<p>Hi, I<code>m a junior, and I</code>m currently doing a mix of AP and IB courses. One of my IB courses is Psychology HL, but after staying in that class for 3 months, I literally HATE that class, including the material we learned and the terrible teacher I have. I am thinking about replacing that class by IT programming (which is a half-semester regular high school course). My current grade for Psych is B, which is my lowest grade. The issue here is that the dropped class will be recorded on my report card. I am concerned that dropping that class will affect my college application. Does anyone know for sure whether dropping a class affects college admission? BTW, I want to apply for one of the Ivy League colleges. </p>
<p>I am not a college admissions officer, but I’ve read on “The Ivy Coach” website (a blog that I recommend to you) that in order to make yourself a competitive applicant, it is necessary to take the most challenging classes available at your high school. It shows that you can handle hard work. And an Ivy League education will certainly be difficult.</p>
<p>When I visited Yale and the University of Pennsylvania, both admissions officers told me that it looks better if students take the most challenging courses available at their high school. According to the Yale adcom, if that means all APs, then take all APs.</p>
<p>I know how it feels to hate a class, and I know the position you are in. I hate AP Microeconomics, but I know it’s more impressive than regular econ. I want to go to an Ivy too.</p>
<p>In the end, the decision is up to you. Do you think that the rest of your schedule is challenging enough that it makes up for the drop?</p>
<p>Given that Psychology is not a core area of study in HS, if you really really don’t like it, I think there’s little risk if you drop it for something else. Get out with as high a grade as possible and change at semester break. If anyone asks, just say you didn’t care for the subject - I’d leave the part about the teacher out.</p>
<p>If it’s a non-core class like Psychology, I don’t think it’s a big deal. Stick with it for the rest of the semester so you won’t receive a W on your transcript, but if you choose to replace said course with a different one later on, I doubt it would count against you. As an example, I took Precalc honors the first semester of my junior year and really didn’t like it, so I leveled down to a slightly easier math class the following semester. I still got into Berkeley and UCLA and received a guaranteed transfer to Cornell, so I don’t think it impacted admissions all that much.</p>
<p>And I definitely would not use the Ivy Coach consulting company as a source of advice like that. I too enjoy reading their admissions blog, but one should take it and their ever so slightly acerbic posts with a grain of salt, as at the end of the day, they’re still a business and have quotas to meet. </p>
<p>I think you’ll be fine. You’re replacing one class with another and presumably have solid course rigor, and there’s more to an applicant than just their transcript. Best of luck! </p>
I didn’t apply to any Ivy League schools - but unfortunately your counselor is right. But that would be the case with any school, not just the Ivy League: they will question why you dropped the class. The chances of getting into an Ivy League school for ANYONE is slim and a dropped class will negatively impact you.
The problem is, sticking with the class (and getting a bad grade) is probably equally as bad. So I can’t say that either - or is better.
The only case scenario that dropping IB psychology would actually help you is if you drop it and then switch to a class of higher rigor. However, that’s not always possible - as you would be entering during the second semester.
Ivy Leagues don’t have to choose between someone who dropped a class because they weren’t doing well and someone who stuck with it and got a bad grade. They have plenty of people with perfect grades.
So neither option bodes well. Work hard, ask your teacher for what you can do to improve, get tutoring, whatever you have to do to get your grade up.