Should I take a free period for my senior year?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

Hello, I am 16 years old and I’m a junior at a fairly competitive. (Almost 200 out of 500 students in each class apply for UC’s)
I am wondering if should take a free period next year as a senior so that I can leave early since I’m taking a semi-rigorous schedule. I heard that taking free period is beneficial in completing homework or to relax. I will be applying to most UC’s and Cal State universities as a computer science major.

Here is my schedule for next year to give an overview-

Summer before senior year:
Macroeconomics at a local community college
REVSUP *I plan to research Cybersecurity or object-oriented programming in the computer science field (a paid internship for STEM field research projects)

Semester 1:
Band
AP Literature
Honors Computer Science (almost the same curriculum as AP Computer Science A but fewer chapters)
AP Statistics
iOS App Development
Free Period
Calculus II at a local community college

Semester 2:
Band
AP Literature
Honors Computer Science
AP Statistics
AP Government
Free Period
Calculus II

2

Well it seems like you don’t really have a reason against taking a free period, no? I think you’re taking rigorous courses for a senior, so you have a bit of leeway. Your electives show intrigue and engagement in nontraditional courses (iOS App Development), so it seems clear that you still remain interested in learning new things. I don’t think it’ll hurt you, or cause colleges to look down on your application, if you decide to take a free period.

3

No, because you are not taking a science. If you can take Math, English, Social Studies, Science (and assuming you have finished foreign language), then sure, take a free period. But I would take a science.

4

Does your community college really teach Calc 2 as a 2 semester course? That seems odd.

5

@jrik01 Take it. Once you hit January as a second semester senior, you will begin to experience something called senioritis. Also, you can use that free period to work on other work you need to do. It’s very beneficial.

6

Second semester is unlikely to include Calculus 2, since it’s a one semester class. You should use that time slot for a science class (marine science, astronomy, geology/physical geography, applied chemistry, physics…)