Help me with course load! NoVA sophomore with Ivy dreams

Pre-College Topics High School Life
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Hi everyone! I’m currently a sophomore in in a Northern VA public school. I slacked off with easy classes last year, so I’m trying to compensate for that. I hope to get into an ivy-plus university to study engineering (maybe chemical?)

9th: Honors English 9, Honors Algebra II, Biology, Chemistry, PE 9, Geography, Orchestra, Spanish V

10th (current): AP Lang, AP Precalc, AP Chem, AP Psych, AP Music Theory, PE 10, World History, Economics, Orchestra

I’m not really sure what to take in 11th and 12th. I’m leaning toward:

11th: AP Lit, AP Calc BC, AP Physics C: Mechanics, APUSH, AP Spanish Lang, AP Stats

12th: AP Comp Sci A, AP Bio, AP Gov, AP Physics C: E&M, Calc III, Linear Algebra

Notes: I currently have a 4.0 and would like to keep it that way (my school is pretty grade-inflated). Also, my school only has like 20 AP classes, so I would have to take any others online.

Questions:

Do I have to take AP Spanish? I am skipping it this year, but think I might take it next year (my parents don’t speak Spanish, but I got accelerated in middle school). I doubt it will be too hard, but I think I would prefer to take another class instead of it.

Also, am I taking enough hard classes for ivy-level schools? So far, I haven’t had any trouble in the five that I am taking this year.

This is my first post, so sorry if it’s too long or anything like that. I’m open to any suggestions or criticism!

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  1. If you want to be a Chem E, why strive for Ivy ? Think Delaware, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ga Tech, MIT, etc.

  2. One should not take classes beyond their means. Your counselor should dictate what you are ready for. If it’s Calc AB ahd not BC, that’s fine.
    I can’t think of anyone who says I’ve taken only 20 APs so I’ll take more off line. If you have 8 or 10, you’re a stud.

Be the best you - that doesn’t mean solely in the classroom but outside too. You need balance, not just incredible academics.

You will also need a solid test score - and a budget - because the Ivies will be $400k. Will your parents want to spend that when you can get as good an outcome elsewhere for half or even less ?

You’re early.

Live within your means. Get involved outsude of class and you’ll figure out a school list later.

Not all the ivies are the same. You might not even like them. And not all have your major. At least in four years. Ivy is a sports league.

Good luck.

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“Only”

:roll_eyes:

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I agree it is a bit odd to target studying ChemE at “Ivy Plus” colleges.

And I would specifically be concerned about only two years of Foreign Language and three years of English with that sort of list. Although that might be fine for a lot of top-ranked ChemE programs not at “Ivy Plus” colleges.

In other words, this sort of curriculum plan suggests to me a student who is maybe not so interested in the Humanities much beyond the minimum required. So why would they choose a college which really valued the broad Liberal Arts tradition, including the Humanities, even for its engineering students? Why wouldn’t they choose an engineering college that would still have some gen ed requirements, but maybe not THAT much commitment to Liberal Arts?

In which case there would likely be curriculum recommendations at those colleges that would track this curriculum plan.

I note in my mind this isn’t about harder classes, better schools, or so on. It is just different hard classes and different top schools appeal to different kids. And it is OK if your interests point to a different set of top schools than the Ivy Plus.

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This is a very ambitious schedule, but you should add a 4th year of English. Maybe replace some of your STEM with humanities classes. Ivy Plus schools want well rounded students.

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You sure about that?

OK I read into a lot of things. I guess as an older adult, I’ve earned that. So first things first. The name that you chose as your poster name: “total trash” shows me a couple of things.

1.). that you don’t think things are going so great for you either emotionally or academically. Or:
2.) that you don’t respect what you’ve taken already?

I don’t think you understand yet, that it’s not how many AP’s you can get on your laundry list. The colleges and universities wont consider students that take AP courses independent of the classes.

They want to hear what you can do in the classroom because you WILL attend classes at any university and they want to know what your teachers say about you.

It’s about your high school experience in how you approach the next couple of years.

Where is your guidance counselor in all of this? It isn’t a race.

Why ivies?
It is a sport conference. I don’t see any mention about your recruitable sport? Have you spoken to any Ivy coaches about your sport. How many years have you played your sport?

Each ivy school is vastly different. You can’t lump them all together. Are your parents going to pay $90,000 a year for you to attend these schools?

The Ivy League schools focus on a broad liberal arts and some minor STEM educational options. The schools are small for a reason. They like to keep them small.

Most of the slots already “pre-filled”. They are filled by recruitable athletes, underrepresented minorities, children of senators, celebrities, or famed Olympic representatives. There are students, world-wide, of exceptional musical, artistic, or creative caliber. There are the students who by luck or chance, have parents who can donate millions of dollars to add buildings or pavilions to those campuses. Do you fit in one of these categories?

