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Will my schedule keep me from getting into Ivies?

linguaphiliaclinguaphiliac 1 replies1 threads New Member
in College Admissions
Hey everyone! I'm currently a junior and will be applying to college next year. I was wondering if my schedule would work against me when applying to an Ivy League university? Especially my math classes...

Summer before 9th:
Personal Finance

Frosh:
Honors English 9
Algebra I
Honors French II
Honors Latin
Biology
Sports Marketing
Journalism
Behavioral Sciences
World Geography

Summer before 10th:
Geometry

Sophomore:
Honors English 10
Honors Latin II
Honors French III
Honors Spanish III
Honors German III
AP World History
AP European History
Art History
Astrophysics

Summer before 11th:
Algebra II

Junior:
AP Human Geography
AP Microeconomics
AP German
AP Latin
AP Spanish
AP English Lang
IB History
AP Statistics (switched at semester to College Algebra due to schedule issues, didn't want to give up a lang)
Required PE

Senior (Planned):
US Government
AP English Lit
AP Physics 1
AP US History
AP Computer Science
AP French
Required PE
Required Health
Chemistry
Debate

Self-Studied AP Exams (up to junior year): Japanese, Chinese, Spanish Lit, French, Italian

Thank you everyone!
12 replies
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Replies to: Will my schedule keep me from getting into Ivies?

  • theloniusmonktheloniusmonk 2968 replies5 threads Senior Member
    I don't want to answer on the ivies, but in general, taking two math classes would be considered a little unusual, along with not taking Calculus.
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  • RelicAndTypeRelicAndType 200 replies0 threads Junior Member
    I was wondering if my schedule would work against me when applying to an Ivy League university? Especially my math classes...

    In my understanding, yes. You want all four years of core classes (math, english, social science/history, science and foreign language). You don't have a math senior year. I would dump APCS (non core) for a math class, even if it's regular pre-calc.
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  • momofsenior1momofsenior1 10156 replies118 threads Senior Member
    Agreed that you need a senior year math course.
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  • happy1happy1 24007 replies2407 threads Super Moderator
    You really should take 4 years of all core subjects -- English, Math (preferably through calculus), Science (including bio, chem, and physics), Social Studies, and Foreign Language (through level 4).
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  • ChezCurieChezCurie 228 replies5 threads Junior Member
    Do you need the AP Government course to graduate? If not, swap out the gov and CS to take pre-calc and chem. As @theloniusmonk and @happy1 above have mentioned, if you are trying for the ivys, taking calc is important. While I usually wouldn't recommend taking pre-calc over the summer, if you did, you could take calc as a senior.

    Obviously, you love languages. What do you plan to major in?

    As an aside, you are the first person I have read about who could potentially take 7 AP world language tests (not including Spanish Lit)! Quite an accomplishment. Of those you listed as self-study, how many of these tests have you already taken?
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  • trippfolsomtrippfolsom 64 replies0 threads Junior Member
    @linguaphiliac my daughter was accepted at both Brown and U of Chicago along with several other top 10 schools without taking a science or a full load her senior year. What they are looking for is who will be the best fit for that class for that year which as I say to most parents is a little bit of hard work but a ton of luck. In our school alone, I saw kids with better grades and SAT scores than my daughter not get into the exact same schools she did.
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  • RelicAndTypeRelicAndType 200 replies0 threads Junior Member
    trippfolsom wrote: »
    @linguaphiliac my daughter was accepted at both Brown and U of Chicago along with several other top 10 schools without taking a science or a full load her senior year. What they are looking for is who will be the best fit for that class for that year which as I say to most parents is a little bit of hard work but a ton of luck. In our school alone, I saw kids with better grades and SAT scores than my daughter not get into the exact same schools she did.

    3[-4] years of science is in line with Chicago's recommendations:

    https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/apply/preparing-college

    They also recommend 3-4 years of math, but specify pre-calculus.
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  • theloniusmonktheloniusmonk 2968 replies5 threads Senior Member
    "my daughter was accepted at both Brown and U of Chicago along with several other top 10 schools without taking a science or a full load her senior year"

    Did she get in without precalculus or Calculus? That would still be anecdotal but interesting.
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  • happy1happy1 24007 replies2407 threads Super Moderator
    edited April 4
    Two additional comments:

    The OP should look at the common data set of every school he/she is interested in (google "common data set XYZ university") and look at section C to see the recommended/required HS coursework.

    In addition the OP should check with his/her guidance counselor to see if the proposed schedule would get the "most rigorous" designation on the counselor's recommendation form.

    edited April 4
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  • linguaphiliaclinguaphiliac 1 replies1 threads New Member
    edited April 10
    I've taken AP French, AP Italian, AP Spanish Lit, and AP Chinese so far. AP tests for Japanese, German (at school), Latin (at school), and regular Spanish this year. Thank you so much for the compliment!

    I've decided to take pre-calc either over the summer or at school. I think I'll try and take Calc AB online. I have moderate dyscalculia, which is my main problem when it comes to math. My school has no support system for it, so it can be a little bit of a struggle bus sometimes.
    edited April 10
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  • MYOS1634MYOS1634 43226 replies471 threads Senior Member
    Take precalculus regular during the school year (you do NOT want compressed summer format for it) and make sure your GC indicates you have Dyscalculia and have taken that math regimen in spite of it. If you manage to get an A in Physics, too, it'd also show ability and good faith effort. It should be OKeven without calc.

    Have you taken APUSH? AP Gov (US+Comp)?

    I assume you plan on double majoring in foreign language and international relations + foreign language minor?
    Odds are, you won't get into any Ivy+ school. Odds are good for no one. :) So your first job will be to find colleges with high-level foreign language courses + year long study abroad AND about 30-40% acceptance rate.

    BUT your singular dedication and gift in Foreign Languages would be a big plus for Oxford or Cambridge, St Andrews, Durham, Aberdeen, Exeter, SOAS... if you can afford college in the UK.
    In addition, keep Middlebury and Dickinson on your list. USC (Columbia) Honors has an extensive application but is very good for foreign language. Finally, look into Critical Language Flagships.
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  • RelicAndTypeRelicAndType 200 replies0 threads Junior Member
    Yeah, dyscalculia + compressed format sounds like it won't work out well.

    Agree that Midd would be a good bet.
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