for a future policy major.
Which solves the problem of the CC courses: Intro to Ethics and Social Problems. :slight_smile:

Take EITHER AP HUG or AP Psych and replace with physics (honors if possible, AP Physics 1 if offered but I’m guessing it’s not, but regular Physics still works)

So
FALL
CC (DE) Intro to Ethics
AP Human Geo or AP Psych
Physics
AP Stats
DE Govt
Current problems
Study Hall to complete the online work and college apps

SPRING
CC (DE) Social Problems
AP HG or Psych
Physics
AP Stats
DE Govt (is it a 2-semester sequence?)
AP Calc AB
Cadet Teaching

And just like that, your schedule meets standards for top colleges. :smiley:

Have you run the NPC on Vanderbilt?
If you have, and it’s affordable, applying ED to Peabody would help.
Note however the list of majors:
https://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/degrees-programs/undergraduate-programs/index.php
if you’re interested in Policy, it may not be the right college though.

12

DE Gvt is one semester, and the next semester I would take Econ. I’m really interested in Peabody for Human and Organizational Development. Why is applying ED so important for Peabody, compared to regular decision?

13

And like you thought, regular Physics is my only option.

14

“Drop Business Law - it’s seen as a vocational class at the HS level, not academic/rigorous.”

I disagree as you have an interest in college to study pre-law/public policy. High school is NOT just about getting into “x” college but taking classes you enjoy and are interested in. I think we tend to lose sight of this fact here on CC.

15

Take an english course over human geo. It doesn’t matter about the number of AP’s… colleges know AP geo is not a real AP level course.

16

My concern would be lack of English your senior year. Even non top colleges stressed the importance of taking math and ELA all 4 years for college admission. Also lack of senior year English would mean no high school diploma in my high school. If you need to take honors English your guidance counselor can write that. You can also call college admissions and ask them if they care if you don’t have senior year ELA.

I would take business law if your interested in it. Beyond the core classes, electives are a way to both explore and/or express interest.

17

I have 10 English credits, there is no other English course at my school besides basic senior level (dramatic lit, etc). I am thinking about taking an English class online through CC and just having to pay for it. I still might consider taking Business Law if I have room for it in my schedule after adding physics.

18

English or Philosophy (ethics) through the cc is 100% ok, a semester would count as that senior-year, 4th unit of English.

Business law in high school is not a college business law class which itself is not what you learn in law school. It’s no more a taste of what policy is, than taking 8th grade math and thinking you know what calculus is about.
At rural high schools, business law is a way for students who aren’t very academically minded to take a 5th class that may relate to their job after high school (especially if they’re going to work on the farm and will need some basics, the high school offers very basic book-keeping/accounting, business law, financial literacy, and management classes for adult living) or to prepare them for the local directional’s Business classes.
To understand what I mean, think of “business math” v. “math”. It’s completely unlike anything offered at Vanderbilt or Brown.
If op were taking AP us/comp gov, AP euro, AP lit, and AP calc BC, business law as a fun class would be ok.
But with high reaches requiring high rigor and a rural high school with few rigorous offerings left, op can’t really afford to waste a slot on a non rigorous class.

19

OP stated that he has (or will have taken) every AP class offered at his school. The GC will check “most rigorous” course load. Can’t a student take one introductory class that interests them in a field that may be more relevant towards their ultimate career goals?

I remember taking a business law class in HS and it was a very interesting class and exposed me for the first time to contract law. Vanderbilt and Brown are high reaches anyways, I don’t think this one class his senior year will be the reason he doesn’t get accepted to these tippy top schools.