<p>The most prestigious colleges often recommend taking the hardest course load available at your school. Unfortunately, my high school is extraordinarily competitive and offers post-AP courses such as computer science 3, organic chemistry, modern physics, multivariable calculus, and linear algebra. I now that colleges put you in context of your school but is it really necessary to take these courses? My school doesn't rank but it does say that I am in the top 10 percent. I am going to be a junior and I am currently hoping to get a degree in computer science at a good school. Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>I think it’s unnecessary unless you want to go to an Ivy League or MIT or something and even then, why? Hypothetically, this would be the most rigorous schedule at my school (if you chose Spanish as your language and happened to choose the junior and senior ‘electives’ in this order):</p>
<p>Freshman
English 1 Honors
Algebra 2 Honors
Biology Honors
World History Honors
Gym
Spanish 2
Spanish 3 Honors
AP Human Geography</p>
<p>Sophomore
English 2 Honors
Pre-Calculus Honors
Chemistry Honors
US History 1 Honors
Spanish 4 Honors
Spanish 5 Honors
AP European History
AP Government</p>
<p>Junior
AP English 3
AP Calculus AB
AP Environmental Science
AP US History
AP Spanish
AP Calculus BC (second semester)
AP Physics 1</p>
<p>Senior
AP English 4
AP Statistics
AP Physics 2
Civics and Economics Honors (no AP version offered and required for graduation)
AP Biology
AP Chemistry
AP Visual Arts 2D Design
AP Psychology</p>
<p>Anyone would be delirious to take a course load such as the above. I don’t care about the whole “take the most rigorous course load available.” No, take what you are interested in, and if it happens to be an AP class and you feel you’re intelligent and hardworking enough for it, go for it. But I internally cringe when I read schedules of ALL AP’s. Have some fun once in a while; take a class to enjoy it. Live fast. Die young. All that jazz (except the dying young part).</p>
<p>If your school offers more advanced courses than you can reasonably take and do well in, you can try to narrow down your schedule by choosing courses that would get you college credit or fit with interests you already have. If you want to major in computer science, you might have to take multivariable calculus and linear algebra in college anyway, so taking them in high school could help you. I think you have a wonderful opportunity here, assuming you’re ready to take these courses, and I would recommend taking at least some of them. </p>
<p>Remember that most colleges require you to take courses outside your major (distribution requirements), and taking AP exams in high school can help you get college credit that will get you out of these requirements once you get to college and allow you to take more classes in your major.<br>
I agree on some level, but I think advice like this is a little misguided when you’re giving to someone who probably shouldn’t be avoiding any core subjects yet. Most people change their majors in college, often multiple times, so I think it’s fair to say that a lot of high school students haven’t discovered all their interests yet and would benefit from taking a wide range of challenging courses, even ones that don’t initially seem interesting based on the titles. </p>
<p>If you can figure out what you want to do with the rest of your life… you will set yourself WAY ahead. You can take classes at your school, local college, and/or online, join/create the clubs, maybe tutor in it, intern or just get the job, go to summer camps/confrences etc. win awards in the field. THAT is SOOOOOOOO much better than taking a huge spread of AP classes!!! Get ahead in your field don’t JUST show you can that you can run on two hours of sleep and make it through high school with no social life!! That’s not proof you will be an amazing _____!! Prove you know what you love, show dedication, and prove you are good at it, and GET AHEAD!! </p>
<p>You do not need to take every post-AP class your school offers. Take the ones that interest you, that will assist you in your future endeavors, and which will provide a rigorous schedule.</p>
<p>bump.</p>
<p>You’ll want your gc to say you took the hardest options available. </p>