Senior year: What's better--internship or full class load?

Parents Forum
1

My DS is about to start his senior year of high school. Good student (3.8 GPA, ACT 32) in competitive science/tech program. He applied for and was recently offered a 1/2 day school-year-long morning internship working with a well-regarded biologist (DS’s field of interest) on a project that will form the basis of his senior year research practicum/thesis paper which is a requirement of his science/tech program. I think it would give him some great experience and insight into the world of work, as well as let him test out a career in biology.

My question, however, is that he’ll have to give up some meaty classes to take the internship–he can only take 4 classes this year. He’d take honors English, AP Calculus, AP Biology, Korean 1 and a Research Practicum class (required senior year at this school). He’d have to give up AP Japanese 5, Advanced Organic Chemistry, and Forensics. Do you think colleges would look at his record more favorably with the internship or should he stick to a regular class schedule? BTW, he will have only taken 4 or 5 AP classes by the time he graduates, although he’s taken special science/tech classes required by his program each year. Many thanks for your thoughts!

2

Colleges will understand. Ask his GC if he would still be considered as having the most challenging course rigor.

3

I don’t think giving up all the extra science classes is a problem. This internship would more than make up for them. The very selective colleges generally like to a year of physics, bio and chem and an AP science or two if the kid is STEM oriented. I think he’d better off taking AP Japanese rather than first year Korean, but I understand that there may be scheduling or interest issues driving that choice. How much history has he had? Has he had any kind of economics or government class?

4

He loves Japanese but it’s a scheduling problem with the internship. Korean would be his compromise. He’s taken 3 history classes including AP World (got a 5); no econ. Has taken physics, AP Chem, ST Bio, Genetics. Thanks so much for your comments.