I’m currently a junior in high school. Lately I’ve been feeling a bit insecure because I haven’t been taking as many rigorous courses as my peers. Here’s a list of all the AP classes I’ve taken / am taking / am planning to take:
9th grade: None
10th grade: AP English Language (got an A in the class, scored a 3 on the exam)
11th grade: AP English Literature, AP Environmental Science, AP Computer Science Principles
12th grade: AP Government, AP Computer Science A
In terms of other college-level or adjacent classes:
10th grade: AICE Marine Science AS level
11th grade: AICE Maritime Humanities (General Paper AS)
12th grade (tentative): AICE Marine Science A level
All other core classes have been Honors level (Biology Honors, Chemistry Honors, World History Honors, Algebra 2 Honors, etc. etc. etc.)
Miscellaneous info:
I scored 1220 on my last PSAT
I am currently a member of my school’s National Honor Society
I have been accepted into the College Board National Recognition Program
So, with this in mind, what kind of colleges should I aim for when I start applying? I feel like my current course lineup is a lot lighter than it should be, especially when I compare it to my peers taking classes like AP Chemistry and APUSH, or maybe I’m just overthinking this. Regardless, I’d like to hear some outside opinions. Maybe recommend me some courses I could try to take in my senior year?
You needn’t be insecure - you have a great schedule. It may not be Harvard but it’ll get you into many outstanding colleges.
You hit the nail on the head - that you’re lighter than it should be in comparison…because rigor is what schools look at.
When I looked at your curriculum, I thought - 7APs - that’s not bad. And what matters is - how is that vs. what is offered. You said at the end that others have taken more.
But be careful - just because there’s a class out there doesn’t mean it’s right for you. It’s not an arms race - take the required schedule of course but then take courses that are challenging and of interest but not if they’re going to trip you up.
What’s your GPA thus far…unweighted and if you have weighted.
In general, a state flagship is a great place for an affordable and quality education (you don’t mention where you are from) - but more importantly, we know nothing about you:
Do you want large, medium, small.
What’s important - i.e. weather, greek, sports, urban rural, etc.
What might you want to study, if you know.
Things like that.
It’s good you are starting to look - but you have lots of time.
It’d be great to develop a list like you are asking.
One thing that’s great to do - officially or if you can’t unofficially - take a weekend trip with mom or dad and go visit some campuses - large, medium, small. Check the surrounding area…do you like a tiny town or to be in the mix of things.
If you can get into info sessions or campus tours, even better.
But try to get a feel for the type of environment you’d like, etc.
Thanks for the advice. I apologize for being a bit vague about my info, I didn’t think it’d matter that much, as in this thread I’m mainly just trying to get a general idea of what kind of colleges it would make sense for someone like me to apply for. For the record, I currently live in Miami, FL (which is partly why I’m taking so many maritime-related classes).
Truthfully, I’m not really aiming to get into any top-tier super prestigious schools like Harvard or anything like that. In fact, I think I’d rather stay local; UM (University of Miami) is one of the main colleges on my radar right now, mainly because it’s apparently pretty good, and its extremely close to where I live so I wouldn’t have to pay for a dorm.
Anyway, campus size honestly doesn’t matter much to me as long as it doesn’t feel too cramped. I think I’d prefer a more urban environment simply because that’s what I’m used to and what I grew up with (Although I don’t mind stepping out of my comfort zone if it’s necessary). But that’s all just speculation right now, I do plan to visit some colleges at some point in the future to confirm these preferences.
Assuming that your grades are very good and that you can afford it, I think that you are solidly on track for any one of a long list of very good universities, including the University of Miami.
I really do not see any problem here. I also however do not see your full range of classes, such as math and language classes which I am assuming you are also taking at some level.
We can’t know what type you should apply to if you don’t share details and interest. So we know what we are dealing with ? If I say U of Wyoming And I say u don’t like cold or rural, then we both failed in the mission, etc.
Miami is not an easy in hence we need to know your grades. And living at home ? Why. College is part of growing up. Nothing wrong with it but then why not go to a CC. Miami is expensive. By living at home, you’ll miss so much of the experience you are paying for.
My grades are generally pretty good. Usually As and Bs all around. So far, in my entire academic career, I’ve only gotten one C and it in was the third quarter of Chemistry Honors. I ended that class with a B as my final/average grade.
As for GPA, I have a 3.875 unweighted and a 4.688 weighted.
I already mentioned my core classes in my original post but I’ll put a full timeline here (in order of when the classes were taken, not including classes I haven’t taken yet) for reference purposes:
English: English 1 Honors, AP English Language, AP English Literature
Science: Biology Honors, Chemistry Honors, AP Environmental Science
Foreign Language (not a core class but I’ll include it anyway): Spanish 1, Spanish 2 (my school only requires two years of foreign language classes for graduation)
There isn’t really much of a “problem” per se, I’m just trying to get a general idea of what colleges I should aim for with my current course lineup. For example, I don’t want to settle for a low-tier college when I could be accepted into a better one, or vice versa. I’m not trying to form a specific list of desired colleges here, I’m just trying to gain a rough idea of what level of prestige I should aim for when I eventually start applying to colleges. I hope that makes sense.
You want to go to Miami - and don’t put all your eggs in one basket. It’s not an easy admit although as you likely know, you can go to Miami Dade and transfer as they have an agreement.
But based on that you want to live at home, you are really setting yourself up only for Miami area schools - so it’s early but you’re probably borderline for UM. There’s also FIU where you’d be likely, and Barry which is a safety.
I get wanting to live at home to save - but if that’s the case, I’d recommend going to Junior College.
Going to college isn’t just about going to class - it’s about the entirety of life, from joining clubs, eating in the dining halls, and having late night study sessions. You just lose too much otherwise.
There’s lots of other schools to suggest to you - but at those, you couldn’t live home.
Other nearby, but not local, schools that might fit with your marine background are Eckerd and Florida Tech. If you wanted a more traditional college like Miami, but obviously an uber safety, it would be Tampa.
Being able to live at home is not a requirement, it’s just a tentative preference as it would save me a lot of money (assuming that I’m able to snag some good scholarships) and would just be more convenient overall. With that said, I’m not opposed to the idea of leaving my state for college if it ends up being the better option for me. I apologize if I didn’t make that clear.
Regardless, I appreciate your advice and suggestions.
If you want the money, you have to hit the merit schools. First off, FSU is dirt cheap for you. But Bama, UAH, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Ms. State, Arizona, UTK.
There’s some great liberal arts schools with nice merit - Wooster, Eckerd amongst others.
Tampa gives nice merit. Even Miami does.
When you say you are looking to save - do you have financial need. You could determine that by filling out a net price calculator for a school that meets need - or having your parents do it. Cornell is great…but Miami meets need (with loans) - so fill theirs out.
There’s a difference between I don’t want to spend…and I cannot afford to spend. In the first situation, you need merit aid. In the second, you will get need aid and that opens up a ton of opportunity.