<p>Title says it all. I didnt really slack off this year, just took some tough courses I find boring and had perhaps a little too much fun the first 9 weeks. Im applying to Duke and submitted them for my ED decision. So, will they hurt my chances of admission?</p>
<p>AP Calculus AB- 92
AP Environmental- 91
Honors English IV- 99
Phys. Education- 99</p>
<p>Will my 2 APs kill me? I took APs last year and made like 95-97s on them. My current GPA is 3.96 UW and 4.71 Weighted so this is a bit of a dropoff. How much will it hurt? Thanks!</p>
<p>i don't think A-'s or even B's will hurt you. Only anything beyond C's might raise some flags. But what's up with only 3 academic classes? I m busting my ass with 5 ap's this year o_O</p>
<p>I took one elective. My counselor assured me that factor wouldnt be a problem as I have taken the hardest courses availible and there wasnt really anything for me to take in place of PE other than something like zoology perhaps? The counselor checked the little "most rigorous" box on my rec so im hoping the 3 academic classes wont be that much of a problem.</p>
<p>Unless you go to a REALLY crappy school I find it hard to imagine there are "no classes" for you to take beyond those three.</p>
<p>You're applying to one of the most selective schools in the world... Duke is routinely grouped with the "lower Ivies" in terms of selectivity. And you're taking...</p>
<p>The less rigorous Calculus AP.
AP Environment, which is barely a science class.
An English class of unknown rigor.
And gym.</p>
<p>I don't care what your counselor says... that doesn't look very good compared to people taking BC Calc, Physics C, AP English, AP EU/US, and an AP language.</p>
<p>Like i said in the above post^, we only have 4 classes per semester. The only availible AP classes this semester are Calculus, Environmental (currently taking) and US History (took last year). And you are required to take AP Calc AB in the first semester prior to taking AP Calc BC in the second semester.</p>
<ol>
<li>You didn't say that in any other post.</li>
<li>If you're taking that few classes to begin with, do you really think that dropping one to take gym is a good idea if you're applying to a place like Duke?</li>
</ol>
<p>Who knows, you might be okay, but this seems very dangerous to me.</p>
<ol>
<li>My apologies for not being clear about class availibilty earlier.</li>
<li>I realize what you are saying about PE and yes, you might be correct. And i know it doesnt look good that Im kinda having to defend my schedule, but I have pretty much exhausted my schools opportunities and it was either PE or another elective where A is for attendance basically so i opted for PE senior year. I am the only student at my school participating in dual enrollment with a nearby university for the second semester because there wasnt much availible there either. Who knows, i really do appreciate the opinions though, lol, even if my original question concerened marks rather than rigor.</li>
</ol>
<p>I'm not challenging your schedule, but how is your school day planned out so there are only four classes? Are you on the block schedule? Even the people with study halls take five classes at my school.</p>
<p>Don't listen to khaki -- your classes are fine. There's nothing wrong with taking PE in your final year, as a lot of times you don't have a lot of classes left to take and PE is required at most U.S. high schools anyway. I know a lot of people who took some supposedly bs classes in their final year and did just fine as far as admissions goes. Beyond that, he/she has no idea what the rest of your transcript looks like, what other courses are offered at your school, the actual rigor of your AP courses, or what other things you are doing in your life -- he/she's just speculating. If your counselor says it's fine and with grades like the ones you have, I think you have excellent chances at Duke. Listen to your counselor before you listen to random people on the Internet, and don't feel obliged to defend yourself.</p>
<p>Either way, your grades are very, very good. A- will certainly not hurt your chances. You should submit them with pride!</p>
<p>while i agree that getting two A-'s shouldn't be a problem, they're in two of your three academic classes. i read what you said about 4 classes per semester, but still... you should probably be okay, though.</p>
<p>Juillet, Khaki never claimed to be doing anything other than speculating. He/she/it just realized that the most selective schools in the world might be a little put off by the fact that an applicant is only taking three academic classes in the first term of their senior year, before "senior sliding" typically begins.</p>
<p>lol @ your schedule, wow 90 mins per class....my classes are only 40 mins. Don't you run out of stuff to teach/learn when u have that much time for one class? Anyways, ur grades are fine. A-'s won't kill, just try your best and maintain your A's.</p>
<p>I think your grades are fine. Don't sweat it. </p>
<p>I totally understand about "no other courses were available" and a 4-period semester. This year my son had to fill an empty period with "Current Events" on A-Days, and "Weight Training" on B-Days. It happens. Adcoms understand. His other classes are two-day APs. Nothing to be ashamed of.</p>
<p>Ah, yes - that terrible block schedule. I live in North Carolina and I believe everyone in the state runs on block. We got rid of traditional schedule years ago. </p>
<p>Honors Physics - 1st Block (8:00AM-9:37AM)
AP Microeconomics - 2nd Block (9:45AM-11:11AM)
AP English Literature - 3rd Block (11:45-1:11PM)
AP Calculus AB - 4th Block (1:15PM-3:00PM)</p>
<p>Then second semester I take a new set of courses. Isn't block schedule funny?</p>