I have been in the united states for only 3 months.I got selected in NY specialized high school…They gave me below average sophomore classes(one AP in Computer Science) including some of the freshman classes… everyone here is ahead of me taking chemistry classes but they just let me take biology classes which are offered to freshman students…
So now i feel confined and frustrated… I have to take biology in the sophomore year,chemistry in the junior year,and physics in the senior year… ( i am most interested in physics…)
Also I got Algebra 2,but its too easy for me…It feels like im wasting my time because i have done this all before…
I have a dream of getting into mit or other ivy league universities one day… but everyone here is ahead of me taking all the good courses and im just being offered the minimal ones…Will it hurt my college applications???
You should talk to your school counselor about this dilemma. If you feel you already know all of the information being taught and will be taught, you should definitely talk to the teacher and the school counselor about it, so they can move you to a more fitting course.
No. You’re not the first international students that has moved to the US. This happens all the time.
If you think that you were placed in too low a level for math, talk to your guidance counselor and/or the chairman of the math department.
In terms of biology, you might be out of luck. NY State requires one year of life science for graduation and you need to take the life sciences regents exam. But again, talk to your guidance counselor.
AP Comp Sci may be below average for your high-powered HS, but trust me, it’s not a course that frosh or sophs in other schools usually have the option of taking. BTW, I deleted out the name of your HS, as it goes against the confidential nature of this site.
sorry if i have a lot questions… But ive seen others are taking a lot of ap classes…but im just taking one… (computer science).I dont get to take chemistry too,i have to stick with biology,its like im one year behind of everybody… Are the ivy league universities gonna consider the fact that i am new to this country? will I be able to make this up in my junior year so that my college application looks strong? would i be able to take chemistry and physics both at the same time in my junior year?
@kingpinlunatic I had an experience simar to yours. I came to the USA during my 7th grade, and I did not speak English so I was placed on the most lower level classes, I was 1 year behind Math, and I was not taking any advanced classed. On my 8th grade I was placed into some advanced classes. I took Geometry H online during my 8th grade to my freshman year summer. Now on my Freshman year, I have the most rigorous schedule that my school allows for Freshmen.
The point that I am trying to make is that you can definitely catch up to your classmates, and even if you don’t colleges will still understand.
Talk to your counselor about the math class if you feel it’s inappropriate, and any other classes you feel are not at your level. If the bio is required, then it’s required. We have students at all grade levels taking bio at our school, due to different science course sequences.
Many sophomores don’t take any AP classes at all. You need to stop worrying so much about what other students are doing and focus on what is best for you and also meets graduation requirements. You will find that schools in the US do not appreciate students with overly competitive attitudes.
Did you take bio last year at your old school? If so, it might be possible for you to take the Regents exam without taking bio, and that might be good enough. You would have to ask your counselor whether this is possible. And if you didn’t take bio yet, well you need to take it so I don’t understand why you are so unhappy about taking it.
I took bio,physics,chem at the same time but in a different language.and I want to take physics to be honest… In the junior year,would I be a able to take chemistry and physics at the same time?
And about college admissions,would they consider it that i was a newcomer in united states in my sophomore year?
Offer to take a placement test to get into pre-calculus/ pre-calculus honors. Be careful and learn about your school 's pathways first. Some schools will want pre-calculus honors or A in pre-calculus for a student to move up to calculus, and if you place into regular pre-calculus that would make your way up harder.
Biology : it’s required, as is the Regents. If you took it already, it should appear on your transcripts (it may have been part of an integrated science class that spanned 8+9th grade for instance - you’d have to bring the syllabus for the class.) if you can succeed in Regents biology without that biology class, you should discuss the matter with our gc.
For college you need one year each of biology, chemistry, and physics. The year you took those doesn’t matter. If you can start chemistry this year, all the better, but if not you can take one over summer school or accelerate through CollegeNow.
Thank you for all the replies. I talked with my guidance counselor and she gave me all the class credits because i took physics,chemistry,bio at the same time in my freshman year in my old country school. I have to take 3 regents next year.
I am taking one ap in comp sci right now,I didnt know what ap classes were and how were they important when i got here,so I couldnt take ap world history or euro history this year because the school thought it was way too hard for me. Comp sci is a course that every sophomore takes in my school,and maximum of them are taking 2 ap courses at the same time,while i am taking just one.
I wanted to take ap physics 1 this year,so that i can reach to ap physics 2 in my junior year. so that i can finally move on to ap physics c in my senior year.
But they didnt allow me to take ap physics 1 this year,because its a junior level course,I still wanted to self study for ap physics 1 and take ap physics 2 in my junior year,but they still weren’t convinced because you had to be in the physics major in high school to take ap physics 2…
and I wanted to skip pre calc by taking it in summer school next year,but they are not letting me to do so because they told me i had to stay in the certain course sequence…
I really want to push myself to the limit in my high school,and make the most out of it,because i have done all this but i have to still stick to my certain course sequence,
This is my first united states school and english school too,because i didnt have english in my previous school.
I want to go to MIT one day.It has been my dream school since day one…
Any suggestions and guidelines would be worth a lot appreciation…
Register with an online virtual high school like Florida virtual school, take Precalculus Honors, and make sure to get an A. Bring that transcript to your guidance counselor. There’ll be two segments, if you have an A in the first segment before the start of the second semester, you could use that to prove to your GC you should be in Precalculus Honors. Same thing for other subjects?
Have they evaluated your IGCSE transcript? You can print out the exam content for each dept head so that they recommend the best placement for you.
Same thing for other subjects?