Thoughts on class schedules/ECs for next year

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

I’m going to be a junior next year and I would like thoughts on my schedule for junior year. I want to major in Computer Science. My school doesn’t offer any computer science classes or IT classes, though. I’m getting my scheduling stuff soon, so some of this may change if there’s more electives offered next year than this year. I’m adding my elective courses, too, so I can also get thoughts on those.

Junior Year for full year:

Honors English(no AP offered)
AP Calc(not sure which one. I’m assuming AB?)
Honors Chemistry
Principals of Economics(no honors/AP offered)
Sociology
Spanish 3
Dance and yoga
Ceramics
Study hall(unless I take another elective or 2)

I’m thinking of taking APUSH, but I’m not sure yet. I’m not that interested in history and I don’t know if I want to spend my time on something I’m not interested in.

I’m also in art club, joining a community service club, and do trampoline and tumbling(type of gymnastics) at a local gym. What other clubs/activities should I get involved in that would stand out on college apps? I would like to get into Vanderbilt, Northwestern, MIT(not likely though), Purdue, Virginia Tech, or Rutgers.

Any suggestions on classes, ECs, or getting into any of those colleges? Thanks!

2

Well, I don’t know anything about your school, but it seems like you’d want to take as many science classes as possible (physics especially). I’d also look into some extracurriculars involved with computer science… do you know any (computer) languages? Learn some in your spare time… that also counts as an EC.

3

I’m taking physics senior year and possibly doubling up on sciences then. I’m thinking of taking either anatomy or AP bio next year. I started looking into computer languages and know basic html. I’ll look into some ECs with computer science. Thank you!

4

Definitely do as much science as possible… you want to show colleges that you are genuinely interested in CS and didn’t just pick it without knowing much about it. CS ECs are rare… what ECs do you have at your school that interest you? I’d do any and all that I’m interested in, but definitely try to focus on sciencey ones. Have you thought about trying to code an app or website? A project like that (especially if you get a somewhat successful app on the market or a website that a company uses) would probably give you valuable experience/practice and look good to colleges.

5

I’m not sure if my school has any science ECs. I go to a small school so we don’t have very much. I’m taking a python course right now though(which I forgot to mention before). My brother is a programmer and we’ve been talking about making a game or some kind of app for years now. I’m going to talk to him about it and maybe get his help and start on one this summer.

6

I’ve been there. Move heaven and Earth to make sure study hall is at the end of the day in case your situation changes and early release becomes an option. Otherwise, look into testing out of something via the CLEP Exams while you’re stuck in purgatory. AP exams are better because AP courses boost your GPA but some of the CLEP Exams are just plain juvenile.

Here’s the History Exam I ordered the practice for the other day: https://clep.collegeboard.org/exam/history-us-i/questions

As far as I can tell from all the degree plans and core curriculum lists I’ve seen so far you have to have History and Government and Writing no matter where you go to school and it’s just wrong that they make it so easy to test out of them.

Also, am I reading this wrong? As far as I can tell you can just take the CLEP exam whenever and there’s no classes or anything. I realize not every college accepts all of them, but I’ve seen the lists and it seems like most colleges accept most of them. Am I missing something?

http://www.4year-plan.com/WordPress/

7

Another idea would be to sit in on classes at a nearby college or university if possible. You can try paying for them to get a credit that transfers, but I’ve been “taking” (I still take all the test and do the homework and get a grade, it just can’t transfer anywhere) classes at a nearby university this year for the knowledge. I did mention it in my college app, but there are more important things than getting into college.

8

For the universities you’re aiming for, your schedule isn’t strong enough. It’s probably okay for Rutgers, but maybe not for Virginia Tech unless you have a 4.0 unweighted.

Also, check out Olin, RPI, RIT, Union, Clarkson, UCincinnati (co-op), Stevens, Rowan or your stem-focused in state public university.

Purdue, Virginia Tech, or Rutgers = two of those are out of state: have you run the Net Price Calculator on all three and brought the results to your parents to see if they can afford OOS tuition out of pocket? OOS public universities do not offer financial aid to applicants outside their state (they’re state universities, paid for by the state’s taxpayers, so only they get the in state tuition break and the financial aid - you’re on your own to pay if you apply from another state unless you meet their merit scholarship criteria).

For the universities you’re aiming for
Honors English(no AP offered) => would your school let you dual enroll in Freshman composition 1 and 2 at the local community college?

AP Calc(not sure which one. I’m assuming AB?) = what grade did you get in Precalc?

Honors Chemistry

Principles of Economics(no honors/AP offered)
Sociology
=> I suppose those two are electives in social sciences… You really need a strong social science, such as APUSH, especially if AP Econ isn’t offered.

Spanish 3 => Honors, at least?

Dance and yoga
Ceramics

Study hall => with that schedule, you can’t afford to take a study hall. Those are frowned upon unless mandatory and the rest of your schedule isn’t very strong (sometimes, if students take APs, a study hall can be understandable, but even in these cases an elective such as yoga or ceramics is considered better.) Is there any way this period could be spent at the local community college where you’d take CS classes?

