Confused about recommended units in HS for History and Social Studies

Pre-College Topics
1

Looking at the CDS across a bunch of selective schools, I’m seeing quite a lot of variation in what they list as the recommended number of units for History and Social Studies. Sometimes it’s 0 units in one and, say, 3 units in the other. Sometimes it’s 3 and 3 or 2 and 2, but to me it seems unlikely that they actually are recommending 6 units total as that’s more than they’re recommending for either Math or English. Do you think it’s correct to assume that when the number is the same, so for example 3, that what they’re saying 3 across History and/or Social Studies?

2

History is usually included in Social Studies (I think?) Which schools are you looking at? Have you compared the CDS to the schools’ own admission web page listing their expectations?

3

Yes, I think the general advice is 3-4 History/Social Studies but I also think that many schools like to see at least 2 actual History classes in that mix.

2 Likes
4

I’ve downloaded a whole lot of CDSs and just by looking at a random subset, I noticed this. For a specific example, Swarthmore lists 3 recommended units for Social Studies AND 3 for History. Princeton lists 2 for Social Studies and 2 for History. Pomona lists 3 for Social Studies and leaves History blank (as do quite a few schools). I haven’t looked at the websites to compare, good idea.

5

So here’s Princeton’s page, for example. You can see they want 2 years of history and they don’t list social studies at all (because these categories overlap): Before You Apply | Princeton Admission

If possible, we expect students will complete the following courses before beginning study at Princeton:

  • Four years of English (including continued practice in writing).
  • Four years of mathematics (including calculus for students interested in engineering).
  • Four years of one language.
  • At least two years of laboratory science (including physics and chemistry for students interested in engineering).
  • At least two years of history.
6

Yes. And they take into account what the school’s graduation requirements are. US History is almost universally a graduation requirement, and econ and/or gov are required by many.

But I can’t think of a single college expecting more than 4 units.

7

Harvard lists 3 years for Social Studies and 2 for History in their CDS but maybe their website indicates that there’s some overlap there.

8

And here’s Pomona’s page. They recommend three years of “social science” and do not specify History: Apply | Pomona College in Claremont, California - Pomona College.

We recommend students complete four to five academic courses each term of high school, with four years of English, natural science and mathematics. We recommend two of those science courses are lab science and that students interested in STEM majors complete calculus. Additionally, we recommend three years each of foreign language and social science. However, these are not admission requirements but recommendations for the best preparation for Pomona’s curriculum.

9

Having interacted with thousands of Harvard students over the years, I can tell you I never met one who had 5 years of history and social science in HS. Not to say they don’t exist, but they’d be the distinct minority.

10

Harvard’s “preparing for college” guide suggests that two years of History is a requirement and three years is recommended. There is no separate “social studies” category listed: Guide to Preparing for College | Harvard

in summary, we recommend:

  • The study of English for four years: close and extensive reading of the classics of the world’s literature
  • Four years of a single foreign language
  • The study of history for at least two years, and preferably three years: American history, European history, and one additional advanced history course
  • The study of mathematics for four years.
  • The study of science for four years: physics, chemistry, and biology, and preferably one of these at an advanced level
  • Frequent practice in the writing of expository prose
11

OK, thanks! Looks like the way things are presented in the CDS varies from school to school but generally 3 years is the max recommended and that the websites are the place to go to double-check.

1 Like
12

Make sure your plans also satisfy your high school requirements, of course. At our HS, 4 years of social studies are required for graduation (this category includes history, government, and economics).

1 Like