<p>The first question you should be asking is to ask your parents what they are thinking about your college education and how much, realistically, they are prepared to contribute to it. They probably have no idea that the cost is up to $60K per year at some colleges now. Find out how much your state flagship costs, and figure out how fast that has been rising and how much it’s likely to cost when you attend. Your parents should look on some financial aid webpages for colleges you might be interested in and get an estimate of the EFC. See if those numbers seem reasonable to your parents or have put them into shock. If everything seems too expensive, then you should be looking for colleges which may give you a full ride scholarship. There are some schools which generously support National Merit FInalists or Semifinalists, so you should take the PSAT and try to qualify. </p>
<p>Actually, you should do that even if your parents say they can pay full college expenses. You never know what may happen in the future–people lose jobs, people get sick, etc.-- and if you make NMSF, if current scholarship offers are still being made in a few years, you will have colleges offering you a free education. That’s a very comforting feeling.</p>
<p>Well, I’m not looking for a specific college to go to just yet. I just want to know the standards for some of the more prestigious ones so I know what my target is.
Really, when the time comes, I’ll discuss colleges with my parents and I’ll go to whatever college we can afford. It’s still early to decide. </p>
<p>The most selective colleges in the US basically look for:</p>
<ul>
<li>Rigorous course selection in high school (may include advanced college courses taken while in high school).</li>
<li>All or nearly all A grades in high school (and college courses taken while in high school).</li>
<li>Top end test scores (700 minimum every SAT reasoning and subject section, but most sections should be closer to 800).</li>
<li>High level of achievement, award, or recognition in extracurricular activities.</li>
</ul>
<p>In the US, general undergraduate college prestige tends to track selectivity, perhaps due to the perception that you can be no worse than the worst student who can get into your college. However, for the purpose of preparing for PhD programs, the extent to which college prestige matters is very different in that it is major-specific and based on whether the PhD program believes that your major at your undergraduate college produces worthy PhD students.</p>
<p>Adv. English 1
Biology
Chemistry 2
Adv. Algebra 2
World History
PE
Band
French 1
Driver’s Ed</p>
<p>Would you say that I’m on a good track?</p>
<p>Also, I’ve always had straight A’s. We no longer have any extra credit, so most of my grades are 98-100. Back when we had extra credit, they would average up to over 100. </p>
<p>It’s hard to judge, not knowing what is offered in your school. Students who get into top colleges will usually take the highest level of academic courses their school offers. Taking both sciences as a freshman is probably a good idea for you as it will allow you to get to physics faster. Not sure what chemistry “2” means–did you already do a year of high school chemistry?</p>
<p>You complained about the lack of physics offerings at your high school. I think it’s best to take actual physics classes, since then you get the lab/demo experiences as well. But, if you can’t find a calculus-based physics class at a local college when the time comes, you should be aware that there are some good, free, internet opportunities for learning it on your own. My daughter is now studying for the Physics C exams using the MIT lectures and materials mentioned in this thread <a href=“books and resources for self-studying Physics C while enrolled in Physics B - AP Sciences - College Confidential Forums”>books and resources for self-studying Physics C while enrolled in Physics B - AP Sciences - College Confidential Forums; and also a Physics C AP test prep book, to make sure she’s learning the relevant material. She is taking Physics B at school, but we felt she could do more and we know the Physics B isn’t going to get her any credit in an Engineering or CS program.</p>
<p>Chem 1 is basic high school chemistry, while Chem 2 is way more advanced, but a repeat. There’s also AP Chem, which is the most advanced.
Because I am in my school’s advanced math program, they actually want me to skip Chem 1 and go straight into Chem 2.
Physics has a Trig requirement, which is why I’ll be free to take it as a sophomore. When the time comes, I’ll try to find a calculus-based physics class and get a prep book, like you suggested.
What do A, B, and C mean? For example, would Physics B be like Physics 2? My HS labels everything with numbers, so I’m assuming it’s something like that. </p>
<p>The AP physics curriculum is about to change. Currently there are two different AP physics classes, Physics B, which is an algebra-based course and Physics C, which is calculus-based. There is no Physics A.</p>
<p>Physics B can be compared to “premed” physics in college. (For some bizarre reason, even though premeds are required to take a year of physics and a year of calculus, they aren’t required to take calculus-based physics.) </p>
<p>A physics major (and science/engineering majors, with possible exception of biology) would be required to take calculus-based physics. Physics C is separated into two parts with separate exams, each corresponding to a semester of college calculus-based physics. </p>
<p>This is the last year the college board will offer the Physics B exam. For next year, they are splitting the already rather lite Physics B course into a two year sequence of AP Physics 1 and AP Physics 2. I think the idea was that students were taking a regular high school physics class, which covered a lot of material in not much depth, and then taking Physics B, which covers a lot of the same material in not that much more depth, and that it would be better to plan out the two years as a sequence which goes more in depth. Or something like that. But this won’t work so well for the student who only takes 1 year of physics. Currently, I think some schools offer Physics B as a first physics class.</p>
<p>Turns out, the only science courses we can take for extra credits at the local community college are Biology and Anatomy. They don’t even have Physics listed as an option.</p>
<p>We don’t have honors classes at my HS, and only a total of 4 AP classes (AP Chem, AP Literature, AP Language, AP US History). It’s kinda sad, but that’s really all we have. What exactly are honors courses?</p>
<p>Many high schools offer more than one level of what is meant to be the same class. Honors is the usual name given to the highest level, which is often restricted to the better students by teacher recommendation or perhaps some test scores. An honors class is supposed to be more difficult–more is expected of the students. You seem to have something called Advanced, which is probably the same thing many schools would call honors.</p>
<p>Would you be willing to take an Intro to Physics class even if you didn’t get credit for it at your high school? (Would you be able to afford it?)</p>
<p>You can get into any of the advanced classes, there aren’t any restrictions. The classes just move a bit faster. For example, by the end of first quarter the advanced class might be a whole unit ahead.</p>
<p>My uncle actually is a physics teacher, but he lives 11 hours away (by plane). I get to see him once a year for a couple of days and that’s it. I could always ask him for help, but I don’t know how that would work out.</p>
<p>MYOS1634: Gosh I don’t know, I’ll see when the time comes.</p>
<p>Try to find local math and physics competitions for high schoolers so you can get some experience and something to study for. You can learn most things through old, cheap textbooks and YouTube explanation videos. If you find yourself truly enjoying physics, you may even want to look into the math and physics olympiads. You have plenty of time before you even begin thinking about colleges.</p>
<p>My HS has a science team, I guess I can take both the physics and math test. We also have a math team, so I’ll probably end up taking the the Algebra or Geometry test next year, Trig the year after that, and so on.</p>