Will being a Teacher Assistant during junior year look bad on college aps?

<p>I am taking AP BIO, Precalc, AP stat as my three hardest classes. I really dont have any time to take Spanish 4 AP. I was wondering if it would look bad if I took Teacher Assistant instead of Spanish 4. I mean its not like Im not takin any hard classes. Im still taking 3 other ones.</p>

<p>Will someone look at it and say "Teacher's Assistant? Psh, REJECTED!" Probably not. Will it be as impressive as if you take Spanish 4 AP? No. But if you're applying Ivy, then you don't want to have a teacher's assistant as a class.</p>

<p>Well I want apply to UCSD, CAL, UCLA. basically all the UCs. So what do you think? Ok to take it?</p>

<p>I know very little about the UC system... I'm from the Midwest :(</p>

<p>Then does anyone know?</p>

<p>Obviously the tougher courseload the better. It will hurt most if you are taking the min. classes AND one of them is the teacher aid course.</p>

<p>However, I wouldn't consider it much of a problem as long as the rest of your classes are solid.</p>

<p>Teacher Assistant hurts in the sense that it probably is not on the UC A-G course list, which means that UC won't recognize the class and grade earned as "UC eligible." The grade won't be included in the UC GPA calculation, and the 4 points you earn for an "A" in that class will be wasted.</p>

<p>Someone who takes an additional AP class and earns an A (5 points) might bump you from UCSD, UCLA or UCB.</p>

<p>An elective like art, music, yearbook, etc. might look better to UC adcoms than TA or study hall.</p>

<p>Did you check the UC Comprehensive Review Factors for Freshman Applicants, in particular, #6:</p>

<p>Quality of the student's senior-year program, as measured by the type and number of academic courses in progress or planned. </p>

<p><a href="http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/general_info/uc_reviews/freshman_app.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/general_info/uc_reviews/freshman_app.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Taking TA in junior year may even look worse!</p>

<p>Freshman Selection by Campus</p>

<p>Each UC campus designs its own method for evaluating the factors considered in comprehensive review. For the most current information on how each campus selects its freshmen, visit these websites:</p>

<p>Berkeley | Freshman Admission [PDF]
<a href="http://students.berkeley.edu/admissions/pdf/Fresh.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://students.berkeley.edu/admissions/pdf/Fresh.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Davis | Application Criteria for Freshman Selection Processs
<a href="http://why.ucdavis.edu/admissions/froshAppCritSelProc.cfm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://why.ucdavis.edu/admissions/froshAppCritSelProc.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Irvine | Freshman Selection Criteria at UC Irvine
<a href="http://www.admissions.uci.edu/fr_adm.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.admissions.uci.edu/fr_adm.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Los Angeles | Freshman Selection - Fall 2004
<a href="http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/Prospect/Adm_fr/FrSel.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/Prospect/Adm_fr/FrSel.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Merced | Freshman Selection at UC Merced
<a href="http://admissions.ucmerced.edu/3.asp?uc=1&lvl2=2&lvl3=2&lvl4=25&contentid=50&bc=51%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://admissions.ucmerced.edu/3.asp?uc=1&lvl2=2&lvl3=2&lvl4=25&contentid=50&bc=51&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Riverside | Admission as a Freshman
<a href="http://www.futurestudents.ucr.edu/prospective/freshman.aspx%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.futurestudents.ucr.edu/prospective/freshman.aspx&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>San Diego | The UCSD Comprehensive Review Process
<a href="http://admissions.ucsd.edu/dev3/info/comreview.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://admissions.ucsd.edu/dev3/info/comreview.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Santa Barbara | Admissions
<a href="http://www.admissions.ucsb.edu/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.admissions.ucsb.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Santa Cruz | Freshman Admission and Selection 2005-06
<a href="http://admissions.ucsc.edu/apply/freshman_guide.cfm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://admissions.ucsc.edu/apply/freshman_guide.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Well guys its only one class that Im not taking. All my other classes are very challenging. Im just takin TA instead of Spanish 4.</p>

<p>I strongly suggest you do something for a-g credit, otherwise, drop the class entirely, and take a community college class in its place. It’d be less strenuous, but you’d get the AP credit bonus with 5 points for an A.</p>