<p>So, at my school you can only take 4 AP's maximun your senior year (Spanish, Math, Science (Bio or Chem), and English). I took the toughest courseload my school had to offer me Junior year. (AP US, Honors PreCalc, Honors English, Honors Physics, Spanish 3, Hebrew 3, Jewish Law 3, Bible 3, band, gym, and Leadership Seminar).
But next year, I am going to be really involved in Student Activities (School Treasurer, US Politics Club President, Founder and Chairman of a Community Social Action Committee) so i decided I need a study hall and decided to take English over the summer and take the following scheduale-</p>
<p>AP Spanish
AP Calculus BC
AP Bio
Economics/Middle Eastern Studies (requiered, no honors/Ap availible)
Hebrew 4
Modern Jewish Thought
Bible 4
Band
Gym
AND
Regular English at Summer School!!!</p>
<p>Will taking this one class instead of AP English hurt me much at Northwestern and the other top schools I am applying to (Chicago, Vandy, Johns Hopkins)? My GPA is 3.7 UnWeighted, but my SATs are good (1460/2210- may go up). My mom is making me feel bad about not taking AP- What do you guys think???</p>
<p>Perhaps more than other top schools, NU looks at the whole critter and not just AP classes, GPA, and class standing. Extra curriculars are important, but so are your personal passions and interests. If your school schedule stresses you so much that you don't even have a chance to know what you're passionate about, I don't think it's going to help your application to NU.</p>
<p>If you were my child, I'd say you are right to construct a senior year schedule you can live with, but I'd remind you that you are about to be an adult. You still have a certain freedom this summer that might be hard to find later on, especially if you don't know how to appreciate it now.</p>
<p>What else could you be doing with your summer? You didn't mention anything about community involvement or personal interests. Are you sacrificing a whole summer just so you can pump up your school EC's?</p>
<p>You have put a lot of energy into positioning yourself well in the numbers game, which is commendable. Now, you can either use your remaining time and energy to squeeze out whatever further advantage you can in the numbers, or you can take a step to the side, and look at what else is real and important to you. </p>
<p>There is a double standard in college admissions. Schools want the numbers, but they also want independent students who are creatively passionate about life. As a parent of an NU student, who took a non-traditional approach to high school, I have to ask: Do you know who you are and what you care about? Have you taken the time to answer that for yourself? Is there more to you than being a winner in the scramble for grades and standing? </p>
<p>Here's the thing, taking some time to answer that now could mean more to you in the long run than either one more AP, or one more summer class. At the same time, if you approach the question creatively, it could make you an even more attractive applicant to schools like NU that look for whole people, and not just numbers.</p>
<p>having one less ap class isn't detrimental. don't forget, typically college admissions is a positive game. the look at what you have, not what you don't</p>