Oh and there’s that little thing called the SATs. A number of the students in the ivy schools can get perfect scores without batting an eyelid.

As for AP Spanish, the test and coursework are hard. I’m a native speaker. My children took 4 years of Spanish courses. They were smart because they didn’t have time to take another labor-intensive AP course. I’m sure they would’ve done well, but they were busy and liked their sports and their part-time jobs.

Yes, all three got into top 20 schools, but only one attended a top 10 by choice. If a school is an Ivy, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it “fits” you. Lots of students with perfect SATs and perfect GPAs and perfect extracurricular activities get rejected by the ivies.

So again I ask, why an Ivy school?

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No I don’t think you need to take AP Spanish. Top schools want to see 3 or 4 years of foreign language though. If you want engineering, I don’t think you need to take APUSH.

I’m not seeing any Ivies being top ranked for your potential major though so not sure why those are the goal.

You need to have an honest conversation with your parents about budget. You can only borrow $5500 your first year. Anything beyond that you are expecting your parents to pay. Even if you think your parents are high income earners, that does not account for their actual living expenses.

UWi-Madison is highly ranked for chem e major. However, as an out of state resident you would have to pay 56k/yr (not including books, extra expenses, and travel fees). That means they have an extra $5k/month just sitting around not being used for anything.

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Why aren’t you continuing with orchestra?

My daughter’s class valedictorian literally never made less than a A+ during her entire K-12 education. But she took AP Calc for the second time her senior year after she’d gotten a 5 on the test the first time she took the class. She was a NMSF and didn’t get into an Ivy. Possibly the grade grubbing wasn’t a good look?

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As an aside, be sure you meet your HS graduation requirements (in our HS 4 years of English is required).

Look at the common data set for the list of recommended/required HS coursework for colleges you are targeting. Many want a well rounded HS program with 4 years of English and 3-4 years of foreign language.

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  • you’re overdoing it - no need to take AP stats junior year - continue with Orchestra or if you dislike Orchestra perhaps take graphic design or music appreciation, something that’ll show an interest for something unexpected and will be easier, thus allowing you to focus on 5 difficult other classes, your part time job (find one and stick to it if you can) and your ECs.
  • Senior year is very unbalanced. With 2 math classes, CS, and AP Physics C: E&M, no need to take AP Bio. On the other hand, you absolutely need a Senior English seminar.
    And I’d keep Orchestra (or another similar class) just as a cultural class.
  • Spanish: it’d make sense for you to take AP Spanish, especially since fluency in the language can be a plus in all sorts of professional situations and AP is the first intermediate level when things start requiring some abstract thinking, structuring, cultural and historical knowledge…
  • However, if you can keep up throughout jr& Sr year by attending a discussion group like the Spanish table or the Spanish Language film club, you could also make sure you take that class in College, in particular one semester of intensive intermediate Spanish followed with Spanish for the professions. You would need to present these activities in your application because Ivy+ would definitely expect foreign language through Jr year. However UMN, UWisconsin… wouldn’t care.

In Stanfords words, it’s not a matter of who has the most APs, wins.
Your schedule mustn’t look like you just stockpiled all the APs available.
Btw, the expectation would likely be 10 APs over 4 years. You’re free to go over that but every class does NOT need to be an AP.
You can also mix it up with DE or IB Btw and sprinkle fun and cultural classes.
Finally, you need to save 8-9 hours for sleep, time for friends and socializing, part time job, ECs in and out of school. You’ll be judged on balance, too :slight_smile:

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OP- this looks like a recipe for burnout, whether you end up at Harvard, UVA or George Mason.

It’s not a race to see who can take the most AP’s. You need to demonstrate that you have strong time management skills, have challenged yourself intellectually, and that you are curious and eager to learn. You don’t need to prove that you can take every AP that’s offered, and you can downshift academically (would your guidance counselor even approve this schedule?) without turning into a slacker.

So slow down. Take your classes seriously- but also make time for fun, for activities that bring you joy, for spending time with your family, for a part-time job, etc. i.e. being a HS kid.

You’ll end up somewhere challenging with plenty of opportunities to become the grownup you want to be- I promise you. In the meantime, be thoughtful about being the best HS kid you can be- not just in the classroom and not because you’re scoring AP points-- but because you’re also developing interests and contributing to your community and continuing to be a good person/citizen.

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Agreed. How many thousands of kids out there have done similar schedules with every AP imaginable yet still got shut out and rejected from all their “top” schools?

T20 schools don’t want kids whose only goal and dream is to get into their school. They want kids who know who they are and who want to be something and do something.

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Thanks to everyone for the replies! As I touched on earlier, I only recently started preparing for college, so any insight is very helpful!

Right off the bat, I forgot about English senior year—I’m definitely taking 4 years :sweat_smile:. In my school, AP Lang and Lit are generally offered in 10 and 11 respectively (IDK why), so I would be taking Honors English 12.

