I play golf, that counts right, and some might argue that marching band is a “sport” ( I dont think so)
@ddeebaa I think you should go for it, but I have few questions.
Why are you taking AP Stats instead of Pre-Calculus at your regular school? Is Pre-Calculus not weighted at your school? If you were able to take Pre-Calculus during the year, you could still do Calculus next summer. The reason I’m asking is because AP Statistics is a math elective. I would think most colleges would rather you at least finish AP Calculus AB and BC or taking both AP Statistics with one of the AP Calculus classes at the same time, then taking AP Statistics alone, before finishing both AP Calculus classes. Even if Pre-Calculus isn’t weighted at your school, I personally think it would be better than taking AP Statistics.
Keep in mind that if you decide to go ahead with your idea, you would leave a GAP SEMESTER in between Pre-Calculus and Calculus, or Pre-Calculus and the math class you took last year. This can allow for loss of information meaning you might forget some of what you learned. If you were to take Pre-Calculus in the fall, I’d recommend reviewing your Pre-Calculus knowledge once in a while during the spring to make sure you don’t forget anything and to make sure you’re truly ready for Calculus. If you were take Pre-Calculus in the Spring, then you should, once in a while, restudy what you learned last year in preparation of your Pre-Calculus class.
Is there a reason why you want Computer Science experience? Do you plan to potentially major/minor in Computer Science in college or do you just want to learn how to code? If you want to actually want to major/minor in Computer Science in college, and you do plan to take a semester-long Introduction to Computer Science class, then I’d make sure your credit will indeed transfer with you to your potential college. I assume your planning on attending a UC, so that should probably work out, but I’m not really keen on how the UC system works, so I would check to make. However, if you just want to learn how to code and you’re not really planning on majoring or minoring in Computer Science, then you probably shouldn’t take it. There are many FREE online places, such as Code Academy and channels on YouTube, where you could learn how to code. If you had the space, I’m pretty sure you could take a Computer Science class in school. Sorry if I’m assuming you just want to learn how to code, but what you meant by “computer science experience” was kind of vague.
Just my two cents.
@Tobster18 Golf counts, but marching band DEFINITELY doesn’t count as a sport. I’m pretty sure more physical work is put into cheerleading, also not considered a sport even though I feel it should be, than into marching band. But anyways, sport-wise, I was thinking more along the lines of basketball, football, track, and wrestling. You know, sports that will have you actually sweating your butt off by the end of practice. Golf is good, but does your team do a lot of conditioning and exercising? Not trying to pick on golfers, but many would argue that compared to wrestling and football, golf is an “easy sport”, no offense. My apologies if I’m coming off a little ignorant.
@kristennl99 You’re welcome! 
Yeah I totally get where you’re coming from, its just I would do another sport, but marching band season stops me from doing so (summer and good part of winter season), and i’ve played golf for a while now (spring sport). So do you feel like colleges would look down on golf.
@Tobster18 Probably not, it’ll probably make you stand out. It’s just that golf isn’t exactly one of those sport where everyone’s dying to get on the team, at least in my county.
Funny Story: There was this one sophomore in my Spanish class who was on the golf team, but never knew about it until he was told by someone on the yearbook club. One day during class, he was pulled out of class to be interviewed for the yearbook and he was asked what his favorite part of being on the men’s golf team was. I was doing my Spanish work, when I heard him say, "Wait! I’m on the golf team?! LIT! :)) Everyone in class was eavesdropping on the conversation and we all laughed. He told us he actually tried out for the team in the summer and was terrible at golf, but since only 6 other guys tried out, he made the cut.
In my county, at least at my school, the less popular sports are usually the easiest to join. Our school has a rowing team and you have to pay a membership fee of $200 to get on the team! If you don’t have the money, you’re not on the team. I kid you not, the coach literally picks the person who donates the most money to the team, the richest person, to be captain. I’m pretty we’re one of four out of twelve schools in my county that has a rowing team.
Overall, golf is okay, but unless your playing in a state championship, I wouldn’t want to put it on my application. Since it’s assumed at a lot of colleges that golf, at most schools, isn’t a sport where cuts are made and you’re pretty much on the team as long as you don’t completely suck. However, with a sport like football, where cuts are usually made, people actually have to prove their athletic ability to get on the team. At most schools, if you’re on the football team, it means you presented a good athletic ability over those who did not make the team. It’ll probably also show to colleges that a) you probably have a good amount of athletic ability and b) if you’re really good, you might just get a scholarship. My school’s football team sucks, we won one game last year, by one point, out of the 11 we played, so we pretty much let anyone who was big and fat, or fast and strong, onto the team. My base school’s team is worse, they didn’t win a single game!
Anyways, I’d say if you really like golf, then you should stay. You could even earn a scholarship from it, if you’re good enough. But if you want a real athletic challenge with those AP classes, I’d go for a sport that requires more of an athletic ability than golf, such as basketball, football, track, or wrestling.
Thanks for the advice, I may consider doing track instead and still doing golf as a hobby outside of school.
