Course Selection, Advice for Framing my Application for Courses

Applying to College
1

Hey there! Current junior here. I wasn’t sure what forum to post in but I figured this would be a good shot.

I’m beginning to think about college apps for next year as well as thinking about what I want to make my schedule look like senior year. I used to do a ton of theatre and when I didn’t get my neruscience class I wanted Sophomore year, I just took dance because I needed the PE credit that I wouldn’t be able to get because of my heavy extracurricular involvements after school. Now, as a junior, I’ve discovered my passion for science and want to pursue environmental science/chemistry and maybe political science or public policy. Bottom line is I kind of want to take AP Physics 1 my senior year but I also don’t want to seem not very smart or something cause I’ll be with a bunch of sophomores. My other question is how do i “spin” or whatever my two arts classes sophomore year? I know schools that I want to apply to like Tufts and Georgetown want rigor…

I’d just like it if someone could please just let me know if you think the rigor in my junior/senior year will make up for the lack of honors in sophomore year

Here are my courses so far:

NHA = no honors available.

Freshman:

  1. required freshman seminar
  2. Analytical Geometry/Algebra (“middle level”)
  3. Physics (NHA)
  4. English 1 (NHA)
  5. Drama (NHA)
  6. Modern World History (NHA)
  7. Mandarin 2 (NHA)

Sophomore:

  1. Algebra 2 (“middle level”)
  2. Conceptual Chemistry
  3. English 2 (NHA)
  4. Regular US History (not APUSH, but considered an honors class for UC schools)
  5. Mandarin 3 (NHA)
  6. Advanced Choir (NHA)
  7. Dance (for the reason I listed in the beginning) (NHA)

Junior:

  1. Advanced Pre-Calculus (not honors, but above the normal level)
  2. Biology (NHA)
  3. AP Chemistry
  4. Mandarin 4 (honors)
  5. Elections and Politics (honors)
  6. AP English Language
  7. TA for freshman english

Senior (what I’m thinking about):

  1. AP Statistics
  2. AP Calc AB (maybe BC depending on how this year goes)
  3. Environmental Science (NHA but I’ll take the AP test)
  4. English semester electives
  5. AP Government and Politics (or semester electives, I’m not sure)
  6. AP Music Theory (or Advanced Choir again)
  7. AP Physics 1 (?) or a free

thanks for reading all the way down and helping a stressed junior out :smiley: !

2

Why AP stats? I’d suggest AP chem instead.

I think your course selection looks good. You’ve hit up to level 4 of your FL, and have four years of all your core courses.

I don’t think there is anything to explain regarding your fine arts courses.

3

Did you mean “Id suggest AP Physics instead”? I’m already taking AP Chem for junior year.

4

Your courses are unbalanced. You have 2 maths, 2 sciences and no foreign language. Is Mandarin 5 available? You don’t need both Stats and Calculus. If you love math, go ahead and take them though. Unless you are planning to apply for engineering at a high end school, you don’t need an additional physics course. You don’t need to explain why you took two arts classes in 10th grade.

I would take out AP stats and possibly environmental science and/or AP physics. Include Mandarin 5 and choose 1 science from AP Bio, AP physics, environmental science.

5

thanks for the reply!

Yes, I could take AT (advanced topics in) Mandarin my senior year- but the deterrent is that there is only one block, and for the past two years it has always interfered with the classes I want to take because it is unmoveable. I think I’ll probably skip the physics course and just go with environmental science because that’s a class i really want to take. The thing about the two math classes is that I want to take both-- if i had to choose one, though, id go for stats but then i wouldn’t have calc and i think that might seem weird?
thanks for the advice

6

Calculus is usually seen as more preferable to statistics for students who complete precalculus before 12th grade and have calculus available to them.

In college, you can take calculus-based statistics to get a stronger understanding of statistics.