I’ve already applied to all my schools, but as we approach the second sem I’m realizing I don’t have what it takes to float in bio. I got a B last quarter (which was hard enough) and find myself stressing nearly every day over this class. I’ve applied to all my schools as a communications major and have no desire for a science based career. I don’t think sticking with the class will end well for me, meaning I don’t think I’ll pass the exam at this rate and I’m running off of hope that I pass this semester at all. I just don’t think I’m made to be the science type.
Is dropping an AP senior year really that awful? Should I stay miserable these next couple of months or get my life back?
Have you already taken Biology? Do you have 3 science classes theoughout HS?
Typically, if you already have 3 sciences or more it won’t matter for a Communication major.
Note that it’s best to have a content minor that you can add to that major (Hispanic Studies, Environmental Studies, Appalachian studies, Political Science, etc.)
If you do drop AP bio, you will need to notify all of the schools where you applied that you have had a change in schedule. The change may or may not impact their decisions, but you must inform them.
Since your grade will not matter as long as you get a C minus, and since you do not need the AP exam, I would say stick with it to try to learn the material, for the sake of general life education. It is probably the last science class you will ever take. I would only drop it if it is truly affecting your mental health. And you would have to report and explain a dropped class to all your colleges. Better to try for the C.
This depends entirely on the schools you applied to. If they are highly competitive, you probably need to stay the course. S24 is in honors multi variable calculus and differential equations. The first term has kicked his butt. He got a solid B. His college advisor said he has to stick with it because it will reflect badly if he drops down. If it’s a high level course not related to your area of interest then you’ll likely be okay. In fact, it may be a plus. S24 is interested in humanities, so taking a hard course outside his area of interest shows he’s willing to extend himself. Talk with your college advisor. Good luck.
For the record, your son could stay in MVC but the non honors version and it wouldn’t affect his college decisions at all.
@heidi101
Since highly selective/rejective schools don’t have a Communication major, I’m guessing you applied to your state’s and other flagships + colleges such as Syracuse and Ithaca. Can you specify? Because obviously the answer would be different if you’re applying to MIT.
Most important is whether you have already taken 3 science classes or whether AP bio is your 3rd -since 2 vs.3 would make a difference wrt admision requirements.
My two cents is definitely talk with your counselor, but it also may matter what you would be doing instead.
In our feederish HS with a trimester system, it is very common for seniors heading to highly selective colleges to drop one of their third trimester classes in order to do a Senior Project. They will also change advanced electives based on evolving interests, courses they were waitlisted for opening up as other people move around, and so on.
So again this is something to discuss with your counselor, but to me if the story is less that you wanted out of AP Bio, and more that you wanted into something else, that may be a better story.
Not according to his college advisor, who was a senior admissions officer at Penn before becoming the Dean of Admissions at S24’s boarding school. He’s been in this field for over twenty years.
I don’t think that is ALWAYS the case. My friend’s child got into a highly rejective college ED. She was having a hard time with AP calc and asked her AO if it would be a problem to drop down to honors calc. She was Communications major. The AO said if she dropped a level down her ED acceptance woud be "reevaluated. " She got a tutor and finished out the year in AP calc as she didn’t want to put the acceptance at risk. (She may have been fine either way but we’ll never know.)
