<p>I go to a competitive prep school, so all our classes except New Testament are honors at least. Accelerated classes are honors accelerated. About 20 APs are offered, but we can't take any freshman year and no more than 2 sophomore year. Also, will schools care if I take BC Calc as a senior when some kids take it as juniors? I take algebra I as a freshman which is the lowest math possible that year, but next year I am taking accelerated geometry and accelerated algebra II. This schedule is subject to change, but when I apply to colleges, my schedule will look something like this.</p>
<p>Freshman: </p>
<p>Algebra 1 (H)<br>
English 9 (H)
Spanish I (HA)
New Testament (1/2 credit)
U.S. History (H) (1/2 credit)
Biology (H) </p>
<p>Sophomore:</p>
<p>Geometry (HA)
Algebra II (HA)
English 10 (H)
Spanish II (HA)
AP U.S. History
AP Biology</p>
<p>Junior:</p>
<p>Precalculus (HA)
AP English Language
Spanish III (HA)
Chemistry (HA)
AP European History
AP Environmental Science </p>
<p>Senior:</p>
<p>AP Calculus BC
AP Spanish Language
AP English Literature
AP Physics C
AP Art History
Shorty Story Composition (HA) (1/2 credit)
History of Britain (H) (1/2 credit)
AP Government (1/2 credit)
Comparative Religions (H) (1/2 credit)</p>
<p>Taking Calculus BC or AB doesn’t matter, unless you plan to apply for a STEM major or to a College of Engineering. Your schedule looks super rigorous. Be aware that you shoildn’t take an AP class if you’re not sure you can get a B or more in it, so talk with your teachers. Your Senior year schedule looks too rigorous actually - remember that preparing applications will be like having an extra class throughout the Fall semester.</p>
<p>I just want to make up for my math. I think it looks bad how far behind in math I am compared to other students. I also actually test extremely well in math (even though I prefer humanities), so I don’t want to look lazy for not taking enough math. </p>
<p>You’re fine. Many students start with Algebra I and it’ll look even more impressive that you started with Algebra1 and finished with Calculus. :)</p>
<p>If you prefer the humanities, taking AP Physics C without an intro physics course is a mistake. If your school offers it, perhaps take AP Physics 1 in lieu of APES, and then AP Physics 2 as a senior. Taking Detectives in Fiction, or some other English elective, in lieu of AP Lit, will not look bad. Taking 6 AP’s senior year and getting a C in 2 of them will look bad. Regardless, you are two years away from finalizing your senior schedule. Despite the vibe that you may get here, you do not need 15 AP’s to look good to top colleges. There is a law of diminishing returns after 6-8 for all of HS.</p>
<p>As far as Calc BC, 100,000 students took the test last year. That is less than 3% of the U.S. graduating class. Given that some of the 100K are international students, the percentage is even lower. Colleges will not care if you took AB over BC or if you took it as a junior or as a senior.</p>
<p>All that said, you will also need strong test scores, strong EC’s and killer essays for these highly competitive colleges.</p>
<p>^very true re: the 6-8 AP’s; Colleges aren’t interested in students who have the “everything but the kitchen sink” approach to AP’s. They’re interested in students who can plan their schedule in a way that keeps them well-rounded but also plays to their strengths and shows their academic interests. And Cal AB vs. BC really doesn’t matter unless we’re talking Harvey Mudd or CalTech. Since you’re more of a Humanities person, you should beef up that part. You could drop Physics C and just keep the electives you have listed. They’re unique and interesting and you can bet they’ll ask why you chose them during your interview (and you better be able to show why you’re interested in them.)
I didn’t realize you planned on Physics C without intro Physics… Sorry. Grade-wise, it’s suicide, and that would be a deal breaker (as Skieurope stated above, getting C’s WILL look bad. Do NOT take advanced/Honors/AP classes where you’re not sure to get A’s or Bs. BTW, a bad grade senior year can get you rescinded). Students who take this class typically are the most advanced Physics students, with Honors Physics and sometimes Physics B under their belt, who took calculus earlier. </p>
<p>I agree with the others - your senior year choices look too rigorous. AP Engl Lit is a tremendous amount of reading every night, and AP Calc BC and AP Physics are very difficult. Add to that the others? Our school always reminds the kids that the college board curriculum basically expects about one hour per AP course per night including weekends. That means 6 AP classes alone would be 6 hours of homework a night – when are you going to get your college application essays done? Interview? etc??? Your grades may take a dive and that will have far more of an impact on getting into college than reducing your APs to 4 your senior year. Remember, statistically, taking any more than about 7-8 total APs hasn’t resulted in any increase in acceptance rates. Talk to your guidance counselor – ask him or her “if I take these 4 APs senior year and these other courses, would you see this as my taking the “strongest curriculum possible” on their college rec form?”</p>
<p>Neither does mine. I am taking the grand total of one AP and two post-AP classes next year as a senior, backed up by 8 AP’s in prior years. I plan to spend the summer fine-tuning my essays, in addition to my work. Again,you are now a freshman. Most of us will still be here next year when you can update us on your performance. In the short term, your soph sched is fine. We can revisit subsequest years at a later date.</p>
<p>It’s not what we say is rigorous; it’s what your counselor says is rigorous. Talk to your counselor about what a 4 year plan looks like that is considered “most rigorous” at your school. Then if you’re a top student who can carry that course load and still get top grades, tentatively plan to follow it and adjust each year as necessary. </p>
<p>Our high school prints the “most rigorous”, " rigorous ", and " college prep " plans right in their school handbook. So it’s upfront, everybody knows exactly what the counselors expect before they’ll give you their “most rigorous” stamp of approval. Ultimately they will be the ones to write the LOR and tell the AdComs how rigorous your schedule is within the context of your school.</p>
<p>However, that being said, unless you love APES, consider dropping it for physics in junior year. Then senior year you can take either AP Chem or AP Physics – whichever one you liked more in your junior year (as APES isn’t as highly regarded as the other three AP sciences are by AdComs. And some highly selective elite colleges like to see that you took at least one year each of bio, chemistry, and physics. Also our counselors recommend taking chemistry before AP Biology as there is some chemistry in it.</p>
<p>Mr. Todd, to stand out, you’ll need to do something totally special and unique as an extracurricular while maintaining a superior gpa which includes a high proportion of APs. Having a certain number of APs are only based on what your school’s profile states and how well you do. The actual AB vs BC difference isn’t nearly as important. Get your school profile to see how you measure compared to your peers. You’ll find your school’s profile on their school’s website.</p>
<p>As CBM said, also take a look at some elite college admission criteria. It’ll probably say they expect to see students take 4 years of Math, 4 years of science (including Bio, Chem, and Physics), 4 years of English, 3-4 years of History, and 4 years of a foreign language.</p>