College Course planning Help?? (From highschool Freshman)

Applying to College
1

Hi Everyone!

I am currently a Freshman(Age 14) at Milton Academy, and I wanted to know more about what college courses to look at and what to courses I should take now in order to get my desired course. The reason I am asking at such an early time is that soon my school will be asking me for the courses I would like to take next year. This would lead to what courses I would take Junior year and so on.

Currently, my strongest subjects are Honors PreCalc and Physics (B+ and A, respectively). I have a passionate interest in computers and any math related to that. Hence, I would like to Major in Computers for College. I know very little about colleges, but I know that there are more schools than just the Ivies/MIT/Caltech/Stanford that offer great topics.

A little more about me: I love Robotics, I worked with MINDSTORMS NXT in 5-7th grade, then made a huge jump to Arduino platforms. Now, I compete in VEX Robotics Competitions as well as make python programs in my free time. I have built an entire computer as well as replaced RAM and Hard Drives and such. I have made a couple mods for games on Steam (a big video game platform that has thousands of games and its very on stock-like community market). To continue my passions, I got accepted and enrolled myself into a John Hopkins CTY Advanced Robotics Program, as well as a TOPS MIT Physics Program. I will be taking both of these over the summer. I play lots of video games, as it is the only thing closest to programming that is more fun than programming.

Anyways, if people can post courses that I can check out or what I can do more to get into such courses, that would awesome! I am planning to take the SAT Subject Test: Mathematics Level 1 by the end of my school year, please let me know whether I should take it this year or the next. Also, as I do like Math, its very challenging for me and I am not sure whether to take Calc Honors, Calc Accelerated, or Regular (If I take regular then my GPA will be less…but they have their own form of learning such topics so we aren’t focusing much on physics topics. Hence, a more advanced course of Physics is offered. I enjoy Physics because it uses lots of mathematical formulas and calculations that apply to the real world. Its like Math in Motion! So, should I take the Physics Course next year, or take Honors Chemistry, which is highly suggested by upperclassmen in my school.

2

Don’t bother to take the Math 1 subject test. Schools want to see Math 2. Take it when you are ready, there is no rush or benefit in doing it early. You should, by the time you are done with high school, try to take the most advanced math and science courses offered by your high school. Be sure you take bio, chem, and physics. I think honors Chem seems like a good idea for next year, the physics class will still be there after that.

Continue and build on your science & math ECs.

3

Don’t take Math1. You’re done with Precalculus, which is what Math2 is about, so take that;
I’d suggest taking Chemistry and if you’re passionate about Physics, to continue learning with Khan Academy, MIT OCW , or Coursera.

4

You are at a fine prep school. Your best advice will come from your guidance counselor.

5

^ This.

6

^^ Double this.

Also, chill out a bit, don’t obsess over college, and enjoy high school. And, if you are looking for any good reading materials on the college, I recommend Frank Bruni’s recent book, “Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be”; as things ratchet up for you over the next couple of years, it might help keep things in perspective.