So I’m pretty firm on the decision to drop from AP US history. It has been taking up too much time and frankly it’s not worth it. However because I am past the dropping period, it will show as a withdrawal.
I will be taking regular US history and focusing a lot on my regular extracirriculars.
I am afraid on how this will play on my college transcript especially that I am aiming for top colleges such as Stanford, Harvard, etc.
I have straight A’s besides APUSH which is a B.
Will colleges be concerned if I drop it and decide to major somewhere in Econ, or Comp Sci?
What do you want to major in? If you tell me STEM, then okay.
If humanities, then Harvard/Stanford isn’t for you. Your peers will be taking that course and excelling.
If you are a junior, then not a big deal. If you are a senior, then you have to notify the colleges.
I am looking to major in something like Economics, Computer Science, Statistics, and Finance. Somewhere along those lines. I am a current Sophomore. But my school has a 2 year AP US History curriculum.
The top tier colleges will want to see the guidance counselor check the box on the recommendation saying you have taken the most rigorous course-load available at your HS (which doesn’t necessarily mean taking every AP class – there is often some latitude in this). You should ask your guidance counselor if your projected HS schedule without APUSH will be sufficient to get that most rigorous box checked.
I suspect you are dropping it as much because of the B as because it it time consuming. Are you going to quit every time something is challenging for you later in life? Colleges aren’t looking for automatons who never got anything but an A in their lives. Those are often people when never took a risk or never took a path where they might have struggled. I’d recommend a B over a W.
I’d take the B over the W as well. You are going for top colleges, after all. They don’t mind seeing a B here or there on the transcript, but if they see a W without a better explanation than what you offered here, they might assume you were doing far worse than a B before you dropped it.
I think that it was definitely a hard class. I had to work my butt off for the first few months. I learned a lot about what I liked and did not like, and how to become a better studier as well as how to retain information better. However, I think the time it takes up infringes upon my ability to not only enjoy high school but also refrains me from finding what truly interests me.
I live in Massachusetts, and my school has a two-year APUSH program. And an A in US1 and US 2 counts as a 4 on your GPA in sophomore year and junior year respectively. However, a B in APUSH1 and APUSH2 counts as a 5 on your GPA in sophomore year and junior year respectively. So withdrawing from APUSH sophomore year drops both my sophomore GPA and junior GPA.
The workload is especially the reason why I am considering withdrawing from the class.
After all, I am going into the STEM majors. Would a STEM course at a community college compensate for my withdrawal?
No, it wouldn’t. First of all, a STEM course at a community college is generally not challenging. Secondly, APUSH is one of the benchmark courses in HS to demonstrate your critical thinking/reading/writing skills, which are important whether you’re a STEM or Hum/SS major. In addition, if you withdraw, you’ll leave AOs the poor impression that you would back down when faced with challenges.
@1NJParent Ok, I can understand this. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to endure the pain of APUSH for the next 1.5 years. Or I will drop it junior year - after this year is over so it doesn’t count as a withdrawal.
It is odd and detrimental (for STEM majors anyway) that it is a two year program at your school. For most high schools it is only one year. At least stick it out for this year, though (if one year is an option). Colleges won’t question why you didn’t take the second year, but they are likely to wonder about a W.
STEM classes at a college can look good if you are so inclined, but that really has nothing to do with whether it would “make up for” a W in APUSH. The red flag would still be on the transcript.
@Groundwork2022 Yea. I understand. You’re right that a W would be a red flag. I might drop it next year since I’ve already come so far, I might as well finish it up this year. In retrospect, the class has taught me so much and being a sophomore, I don’t have that much work in any other class besides APUSH. But next year, I need to solidify my ECs and have more free time to recognize what I really love.
I am still open to any opinions before I make a final decision with my parents + guidance counselor on Tuesday.