Okay, so for context, I am a pretty academically strong student, but I got to a super, super small private school. It is the norm to take AP US History as a sophomore, but since I go to such a small school inabilities to take certain classes due to scheduling issues are common. So, I didn’t take US History that year. I ended up taking an online US Honors History class the following summer, though. This year, as an 11th grader, I didn’t take AP US History either because it didn’t fit into my schedule. I was planning on taking Dual Enrollment US History this summer (as a rising senior), but the class unexpectedly was forcibly dropped and now there is no way I can take the course this summer. Will I probably be rejected if I never took US history in school?? I can attempt to take it as a senior, but there could be a scheduling conflict, so I still might not be able to take it. Worst case scenario: I don’t take us history in school and I only have the online class credit.
Or if I realllllyyyy wanted to take the Dual Enrollment course, I could attempt to take it alongside my senior year classes as an online class during the fall semester? I think that might be what I do, though my parents will likely be super against it. Either way, PLEASE GIVE ME ADVICE.
Was the courses accredited? Do you receive a transcript with course credit and a letter grade? If so, then you have taken US history. If not, then you should make arrangements to take US history before you graduate.
To add to this - I assume at a small private school you have a counselor who knows what each student is doing - but just to check that if your school has US history as a graduation requirement, this course recognized is by them as fulfilling that?
When the time comes ask your guidance counselor to note that scheduling issues prevented you from taking AP US History. If you have taken an accredited US History class accepted by your HS then you should be fine.
That’s what I don’t know about. When I took the Honors US History course, I had assured her I would take the DE course as well. So, I’m not completely sure what her response will be when I email her. But, I am sure my school would accept the DE credit.
Which is fine if your HS accepts it as fulfilling graduation requirements. That’s the issue, and one that only your school can answer. You’re fine from an admissions standpoint assuming you graduate
My kids also went to a small school with scheduling issues. One took online AP US history via VHSlearning.org. We made sure the school would accept it and include it on the transcript, but it could also have been sent separately I believe. Check with your school and with the online program. Your guidance counselor can explain the scheduling issue and taking it online shows initiative. (This kid got into a top school regardless, with 2 or 3 online courses…)
I think this is the key point. Neither of my college aged kids took a traditional US History course, but it was not a graduation requirement at their schools. I think that is unfortunate and it has caused some gaps in their knowledge of American history. However, the lack of such a course did not hurt either kid in college admissions.
1- Did you check with your guidance counselor- is the history class you took sufficient for graduation at your school? If so- terrific.
2-Do not avoid core classes in favor of linear algebra or python (but if you’ve taken history and your school “counts it” you’re done). You do not need to accelerate- you need to take the traditional HS curriculum of bio, chem and physics with labs; four years of English/composition/literature; 3 or 4 years of foreign language, etc. You don’t need to be taking python in lieu of European history, for example. And you certainly don’t need to be self-studying if that means NOT taking a traditional class with a teacher at your school.
As noted on the other thread, however, a number of schools do require US history as one of their admission requirements, including some of the schools on OP’s list. This list ranges from highly selective like Harvard to not very competitive schools like Boulder through to auto-admits like Arizona.
The study of history for at least two years, and preferably three years: American history, European history, and one additional advanced history course
Social sciences3 years (Including at least one unit of U.S. or world history)
Social Science - 2 units
High School Coursework Requirements
One unit of American history; one additional unit from: (European/world history, economics, sociology, geography, government, psychology, anthropology)
I’m glad your kids got into where they wanted without it, but it seems a risky strategy in general regardless what tier of colleges students are aiming at.
Edit: I may have misunderstood your post - I thought you said did not do US history but on reread you said did not take “traditional” course. I may have missed earlier clarification on what exactly they did take.
I meant that neither took a history course that was called US History or that covered the “discovery of America” in 1492(?) through the twentieth century, but yes, they each had at least one history class that focused on a particular single time period or event in the United States or North America --for example, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Cold War, the Civil War, First Nations/Indigenous Peoples History of the Americas. None of those courses had “United States” in their title and I don’t think that mattered. But the admissions offices probably understood that the syllabi included a focused look at some part of US History,
Adcom’s are not idiots. A HS can describe a survey European history class as “feudalism to monarchy to totalitarianism and democracy” and an Adcom will understand the broad swath of history being covered. Some HS’s stick to traditional nomenclature and others do not-- that’s not the problem. The problem is a kid self-studying sophomore and junior level college classes while sacrificing a well balanced HS college prep!
Sure, though I’m not sure how much that mattered given neither of their schools had any requirement that students take any US History course. My kids happened to do so because they were interested in the specific courses, but they may have had classmates who did not and I don’t know whether there was an impact of their college outcomes. The college guidance office definitely did not tell students that it was important to take a course in US History. At no point were my kids advised to do so. The colleges office’s only recommendation was at least 3 years of History if students wanted to be competitive in admissions, and given how worked up and intense their classmates’ parents are/were about college admissions, I think the college counseling office would have explicitly told families that their children should take a US History class if they thought it was necessary for “top” college admissions. On the other hand, why take the risk of avoiding US History when it sounds like taking the course is typical at the OP’s school and there is a path that allows this student to take it their senior year. Also, my kids’ schools are both well known to many selective colleges and what works from their schools might not work from some other ones.
As pointed out above, some other schools have a similar requirement. It’s really an easy requirement to fulfill in most cases - and it’s pretty important general knowledge to have - so it seems like a good idea to make every possible effort to take, even if there are schools out there that don’t require it. At any rate, it sounds like OP should be fine, as long as the online course was accredited.
Please reread my complete response. I could attempt to retake it as a senior, but schedules are not finalized until the week school begins. If there has been scheduling issues for the past 2 years, there’ll very likely be scheduling issues again. So what I want to take won’t matter, since I likely will be unable to take APUSH, either way. It’s both preferential and circumstantial.