To have a shot at Northwestern or any university/LAC ranked in the top 25, you’d need to be heavily involved in science competitions and activities. See if a professor at a nearby college could use a set of hands for scutwork in his/her lab, for instance (if you do well, you’ll probably be entrusted with more as time goes, and a 2-year commitment to a lab will show you’re dedicated to science.)
Work on that app over the summer.
In addition, since there are no science-related clubs at your school: create one. Go see a faculty member ASAP because setting those up can be lengthy depending on the school. You want it ready to go this year, so that you have members and a board for next year.

9

Although @MYOS1634‌ has a point (and is correct as far as I can see), we know nothing about your school, and your schedule is generally compared to your school’s capabilities. However, if you have a typical school with APs you just haven’t been taking (again, we don’t know), then your schedule is a little weak and I’d strongly encourage getting involved in (and winning if at all possible) some competitions or projects.

10

My school only offers 9 AP classes and APUSH is only offered this year(14-15) and in 2 years(16-17), but I think next year there’s going to be AP European History. My schools also doesn’t offer any honors Spanish(otherwise I would take it). I’m in the top 10% of my class with UW and W GPA, and my counselor said my class is very competitive. Because my school only offers 9 AP classes and doesn’t have honors in classes like Spanish, it’s hard to have a rigorous schedule. I’m looking more into my schedule for senior year so I could rearrange/take out some of the courses and take more APs. I’m also going to look more into my classes when I get my scheduling papers for next year. I’m going to look into talking to professors at nearby colleges as well. Thank you for the tips.

11

Oh and also I have a 98% in precalc right now and I had an A all last semester. And about the dual enrollment for English, I’m not sure. My state has this new thing for next year called College Credit Plus, which is like dual enrollment, that I’m looking into. I’d have to ask my counselor about it.

12

Yeah, that’s what I thought. I honestly think you almost have to go outside of your school to get the classes you need (like I did). A lot of people get too caught up in the numbers game and don’t understand that admissions officers see past the GPA, SAT, etc. In your case, just taking a class at a nearby college (not even for credit) would show that you’re trying to get more education. That’s also why I suggested a project of some sort… in your case, you might not even have to win any national competitions simply because the pool you’re competing in is a little disadvantaged. As long as you do the work and get a result that shows you went above and beyond typical stuff (like school and typical ECs), any admissions officer who’s interested in getting an actually intelligent person as opposed to a bag of test scores would understand and look upon it favorably.

My school has AP and dual credit that counts for the state university. I never really looked into it since it was an alternative and not a replacement for the classes, but your goal should be to take the most rigorous schedule possible, so it might show a more difficult courseload.

13

I’m going to talk to my parents about sitting in on classes at a local college for this summer or next year. I’ve also been looking into summer programs, but with most of them wouldn’t impress colleges because they’re so common. I’m going to look into ECs, projects, and classes more.

Do you have any tips on getting into Vanderbilt University? That’s my top-choice college and I really want to go there. With what I’m doing right now, I don’t think I could get in.

14

It depends on so many things. Overall, though, your priorities should be knowledge first and college impressions second. Summer programs alone won’t impress colleges, but they’re super useful if you need to learn something before the next year (in my case, a summer research class prepared me for internships).

I don’t know much about Vanderbilt, but honestly, as long as you really focus on improving your knowledge and skills in the field that interests you (and trying to demonstrate it through competitions and projects), colleges should notice. If you do it for real, you won’t have to “fake it” like some other students try to do (bogus charities they founded, lab work they didn’t really do, etc.)

15

Colleges won’t care if the program is common or not. What they will care is if YOU do something uncommon there, have an impact on your community, get prepared for research work, skip a level in a foreign language, etc.

16

Thank you both for the help. I have some ideas that I’m going to talk with my parents about this weekend.

Also I got my scheduling papers this week and I’m keeping my schedule I put because I need elective credits, but instead of study hall I’m going to do 2 science electives. And senior year I’m planning on 3 or 4 AP classes. But my school brought back French after years without it and I’ve always wanted to learn French. How would it look to colleges of I did 2 languages both for 2 years. They would probably either like that I’ve done 2 languages and know some of each or they would rather see me do 4 years of just one and know more.

17

They would want 4 years of one or three years of each. You can skip ahead if you go to Concordia language camp over the summer.

18

i’m such a newbie to college prep and such; but from what we’ve heard, its not a bad thing to take as many hard courses as you can. taking APUSH might help you get out of it in college . . .

19

@MYOS1634‌ I’ll look into that. Thanks.

@bgbg4us‌ thank you. I’m looking into either APUSH or AP World History. It depends on what’s offered my senior year. And yes I do. I actually just started and went from level 1 to level 4 in about 5 months(some prior experience though) and quickly moving up. It’s a sport that requires a lot of focus. I’m hoping to continue it when I go to college if I can.