<p>Hi guys. As I was looking on the requirements or recommendations for some of the schools I'm going to apply to, I noticed that you need 4 years of science. (or it's recommended which is basically the same for me) For example Georgia Tech requires 4 years of science and schools like Yale or Stanford strongly recommend 4.
So so far I've taken 3 lab sciences, physics, biology and chemistry and 1 non-lab science, geology(which we were forced to take). The geology my school counts towards an elective because it is non-lab, but it is still a science. So my school basically offers these 4 science courses and that's it. No AP is available at our school.</p>
<p>So do these 4 science courses (each taken for 4 years at a time, physics and biology taken in the same year) count as "4 years of science" that is recommended or required for some schools. If not I will be forced to switch out one of my dual-enrollment classes for science, which I rather not do because I would start at the basic level and relearn the sciences I already learned and I would be forced to drop one of my dual-enrollment classes that I find much more interesting and useful. BTW I'm a senior.</p>
<p>thanks but you didn’t answer my question. I already know I have 3 years of science (physics, chemistry and biology) but my question was will universities count geology as a science even though I got elective credits for it.</p>
<p>I’ve taken 3 lab sciences, physics, chemistry and biology. Again, will geology count as a science because it is not a lab science and I got elective credits for it.</p>
<p>If you were able to take either Physics or Chemistry or Biology for two years at your school but chose not to then Geology will not count.</p>
<p>If your school offers only one year of each subject and you had no choice of taking a 4th year, then you can explain it as not being possible somewhere in your application and that is why you studied Geology for the 4th year.</p>
<p>In the end, it is a recommendation. If you are planning to major in English, no one will care.</p>
<p>Oh ok. Well yeah my school only offers 1 year in each of those subjects. And I only took took geology in 9th grade because we had to and only later did I learn it didn’t count as a science (and when I say it doesn’t count as a science is because I live in California and that course doesn’t satisfy the requirements for the UC schools). </p>
<p>And that’s my problem; my potential major is in computer science which is very science intensive and/or pre-med which is the same. I can take dual-enrollment at a CC but then I will be forced to drop another very important course due to scheduling conflicts.</p>
<p>Im not checking your whole list, but you need to work this through- you have a long list, maybe too long, and need to get to know what each school really says. </p>
<p>Stanford, eg: Science: three or more years of laboratory science (including biology, chemistry and physics).
MIT: One year of high school physics, one year of high school chemistry, one year of high school biology plus math, through calculus.</p>
<p>When Harvards, eg, says “The study of science for four years: physics, chemistry, and biology, and preferably one of these at an advanced level,” they mean at least one at AP level. So it could be Physics, Chem, Bio and AP physics, for, say CS. Your competition will have lots of rigor, multiple AP classes or advanced math. It would have been easier to answer if you had given this detail. You have some digging to do, to get to know the schools on your target list. </p>
<p>@lookingforward Yes I realize that and I have researched all the schools on my list so far. I know that Stanford says 3 or more and Harvard says 3 plus preferably one in AP. However while they all say that, and they’re all recommendations, almost all the students applying will have 4 years of science of not more and I will be at a disadvantage if I don’t (a small one, but still a disadvantage. That’s why I collectively said recommends 4 years of science: because all the students applying there will have 4 years. And again, my school does not offer AP courses. </p>
<p>@happy1 Unfortunately my school is relatively low achieving and my counselor wouldn’t know anything about this. Most students would take 2 years of science to graduate and that’s it (some take one if they can get away with it). I already asked and she said I have no clue. That’s why I’m on here</p>
<p>You do have the three expected sciences (biology, chemistry, physics), so that is good. Typically, colleges prefer those three at least; if you take a fourth science course, an advanced or AP high school course, or a college course, in one of those subjects is typically preferred. But if you have no additional science courses available to you, then the questionable science status of the geology course is less of an issue – colleges realize that many students are limited by their high school’s offerings.</p>
<p>Yes I saw that (I’ve seen that link before) but I wasn’t sure if those course implied just any courses or specific courses since they had numbers next to their courses. I’m guessing not. So I have the 4 required years for gaTech but what about Stanford or Yale</p>
<p>I suspect your application to Stanford or Yale would not be decided at all by the question at hand. Worrying about it won’t make any difference if you are a senior already. Just file your application and move on. I do think if you are not able to satisfy UC requirements, you are looking at this all wrong since these schools admit 5-6% students and you should consider them a lottery school at this point.</p>
<p>I think you are good. I would say you have 4 years of science. You have taken all the science classes that your high school offers and that is all anyone can expect.</p>