Here is a suggested base schedule, with some blanks to be filled in:
Subject
9th
10th
11th
12th
English
English H
English H
AP English Language
AP English Literature
Math
IM 1 H
IM 2 H
IM 3 H
AP Calculus BC
Science
Biology H
Chemistry H
AP Physics 1
AP Chemistry or Biology
History / Social
AP European
US History or AP
US Government / Economics or AP
LOTE
Spanish 1
Spanish 2
Spanish 3
AP Spanish
Art
CP Elective
AVID
Other
PE
PE (summer before)
Basically, you have three empty slots, one each in 10th, 11th, and 12th. For these, you presumably need to fit in:
Health (probably only a semester) ā can this be moved to a summer?
Art ā can this be done in a summer, possibly at a college?
One more history or social studies, although this may be a subject are where having only 3 instead of 4 years is less detrimental at highly selective colleges.
And you want to try to take:
An extra AP science.
AP CS principles or A.
If you can move health and art into the summer, then you will have three empty slots for one history or social studies, an extra AP science, and AP CS.
I think you should take AP classes if youāre ready for a challenge and you love the subject. Not for college. Either way, this is a tough situation and I feel for you. My school is on a 9 period schedule which made it easy to take tons of classes. I know a bunch of ppl in Physics C and AP Chem. But in my school, taking AP Chem sophomore year with no prior chem experience is common. And every sophomore in my ap chem class last year got a 5 on the exam besides one (he got a 4).
This is also common at our school. Everyone in my kidsā HS program chooses between regular Chem or AP Chem in 10th grade, without a prior chemistry class, and most who choose AP do well on the test.
However, I expect that in this case itās taught differently from how it is taught at a school like the OPās HS, where students are only eligible to take AP Chem after a regular chemistry class.
Same here. Our AP Bio, AP Chem and AP Physics classes are all stand alone where you didnāt take standard or honors first. There must be a difference in how the courses are taught and here the assumption is you come into the AP version with no prior knowledge of the subject.
I can take Art during the summer. I could also take dual enrollment after school. I think I can take a art class at my local cc but I would have to check.
Art appreciation or music appreciation is relatively easy and will enrich your life immensely. Keep the documents (textbook, recordings, websitesā¦) because youāll go back to those when youāre older - in fact, these classes are those all sorts of very successful people in many professions (along with a couple others in Humanities&Social sciences) said they were most glad they took, even though none of them studied these subjects for their majors and they may not have thought so in college.
There are competitions at my school which include; academic decathlon, speech and debate, science olympiad, and mock trial. The only one that I am interested in competing in is Science Olympiad. Would this and a few other clubs be enough for the Ivy League? Or will I have to do more?
I am not aware of anything else that I could do. I havenāt done any ECs during freshman year because I didnāt know what was out there and still donāt.
FWIW, I am interested in math and science, particularly biology.
If Science Olympiad sounds interesting to you, go for it.
You donāt need to do a dozen things - just a couple, but do them well. Having a job, a basic āscooping ice creamā job a few hours a week is a solid EC too, easy to find but not that easy to keep.
Thereās still time to try a few things this year - join any club that sounds interesting. As a freshman, youāre just dipping your toes, try one thing, try another oneā¦ no consequence if you try and drop, thatās to be expected.
Ask your biology teacher what biology-adjacent clubs there are, in school or in town. Is therr a Natural History museum nearby? Do they train Junior Docents? Are there community science-adjacent or science related clubs -archeology, nature walks, bird watchingā¦?
Do whatever you love and pursue it to the fullest, in your own way. Donāt try to be anyone else. (As Oscar Wilde +/- said: Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.)
For instanceā¦ If you like knitting, start a yarnbombing club and knit soft wool little caps for infants. If you discover a music style you like, find where your school has instruments and start a band, or check out how theyāre kept up or fixed, go give a concert at a nursing homeā¦
I will talk to my honors bio teacher. The fact that she used to be an AP biology teacher kinda makes me feel better.
I am thinking of getting a job when I get my driverās license so that would be sophomore year since I am already 15. Would it matter what kind of job I get?
This is how my extracurriculars will look like when I apply.
Freshman: BioMed Club, Black Student Union
Sophomore/Junior/Senior(this is likely to change): Science Olympiad, BioMed Club, Environmental Club, STEM Club, Black Student Union, and probably a research institute.
Are these solid enough for an Ivy League or UCLA/Loma Linda University?
Loma Linda is an odd one to have on your list.
The clubs themselves donāt matter (as long as you love them, they matter, but their name and field donāt) and certainly participating in a lot of them just for the sake of a long list would be pointless - what top 50 universities and selective LACs look for is achievement in one or two areas, ie., what you can do. (Read the post above again).
Join lots of clubs now, donāt wait for next year. Basically try anything of interest or that will take you. Then next year start winnowing down.
Try volunteering or do something community-based - as I said, does the Natural history museum train junior docents type of thingsā¦ or go through your church/mosque/temple?
Science Olympiad, BioMed Club, Black Student Union would be PLENTY in terms of HS clubs for jr/sr year. However you need to find ways to be involved outside of school starting next year.
The number of clubs you join is not important. Admissions officers are looking for people who make meaningful, in-depth contributions to organizations they are involved with. These organizations can be in your school or in the community. Agree that part-time jobs can be valuable ECs as well.
Iāve considered Loma Linda University for a couple of reasons:
It is the closest university to me (I live in Loma Linda) and the closer the better
It has a reputation to be a great university for medical school applicants (Iām still not sure if I want to become a doctor or not).
