So next year I am definitely taking the following courses:
Semester 1-
AP Literature
AP Bio
AP Cal AB
Honors World History (my school doesn’t offer AP so I’m using this as a study tool for the AP exam).
Anatomy and Physiology
Administrative Duties and Office Management
Semester 2-
AP Literature
AP Bio
AP Cal AB
Honors World History (my school doesn’t offer AP so I’m using this as a study tool for the AP exam).
Medical Assisting
Critical Thinking and Study Skills
Anatomy and Physiology, Medical Assisting, Administrative Duties and Office Management, and Critical Thinking and Study Skills are all CATE courses and are pretty easy. All of these courses are through an online school so I can work as fast or as slow as I want to. Credits are not a problem, I only need one more English credit to graduate and have 2.5 over what is required. These are the only AP courses my school offers that will benefit me and my family (I’ve already taken AP Comp and Psych).
Clubs-
Newspaper
Book
School mag.
Other-
*Keep summer job (maybe)
*Study for the AP Chemistry, World History, AP German Language and Culture exams
*Keep volunteering at Soup Kitchen (I do this 2 days a week from usually 9AM-1PM)
*Uncredited piano classes
With all that being said, my questions are:
Should I take a summer school course (Forensic Science, not offered by my school so I'd take it through another program, but this is what I want to do in the workforce)?
Should I add French I to my course list?
Should I add Journalism to my course list?
Is there anything I can do to increase my chances of getting into college/uni? Anything I can do to make me stand out? I'm currently 44/478 in class rank (It's actually better but two of my best courses were not finalized when they calculated it) with a GPA of 4.507 on a 5.000 scale. I've taken the ACT but haven't got my results back yet, I'll most likely take it again if I get below a 30-32. I have over 200 volunteer hours at a local soup kitchen and 2000 at a church I used to attend. I'm a candidate for the NHS but their decision won't be made until after the 25th so I don't know if I'm in or not (fingers crossed).
You seem to be taking interesting, challenging courses, but I can’t tell what you are interested in. Are you thinking of pursuing a career in journalism? Are interested in a career in Forensic Science? Science in general? You are taking a lot of medical-oriented classes… are you interested in Pre-Med? Nursing?
If you are taking a ton of science/medical courses but applying to college with the intent of majoring in journalism/english, it isn’t going to help very much. The same with applying to college having focused this much on journalism, writing, etc. if you are selling yourself to schools as a STEM/Pre-Health student.
Most schools expect at least three years of a language, so taking French and expressing an interest in language wouldn’t hurt, especially if this is something you’ve taken before.
If you want to “stand out”, you need to make it more clear what you are interested in and passionate about.
@Dax123 I’ve taken 3 years of German (my school stops at 3) and I’m going into 12th grade. I kind of been practicing French a little with things like Duolingo and I’ve juggled two languages in the past (German and ASL in 10th and currently in 11th) so I don’t think it would be a huge problem to take it and study for the AP German exam, but since my school doesn’t offer AP German I’ll be studying for it independently. I was hoping someone who has taken the exam would tell me around how hard it would be to get a 4 or 5.
@violetdreaming I’m interested in the language field and science (which really sucks because they’re on different ends of the spectrum, I know). I tried to narrow down my choice but I really like languages and science based in biology and chemistry. I’ve read a lot about forensics and think I’ll do something like that or something involved in psychology (criminal behavior, pathology especially, anthropology, etc.). However, I’m still not sure as both have been a passion of mine since I was in elementary. In the past, I’ve taken German 1-3 and Sign Language 1 and 2, so taking French isn’t a necessity just something I think I’ll enjoy.
Haven’t taken the exam, but I assume it is the same as any other language exam. You can probably find some decent practice tests online or in a Barron’s Book.
Anyway, I would look at the course requirements for your preferred school, but unless they say you need 4 years of language, you should be fine with just not taking French. Stick with getting really good at German.
As for Forensic Science, does your online school really not offer that? Your core classes are strong, but your electives look like random, easy classes, with no real direction. On that same note, if you are doing Forensic science in the workforce, journalism may be looked upon similarly.
Are you trying to self-study AP Chem and take AP Bio? I would not recommend that. Both are tough courses, and trying to self-study one, even while not taking the other, can be very difficult to pull off. Even if you pass the test, you might not be prepared for a college class.
And finally, I would leave some time over summer to study for the ACT if you need to retake and to start on your college apps. Those can be pretty time consuming, not to mention all the scholarship applications you will need to fill out if/when you get in.