<p>Hello, I'm a freshman in hs, and we received our course selection sheets last week(due tomorrow). I've been thinking about whether I should drop my Cisco STI(Science, Tech, Industry) program so that I can take regular high school classes my junior and senior year that are more relevant to the career I want, which is to become a lawyer; so like US Gov't & Politics AP, etc. Junior year I will have 2 Cisco classes & senior year I will have 4 of them. So dropping the program would give me some room to take two APs in science or math. However, the Cisco classes will give me two certifications, the CCNA & CCNP after I take the test. After I graduate hs, I want to be accepted into an Ivy League school such as Harvard, or a prestigious academy such as The Naval Academy. But they only accept the best, and I want to get there.</p>
<p>Right now, I have straight As and my GPA is a 4.2,but I'm trying to raise it by taking harder classes.
I've been reading about how colleges love to accept people who are unique, so will being Cisco Certified help me out?</p>
<p>Here are my classes for next year:</p>
<p>English II Honors
Geometry Honors
AP US History
Biology Honors
Chemistry Honors
French II
Cisco IT Essentials
Swimming & Conditioning I</p>
<p>Will the Cisco program affect my chances of getting into colleges like Harvard to become a lawyer?</p>
<p>**The Cisco program wasn't a program that anyone can join. You would have to apply in the 8th grade and grades/teacher reccomendations would affect your chances of getting in. As to what I've been told, that program is extremely competitive to get into & its challenging.</p>
<p>-I’m not sure if CISCO certification would make you look like a better candidate for Harvard. If you can take rigorous classes while completing it and show a well-rounded, creative interest in CS, than I think it would work. For example, you might want to try setting up some networks, creating a computer network club, or doing computer network volunteering to show that you can apply your skills as a leader. </p>
<p>-Law is a professional school that one can apply to with a 4-year degree in any subject. A technical undergraduate allows one to be a patent lawyer after finishing law school. </p>
<p>-I have heard that law schools don’t care about undergraduate prestige and are mostly focused on GPA/LSAT.</p>
<p>Cisco is a great program, and it would actually look good on your profile- don’t think that just because you are applying with Law in mind that colleges will look down on you for taking a non-law elective. It would not bother them at all! Your HS courses don’t need to revolve around career- though it would be nice to get involved in some extra curriculars related to law (Mock Trial, debate, Teen Court, a related internship). </p>
<p>However, the thing is, 4 courses your senior year and 2 your junior year are a lot of courses to sacrifice to Cisco, particularly when you do not believe you are interested in those fields. With Cisco and required classes on top of that, you’ll really be limiting yourself in terms of APs. The benefit and rigor that comes with AP courses would probably outweigh the benefit of Cisco; At top tier schools, many APs are pretty much the standard. Plus, those Cisco classes are probably not weighted as highly as APs at your school, which will have a negative impact on both weighted GPA and rank.</p>
<p>So, personally, I would drop it; if not now, than just anytime before senior year- 4 classes in one year is toooo much for a field you are not going in to. Your sophomore year schedule looks good; maybe you’d want to take Cisco this year and see if you’re serious about leaving Cisco and heading towards law instead of math/science/industry.</p>
<p>Like I mention earlier, if you are serious about law, try to get involved in some related activities- they will look VERY good on your profile.</p>
<p>^^ The two Cisco classes junior year would pretty much just take the place of two electives. For senior year, I only need 1 english(AP English Lit) & 1 math(AP Stat) credit, and the two extra spaces could be for AP Chemistry and AP US Politics & Gov’t. The 4 Cisco classes would take up electives & French IV.</p>
<p>This is part of the reason I didn’t apply for an STI - there’s a lot less flexibility once you get farther into the program. If you really don’t enjoy it and don’t see yourself pursuing it as a career after high school, then follow your gut and drop it. But don’t quit because you’re worried about what Harvard will think - life is about doing what you love. A genuine passion for ComSci/Cisco can definitely outweigh taking a few less AP classes.</p>
<p>If you’re aiming for a selective college, let alone Harvard, then drop the Cisco program. The Cisco program is vocational training. Nothing wrong with that. But it sure sounds like it’s getting in the way of taking academic classes. Look at the website of any selective college and you’ll see they ask whether you’ve taken the most rigorous courseload available. The answer if you take the Cisco courses is clearly going to be no. End of story.</p>