Hi all, my D’17 currently has 6 IB classes plus an elective and is struggling a bit with the workload. Her guidance counselor suggested she drop her IB Physics class, leaving her with: IB Calculus Y2, IB English, IB History, IB Spanish HL, IB Visual Arts, and Advanced Dance. The science classes she has taken up till now have been: freshman bio, AS Chem, and regular physics (a prerequisite for IB physics at this school).
My question is, will this harm her when being considered for competitive colleges? We are in California and she is applying to the UCs – I don’t think she’ll care if she doesn’t get into Cal or UCLA, but there is a particular program at UCSD that I think might be good for her and I wouldn’t want to see her get shut out of. On the other hand, she likes UC Santa Cruz and probably wouldn’t mind attending there. In terms of private schools she is only applying to Scripps, Pitzer, and Lewis & Clark for her safety (though to be frank I’m not sure she really wants to go there).
In terms of majors, obviously she is not interested in science or engineering. She likes both art and history, so her major will probably be somewhere in that area.
She’s taken one year each of the sciences and sh’s not applying to engineering/CS, so she’s fine. IB classes are known to be very rigorous. It’s impossible to predict whether she’ll get into the UCSD program she’s interested in, but it won’t be because of not taking a second year of physics.
Would this schedule change mean that she would no longer be an IB diploma candidate?
You have to take an IB science to get the IB diploma.
If dropping out of IB Physics means that she’s dropping out of the diploma program and will just receive IB certificates in some specific subjects, that might matter even though the physics class itself does not.
If she was never in the full diploma program, disregard this.
She has already fulfilled the a-g requirements (or will have with this year of English). Visual Arts is one of her favorite classes so she’d never drop that.
She’s not an IB diploma candidate.
I forgot to post her stats – she has a 4.0 GPA (4.3 weighted and 4.429 UC GPA) and a 34 on the ACT, so she’s pretty competitive in terms of hard stats. She doesn’t really have extracurriculars other than dance, drawing in her spare time, and being on the board of one club, so she needs to rely on her academics for college admissions.
Thanks all for the reassurance. I’m so accustomed to assuming that all kids aiming for selective schools take 4 years of all the core academic subjects that I wasn’t sure what impact having only 3 years of science would have.
D’17 may still refuse to drop physics – she can be very stubborn and she HATES to quit anything she’s committed to.
All I have to offer is one real life example. My son took only 3 years of science. He was WL at Haverford and Brown, but accepted at Oberlin, which he now attends.
My guess is that if you’re hoping to get into an ultra-competitive school, it probably helps to take 4 years of math, English, foreign language, and science, even if they say it’s not required…
Since she’s not an IB diploma candidate, I don’t see a problem. She already has the three core sciences. Her interests lie outside of science. It makes sense for her to pursue those interests.
My daughter took no math and no foreign language in her senior year of high school, but she had already completed plenty of courses in both fields – just as your daughter has taken plenty of science. She got in to her first-choice college.
I agree that given your daughter’s record so far and the fact that she isn’t a potential science /engineering major that dropping IB Physics should be fine. Of course, if she is gunning for very selective schools then every bit helps.
If it were my kid I would also check that her course load (i.e., the number of academic classes she is taking) isn’t falling below “normal” for comparable kids with the same aspirations. At our school, the top kids generally take 6 academic classes (so Dance wouldn’t count), sometimes 5. Taking 4 would be considered quite light even if it meets the minimum requirements. I’d check around or with the guidance counselor.
If your daughter is reluctant to simply drop IB Physics then maybe consider switching it for another class (assuming that it’s not too late)? For example, at our school there are science-y classes like AP Psychology and AP Environmental Science that the top kids seem to be able to sleep through and still get an A. There are also classes like AP Economics, AP Statistics, and AP Govt that can be interesting, look good on a transcript, and aren’t very hard. Maybe there are equivalents at your school.
I’ve suggested that she switch into one of the less rigorous science classes but she really doesn’t want to do that. She kind of hated the non-IB physics class she took last year – the work was easy but it kind of infuriated her that she was being required to spend time on busy-work homework.
Her course load would be 5 academic classes (all IB classes), plus dance.
I missed that she had physics already. I can’t imagine dropping IB Physics would be held against her. I also doubt her GC wouldn’t mark most course rigor, too. Sounds like a reasonable thing to do. Good luck.
I’m a big fan of not stressing kids their senior year in high school. Your DD has already taken HS physics. It’s not like this is a first time physics course and she is missing lab science courses on her HS transcript.
I don’t see an issue with dropping this course either.
@dustypig , I’d check to make sure that IB visual arts is viewed as academic (or put another way, I’d make that case.) It’s possible that it would be viewed as “art” rather than academic. You want to be sure that he schedule isn’t viewed as 4 academic, 1 art, and 1 gym. But I agree with the other posters that as she has a year of each “basic” science under her belt, there’s no harm in skipping the 2nd level of one that doesn’t excite her and would divert her time away from what interests her.
Why wouldn’t art be viewed as academic? Art is included in some colleges’ required or recommended high school preparation (e.g. CA and SD public universities).
Unless one is gunning for an engineering/STEM major, especially at schools like MIT/Caltech, 3 years of science should be fine though 4th year doesn’t hurt.
One older Oberlin classmate who was also admitted to two Ivies including one as a legacy(grandparent was an alumna who donated millions over the decades to alma mater) managed to gain admission to our LAC and the Ivies while only taking 2 years of Science at his respectable mid-Atlantic boarding school…and none were lab sciences. More like your “rocks for jocks” or "Physics for Poets type classes. Granted, a large part of this may be due to his legacy status and applying/attending college in the '90s*.
As someone who came from a public magnet where we were REQUIRED to take 4 years of Science to fulfill its graduation requirements, his admitting he only took 2 years of science…and non-lab gut ones at that shocked me and another college classmate.
Both the other classmate and I had 4 years of science including 3 with lab in HS…though the 4th year of science was optional for him.
Him applying in early '90s....me applying in mid-'90s.
Not all schools view art and music the same way as the other subjects. At many high schools, they are optional electives while math, science, history, foreign language, English, etc. are not. Some high schools do not allow these subjects to be weighted (or included in a GPA for certain awards.) Even schools with fabulous arts programs do not require a fundamental education in the arts for all students. For example, from the Bard website…
“What do we look for in an applicant? Typically, Bard students have prepared for college by taking honors or advanced placement courses in a curriculum that includes four years of English, social studies, mathematics, laboratory science, and a foreign language. Yet admission to Bard takes into account your whole story. We welcome ambitious, independent thinkers and look closely at each part of your application.”
I’m not saying I agree with this, but was saying that the OP should consider this. It sounds, from @MYOS1634 and @ucbalumnus comments, that it’s not an issue for the schools OP is considering. For other people using this thread for reference, that might not be the case.
Look at the list of class units taken by most accepted/admitted schools for her top choices. Lists of required classes are minimums. Competitive students usually will have taken the x # of science, math, foreign language… However, not all students will have but still be admitted. With your D’s high gpa and ACT score I would not worry if most students have 4 years of science. I can easily understand not wanting the extra year of physics! I was a chemistry major eons ago and hate(d) it.
I feel like at this point I may just be rehashing old comments here. But I had three science credits and did just fine in college admissions! I’m currently a freshman at Haverford, also accepted to Brown, etc etc. Stay in IB Physics if it will make you happy-and get out if it will make your senior year better. I didn’t treasure my senior year until it was almost too late. Good luck to her!!!