At my tiny school in the middle of nowhere it is a given that you will have a scheduling problem almost every year if you are taking advanced classes. This year is particularly bad though. APUSH and AP Biology are being run concurrently. I care more about taking ap biology (want to be a biochem major), but it means I can’t take a social studies class at my school (which is technically allowed, but I really don’t want to not take my 4 academic solids). This teacher is being uncooperative with appeals to independently study under him (as I did last year in AP World), so I think I’ll have to do it fully independent. My school won’t pay anything for an online class and we can’t afford things like FLVS and CTY’s classes. Does anyone know of any good solutions or good cheap ap us history classes.
I don’t know of a cheap option for APUSH other than maybe looking at homeschool sites and see what they recommend.
I wanted to reassure you, though, that if you can’t take the class, do not worry. You as a person and in terms of getting into college will be fine. Many schools are aware of the problems with tiny schools and AP availability. It’s possible to attend the top-ranked schools in the country even if you’re at a school that offers a single AP or no AP at all. Colleges aren’t counting the number of APs that you are taking. They are seeing how you are challenging yourself and how you are maximizing your efforts in your given environment.
If you think about it, a student from a rural school with a single AP seems on the surface at a disadvantage compared to someone coming from a school in Newton Mass with like 12 APs available. But that would be a mistaken assumption. The student taking 12 APs, well that’s great. s/he is showing academic rigor. That student wouldn’t have the time to put into other parts of the equation. A student in rural school with a single AP may be offered 1) more diverse and interesting classes. If you think about it APs are really homogeneous. and produce a group of students who have more or less studied the exact same thing. Do colleges want all students to be alike? To have the same POV about, say, history? 2) The student with a single AP would be able to “maximize” their efforts in their environment in creative ways that may not be available to the Newton Mass 12-AP student. Maybe the rural student lives on an island off the coast of Alaska and does salmon fisheries work – and took that experience to a refreshing level from a college’s perspective. Maybe the rural student has known a handicapped fellow student his or her entire life, because: small town. The rural student may have used the extra time to create community for and with that person.
My feeling is that no matter how you look to enrich your life, you will come up a winner. You will feel it inside and colleges will also sense it. Letting go of that AP might be the best thing you can do for yourself.
Your GC can explain the schedule conflicts. Take a social studies class that is not AP.
As long as your guidance counselor 1) explains the scheduling conflict and 2) checks the box saying you have taken the most rigorous schedule available at your HS you are fine. College admissions is not a race to get the most APs.
While I get what you are all saying, the issue is there literally are no social studies classes available in my open period that I haven’t already taken or taken the AP version of ( the only classes are world history and geography).
In that case I would talk to your guidance counselor about options such as classes online or at a local college that the HS would accept.
Unless I missed something, even if you can’t take APUSH, you still need USH to graduate. Take the non-AP version.
Talk to your guidance councilor about this as soon as you can, get them to make a note in your file. They are only human and can forget things.
Can you take it dual enrollment? at the local Community College?
I wouldn’t worry about it. Considering that Bio is related to your major, it’s definitely more important. Also, don’t worry about a “low” amount of APs compared to other students. It seems like your school doesn’t have much funding, so colleges will see that you just couldn’t take as many AP classes. If you’re really worried, ask your counselors to note that you wanted to take APUSH but couldn’t because of scheduling.
You still need US history. Does your school offer virtual enrollment (online HS course or online College course)?