which class should I take?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>Hello everyone, I'm new to the board and I need some help deciding what class to take as my elective for senior year. I plan to major in Engineering, so I understand that science is very important, and I have taken 1 Bio, 1 Chem, and 2 Physics as of my Junior year.</p>

<p>My required classes next year are...
-IB Physics
-IB HL Math
-IB 20th Century History
-IB Literature
-IB Theory of Knowledge (kind of like psychology)
-IB Economics
-IB French VI</p>

<p>...and I have 1 elective left. My choices are limited to...
-AP French Lit (5.0)
-AP Biology (5.0)
-Psychology (4.0)
-Ethnic studies (4.0)
-Drama (4.0) </p>

<p>I am not really interested in any of the 4.0 classes, which leaves me with AP French and AP Bio. I want to take AP French because I am not particularly interested in Bio (I took PIB Bio as a freshman and hated it), but I'm afraid that 2 french classes, even though they concentrate on different areas, might have some negative impact. Should I take AP French, which I genuinely enjoy, or AP Bio even though I absolutely resent it? Would either decision have any effect on my college admission to MIT? Another science or something I would like? Thanks for your advice.</p>

2

<p>You've already taken a bio class (and will have to take another one as part of the required core courses at MIT if you attend there); you say that what's most interesting to you is the AP French Lit course, so go for it! That is what's most important, not whether you have taken every AP course available.</p>

3

<p>Ditto what mootmom said.</p>

4

<p>passion overrides everything else</p>

5

<p>French lit! :)</p>

6

<p>I found this board about a month ago, and have learned a lot from it. So please forgive me that I disagree with everyone above.</p>

<p>Am I the only one believe that AP Bio should be the better choice in this case? For someone who is interested in engineering, why take 2 french classes instead of Bio?? It might be ok if you plan to major in Liberal arts. Maybe we shouldn't always do what we like, but rather take the challenge. More science knowledge can only benefit in the future.</p>

7

<p>also, if you get a 5 on AP Bio you can avoid taking bio at MIT.</p>

8

<p>There is really nothing to say here that hasn't been discussed to death already. With that in mind, I'd like to point you towards the existing past discussions, specifically to the few passages reproduced here...</p>

<p>Ben Jones's "Many</a> Ways to Define 'The Best'".

[quote]
I'll pause here to add that I frequently saw kids with perfect SAT scores and perfect grades and a gazillion AP classes get rejected. Why? Because often these kids knew how to grind, but brought nothing else to the table. And that's not who we're looking for at MIT. We admit kids who show genuine passion. Sure AP's can be one of many passion indicators - but I emphasize one of many.

[/quote]

Ben Jones, as you probably know, is the Communications Manager at MIT and on the admissions committee at MIT.</p>

<p>Mollie B's "How</a> to do everything wrong and still get into MIT"...

[quote]
My high school offered 8 AP classes, and I took 3 (Government, English, and US History). Although AP Chemistry, AP Biology, and AP Physics were offered, I didn't take them (physics and chemistry because I hated them; biology because there was a conflict with show choir. To my credit, I did cry.) I did take all the honors science courses offered (biology B, genetics, and meteorology/oceanography), except physics. I hate(d) physics.

[/quote]

Mollie is currently a senior at MIT, and will be graduating with two BS degrees and attending Harvard's graduate biology program.</p>

<p>Jessie L's "Some</a> comments on topics of interest"

[quote]
I took AP classes because they were good classes, fun classes. They were mostly better-taught. I took AP French freshman year because French 3 was too easy. I took AP Art History because it was a more interesting way to get my county-required humanities credit than the school's lackluster general humanities classes. I took AP US Gov & Politics out of love for the subject matter. I didn't take AP Bio, though I could have done so, because I didn't like the way it was taught. There were fun non-AP classes too. My favorite science class was a non-AP bio/biotech class, and I took dual credit creative writing, intro music theory, special topics in computer science, and a grad-level class in medieval French lit at U of L. But AP classes were the easiest way to access fun, exciting work with good teachers, and my school offered a lot of them, so I took them, fighting admins who told me I was biting off more than I could chew.

[/quote]

Jessie, '07, is the Vice President of MIT's Undergraduate Association.</p>

<p>Overall, I think the point is, if you're taking the class because you like it, that aspect of your personality will shine through... if you're taking it because you're some machine, that will also come through, but likely with a negative effect. The adcom has read through tens of thousands of applications, and while they're still human (this is a good thing, believe me) and capable of making mistakes, I think they're good at catching stuff like this.</p>

<p>In the end, it's your decision to make. Just don't make it for the wrong reasons.</p>

9

<p>
[quote]
Am I the only one believe that AP Bio should be the better choice in this case? For someone who is interested in engineering, why take 2 french classes instead of Bio?? It might be ok if you plan to major in Liberal arts. Maybe we shouldn't always do what we like, but rather take the challenge. More science knowledge can only benefit in the future.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>What if coffeebean wants to be an engineer in France, hmm? </p>

<p>I am guessing that the OP isn't going for biological engineering of any sort, and for the rest, I don't agree that a great deal of biology background is required, especially as the OP already took at least one survey course.</p>

<p>Take the French.</p>

<hr>

<p>As a reply to the post above, I thought Mollie is going to MIT's grad school..</p>

10

<p>Nope, I'm going across the river to the Harvard Med program.</p>

<p>It's absolutely nothing against the MIT program -- I loved it, both the undergraduate program (obviously) and the graduate program -- but it's not really considered good for your career in biology if you stay at the same institution for undergrad and grad school. Plus the Harvard faculty is much bigger (~200 vs. ~50), and I'm not really sure what I want to study in grad school yet.</p>

<p>I will still be living on the MIT campus, since Adam will be finishing up his undergrad and then getting his masters' at MIT. :D</p>

<p><em>/threadjacking</em></p>

11

<p>Thanks everyone for your opinions, advice, reasoning, etc. Just as an fyi, I went with the french class :)</p>

12

<p>I read the references from Olo. In Mollie B's "How to do everything wrong and still get into MIT.." I don't really see she did anything wrong, her achievement outside of academic is equally amazing. From Ben Jones and Jessie L's notes, what I understand is, there is no right or wrong on how many AP courses to take depends on each individual. In coffeebean's case, since both courses are AP, the only matter is which one to take, another science, or more French. I remember during the MIT session held here locally, one of the alumni gave the speech/advice at the end. One of comments he made is -- take as many high level science, math classes as you can...</p>

<p>I believe all science subjects are somehow related in a way, significant or trivial.</p>

<p>I also believe passion can be grown during the process of learning.</p>

<p>With that said, I wish coffeebean the very best on the decision he/she made.</p>