<p>hi- i'm a high school junior trying to figure out my senior schedule. i love all of my classes except for science, which i pretty much despise; the only thing getting me through chem this year is knowing that it's my last year of science (i'm not planning on taking science senior year and the colleges i'm applying to have only distribution requirements, so i can take math instead of science)</p>
<p>i'm planning on dropping science next year in order to make room for 3 social studies classes. i have no interest in science and want to major in poly sci or international relations, so i don't think science is relevant or necessary. i'm wondering whether this will look bad to colleges even though i'm taking 6 classes (most people take 5 at my school)</p>
<p>here's next year's schedule if it helps:
AP Euro
AP Psych
AP Calc (probably AB)
AP French (probably...i might just do accelerated)
AP English
Honors International Relations
Chorus</p>
<p>besides the drop of science, i should be a competitive applicant (my SAT scores are in the 99th percentile and i'm at least in the top 10% of my class and my ECs are pretty good)</p>
<p>the main schools i'm wondering about are:
*swarthmore
*pomona
georgetown
oberlin
grinnell
macalester
american
georgetown (i don't think i'm applying here b/c it seems too conservative, but i'm visiting soon so there's a chance i'll like it and decide to apply)
*the main two i'm worried about</p>
<p>thanks so much for your feedback!! :)</p>
<p>Probably not. You’ve taken bio/chem/physics already right? Three credits is pretty much the standard. If your direction has absolutely nothing to do with sciences, shouldn’t hurt you.
If you like math, Physics isn’t too bad (particularly Physics B if your school offers it). Wouldn’t recommend AP Bio or Chem for someone who hates science though. </p>
<p>Anyways, taking 3 social studies classes will be more impressive for the majors you’ve listed. If anyone asks, you dropped science because you care more about social studies, not because you hate science.</p>
<p>thanks! and i wouldn’t say to the admissions officers that i hate science, haha- i’d just explain that i wanted more focus.</p>
<p>but i did earth science, bio, chem- is it bad that i didn’t take physics?</p>
<p>I think bio, chem and physics are pretty standard suggestions, if not requirements for selective college admissions.</p>
<p>AP chem was easier than AP physics B for me. You shouldn’t have a problem with either if you plan to take AP calculus AB. However, physics C is not so fun. I would even venture to say it is the hardest class you can take in high school (harder than calc BC and stats). Also, AP psychology is a joke. It’s basically a 5 if you memorize all the vocab words. With an IR intended major, wouldn’t AP government or AP economics look better on your transcript?</p>
<p>our school doesn’t do AP econ so i might self-study, and i’m self-studying AP gov this year. i was thinking of self studying econ for next year, but is it easy enough to self-study in time for this year’s AP?</p>
<p>With the 4 months you have left, you can probably clear up either micro or macroeconomics. Considering that 25% of the macro exam is micro, I would say micro.</p>
<p>This is, of course, if you have time in addition to all the extracurricular activities you are probably doing.</p>
<p>For your top 2 schools, I’d take physics. It’s a real glitch not to have it. Highly competitive colleges want bio, chem and physics.</p>
<p>Also keep in mind that not taking a key science and passing on AP French will make it tough for your counselor to check the all important hardest course load box.</p>
<p>Definitely need to take physics. Nothing wrong with honors physics if you don’t want to take AP Physics B.</p>
<p>Why do you want to self study Gov/Econ? Only purpose would be getting college credit, keep that in mind.</p>
<p>ok, thanks for the advice; i’m definitely leaning toward taking AP French…if I’m in 5 APs instead of 4, will that make dropping science less of a big deal?</p>
<p>@pancacked: i’m self-studying gov b/c our school doesn’t offer an AP class of it but we cover enough of politics in APUSH that self-studying is really easy. and i’m just thinking about econ since maybe that extra commitment would help make up for not taking science</p>
<p>will self-studying econ help at all, or is dropping science just going to screw me over no matter what i do? i really don’t want to take another year of science, so is there any way i can make up for it?</p>
<p>Hey, I just remembered my friend’s case. He is very much like you and doesn’t like the maths and sciences. He got into Georgetown SFS EA without taking a single year of physics. He took biology honors, chemistry honors, AP environmental science, and AP biology. BUT if you can self-study psychology (not hard!) and take another year of some other science, it would still help you. AP environmental science and AP biology are not math-oriented at all, if that’s why you don’t like science.</p>
<p>I would ask your counselor if he’ll check most rigorous without physics. Most competitive high schools won’t no matter how many APs you take.</p>
<p>haha i actually love math 
i know it’s weird since people usually like both or neither… so are you saying that it would be a better idea to drop the class i want for a class that will look better? sorry- i’m not trying to be difficult, i’m just trying to get a clear idea of what people think i should do. right now i guess i’m trying to figure out whether it would be more worth it to take classes that will look good or classes that i’ll enjoy and do better in. from this thread i’m starting to feel like there’s no good option (everyone’s been really helpful, it’s just that i’m not getting the answers that i guess i was hoping to hear :()</p>
<p>@2college: that’s a good idea, i’ll check with her to see what she thinks</p>