As a homeschooler, is it necessary to take many AP classes to be a competitive college applicant? I’ve heard from friends that my application might be less competitive compared to public school students who take 5-7 AP classes each year. My online school offers only a very limited number of AP classes, while all my courses are honors level. Next year (my junior year), I plan to take AP exams for Calculus AB, AP Physics C Mech, AP Computer Science A, plus DE English 1301 and DE Intro to Psychology at my local community college. In my senior year, I will be doing AP exams for AP Calculus BC, AP Physics C E&M, AP Chemistry, and a couple of other DE courses. How can I ensure my application remains strong?
I plan to double major in Violin Performance and Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in Robotics. I am extensively involved in community service in a leadership role and have received awards and fellowships for my piano and violin performances and expertise. Additionally, I participate in robotics and creative writing clubs at local high schools, and I’m currently writing my first novel with hopes of entering a national writing competition.
I don’t know where you intend to go, but my homeschooled kid got into every school that kid applied to. Not ivies, but OOS at Clemson, VT, Auburn, etc - kid was looking for an engineering school that wasn’t in a city. Kid took 5 total AP exams and a handful of DE classes. Kid did have high test scores (National Merit Finalist, etc). A friend is going to Vandy with lower test scores (NMS commended) and only a few APs and some DE. Many other homeschooled kids that we know are going to our in-state schools (UT-K, UT-C, ETSU, MTSU, etc) because they are relatively inexpensive and they get scholarships. Most have no APs, although some kids have a few and many have some DE classes. I know other kids who have chosen small private schools and gotten excellent scholarships.
If you are looking to apply to the kinds of schools that have very low acceptance rates, then, like everybody else, your chances of getting in are low. If you are applying to competitive, but not super-competitive, schools, then you should be fine.
I think that you should take the high school classes that are appropriate for you without considering university admissions. Then look for a university that is a good fit for what you have done and for what you want to do. There are a lot of very good universities in the US.
That is a tough combination. It would not surprise me if you end up having to drop one of the two majors. However, dropping one side of a potential double major is quite common.
I have worked in high tech for my entire career, and have known quite a few engineers / software engineers / mathematicians who were also very good at music. Math, engineering, and music seem to go together relatively often. However, most of the people who I know who had this combination of talents had to pick one path or the other to focus on (usually the one that pays better) and got back to the other (usually music) after they were working for a living with evenings and weekends mostly free.
This is so true - both are time-consuming majors. If the OP winds up at a school that doesnt have a music major, it may open up an easier path to enjoy performing while still in college. Clemson offered music as a minor but not a major, so STEM, education, or accounting students made up the marching and symphonic bands, the chamber singers, the pit crew for theater productions, and any other musical performances that occurred. Music lessons in a variety of instruments were available for credit. Obviously we didnt get the training of a music major, but we got to do our music through college.
Your schedule looks fine. I am not the homeschooling expert many here are, but I think the biggest challenge – which you are meeting – is having external validation of your mastery of material. Both AP and DE do this. Having that is assurance to the unis that you are prepared for the work.