I haven’t done a ton of school research and wasn’t super aware that Ivies didn’t have top engineering majors. To clarify my situation, though, I will need (and, with a negative estimated SAI, would qualify for) substantial financial aid. I talked with my GC about this, and he said that, given my strengths, I try for Ivies or other more selective private schools that give more need-based aid. I’m not sure if this is good advice…?

I am first chair violin in the school orchestra, and am at the level where I expect to continue qualifying for all-district orchestra outside of school (for my EC list). I guess it wouldn’t hurt to keep taking orchestra for the easy class, though.

Regarding Spanish, I guess it would probably make sense to take it. Some of you mentioned that I would need to take more years of Spanish, though. My school doesn’t offer AP Spanish Lit, so what could I take afterwards?

Anyways, I get the sense that, while I might be overdoing it, I definitely won’t be undergoing it? I only ask because, I know many kids who are and have taken similar numbers of APs in my area, and I don’t want to be behind. Thanks for the help again!

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Sorry, new to the site and I can be a little scatterbrained, but I wanted to add a few things.

I haven’t taken the PSAT yet, but I got a prefect score on the official practice test without studying. The last thing I want to be is overconfident, but I think it is reasonable to expect a very high, if not perfect, SAT score by senior year.

Also, I would add that this isn’t coming at the expense of extracurriculars as well. According to college vine, I have a tier 1 (top 20 nationally in non-recruited individual sport) and several tier 2s (including violin and research). I’m also involved in many clubs, and expect to become president of several by senior year. I also have been working a (very) part-time job for a year now. I know I’m rambling, but I hope that gives a bit more context.

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If your family income is under $65,000, you might look at Questbridge.

You are correct to look at schools that meet need - but your family will need to run the net price calculators of each school - because they will use the CSS profile, which runs a lot deeper than FAFSA.

There will be lots of great schools that meet need and have ChemE and it’s probably a bit early to pounce on that - but from a Miami, Lehigh, Lafayette, UVA, Cornell, Princeton, MIT, CMU, Case Western and more.

In most cases, the where for engineering isn’t as huge a dealer - but you’ll want to be in a program that’s ABET accredited.

First - you might figure out what you want in a school - size, environment (urban, rural, etc.) and more.

Good luck.

Two attachments - one the NPC for Lehigh…have your folks fill it out.

Two - a list of schools that meet need - it’s 3rd party, so you’d need to research to ensure it’s accurate.

Also, don’t forget that your home state may have a program for low income (not sure). You can ask your counselor or someone else might know - you have some great engineering schools in state.

After you get your PSAT, if you get National Merit - and it can’t be counted on - but if you do, you’ll go to school for free or near free - if you play that card.

Good luck

Welcome | Net Price Calculator (collegeboard.org)

Here’s Every College That Offers 100% Financial Aid · PrepScholar

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If you have completed the highest level of Spanish offered in your HS you should be fine. Exception might be if you are a native speaker of the language and just skipped ahead to Level 5.

It is still early in the game. Do your research. Some Ivy schools have fine engineering programs, others not as much. If you continue your strong performance, you will have options.

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Just seconding that when the time comes to develop an application list, if engineering generally or ChemE specifically remains an interest, it will be possible to put together a list of colleges good for that which also have good need aid. Depending on how things develop, that list may include some Ivies and Ivy Plus, but almost surely not all of them, and not only them.

For now, though, all you really need to be doing is continuing to reasonably challenge yourself across all the core areas each year. Possibly excepting Spanish if you run out of courses to take, although if you wanted to keep up with it in some way I think that would be a good idea even holding college aside.

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You wouldn’t be expected to take a class above AP Spanish Lang. Once in college, you may want to take more classes (such as Spanish for Professions, which may require an extra preparatory class. If you arrive with Calc3 completed there shoukd be no issue with fitting it onto your schedule.)

Your GC’advice is 100% correct. If your SAI is negative, your best bet is one of the highly selective/generous meet need colleges that offer Engineering. These would include Penn, Dartmouth, Cornell, or Vanderbilt, Duke, Northwestern. These would cover all tuition, fees, room and board (housing&food), but also books and transportation. Other universities that aren’t as high a reach would be Lafayette or Lehigh.
Finally, you’ll need to investigate programs for lower income students in VA, to insure you can afford VTech.

In addition, as someone said upthread, keep Questbridge in mind. They have Junior Scholars for the summer. The Questbridge application is due early in the Fall of senior year.

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Just an fyi, do not use the college vine website as a college chancing resource. It is not an accurate indicator of admission chances.

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Thank you for the reply! I will definitely have to look into QuestBridge next year. It seems like the application process would be in February 2026 for me? Also, thanks for the NPC, I ran my numbers, and got pretty much what I expected: $0. I definitely will be studying for the NMSQT next year to make sure I will have that in my back pocket in case I get rejected from my top choices.

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