@Tobster18
Thanks for the insight! There are a few reasons as to why I’m taking these courses. Mainly, the reason I have to take pre calculus at the college is because my school refuses to place anyone who got below a 96 in Algebra 2 into the Honors pre-calculus class (which is weighted). thats why i only have the option of taking either AP stats, or this other class called functions, statistics and trigonometry. At my school this class is a joke and frankly a waste of time. Since I really want to finish Calculus by the time I graduate, and I wont be able to take Honors Pre Calculus until senior year, I figured I should get ahead and take the courses at my CC instead. There wouldnt be a gap semester between Pre-Calc and Calc- I would take precalc in the spring and calc that summer. As for the gap between fall and spring where I’ll only be taking Stats, I have a strong foundation and will be certainly reviewing over my math that is not AP Stats related regularly. Also, my school is really dumb as it does not offer a regular pre calculus class so our only options are either HPC (if u get a 96) AP Stats (the next best option, which could still be useful if I decide to pursue a business major) or the FST class, which is a complete waste of my time and wont challenge me in any way. (its basically a repeat of algebra 2). My school also doesnt offer any AP Calculus AB or BC classes. That’s why I figured for my junior year, in order to keep my course load on the more challenging side, I would take AP Stats since that is my only option, but also get ahead by taking Pre Calc and Calc at my community college.
As for computer science, I am thinking about pursuing that field and I was going to take this class to see how I like it. Again, I dont have room in my schedule for a computer science class at school. I’ve double checked that all of these CC courses are UC transferable, so thats not a problem. I hope this clears it up!!
@ddeebaa I’m pretty sure your reply was intended for me. No worries, I still read it!
You’re definitely asking the right person about this because I will also be taking Pre-Calculus next year. At my school, we have Functions/Trigonometry (Pre-Calculus 1) and Functions/Analytic Geometry (Pre-Calculus 2). Both Pre-Calculus classes at my school are weighted. Pre-Calculus 1 is intended for students who passed Algebra 2 or Algebra 2/Trigonometry (Algebra 2 Honors) with a B (an 80%) or better. Pre-Calculus 2 is intended only for those passed Algebra 2 Honors with a B or higher and you can’t take it if you took regular Algebra 2. If you don’t pass either Algebra 2 or Algebra 2 Honors class, you have the option of retaking it, taking the double-blocked class, or taking Advanced Math, a class for those who don’t want to continue into Pre-Calculus or for those who want to strengthen their math skills for Pre-Calculus. At our school, you could technically stop once you complete Algebra 2. Pre-Calculus 1 allows you to enter AP Calculus AB and Pre-Calculus 2 allows you to enter either AP Calculus AB or BC. Pre-Calculus 2 is technically
Sorry for that long explanation above. I will be taking Pre-Calculus 1 at my school. I had an A (around a 93%) in Algebra 2 last year, so you would’ve definitely gotten into Pre-Calculus 2 at my school. Have you talked with your parents about getting/forcing the school to let you take Honors Pre-Calculus? Are you sure there is no other way? It seems completely unnecessary to take a class at a CC because the school won’t allow you to take the class you need because you didn’t get a high enough grade. I mean as long as you didn’t have below a B+ in the pretty class, I would say you should fine. Taking the class with a B in the prerequisite class is risky, but doable.
It’s definitely good that you are planning to Calculus by senior year as well as reviewing your math between fall and spring so that you won’t fall behind. Considering the way your school runs its math department, I would say this seems like a better choice. I mean, how does a school have a requirement of earning a 96% or higher to get into Honors Pre-Calculus, but not have either of the AP Calculus classes?! If you were to do the same thing you did junior year during senior year, take a math class at a CC during the spring and summer semesters, then you could finish up Calculus 2 and 3 by the time you graduate! If you major required it, or you wanted to, you could continue with Linear Algebra and Differential Equations.
For Computer Science, I would advise to not taking the class until you are 100% sure you want to major/minor in it. If you want to take a class to see if you like it, I’d try edX. edX is a website that allows you to take FREE non-credit online courses from many different universities. Many students use this website as a way to gain extra knowledge on a particular subject or to figure out whether or not they are interested in a subject. I personally say you should not take the class at a CC until you are 100% sure you want to be a computer scientist. It would save you and your parents a lot of money in the long run.
@ak2018 yup sorry that was for you HAHA. Yeah, idk why my school is like that because I got a 92 in Algebra 2 and I know I could do it but I’ve tried speaking to counselors and even math teachers themselves but they’re super strict about it. Even if you get the 96, you still need a teacher rec and a high score on the pre calc placement test to get in. its almost like they made it impossible for anyone who’s not already on the math honors track. So I figured it was easier to just do it at CC, I could actually even get more ahead by doing what you said and taking Calc 2&3 later on. And thanks for the computer science advice- community college courses are actually free for us, at least in my district, because I’m still in high school, but I think I’ll hold off on it anyways. Thank you!
@Tobster18 That’s great. Track is a pretty basic sport for anyone just starting out in sports. A lot of athletes do track to keep in shape for other sports seasons. The concept of track is really easy to grasp, so to someone who has never played or watched football in their life, track isn’t really that hard to figure out. You could probably do more research about it such as the different events (100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, 400-meter, 800-meter, and 1600-meter). There are also field events such shot-put, discus, long jump, and much more. So yeah, you should definitely give track and field a try!
@ddeebaa Yeah, that kind of sucks that your school does that. At my school, all you need is a B or higher and teacher recommendation. The teacher recommendations are a joke because at my school, if your teacher doesn’t recommend you for a class, you can have your parents write a letter to your counselor saying that you want to take the class the teacher didn’t recommend you for. Basically, a parent’s letter will basically allow you to force add any class, despite not getting your teacher’s recommendation. It worked for me last year. When I was scheduling my class for next year, my counselor highly recommended, by that I mean forced, me to take either AP Economics or Economics and Personal Finance because she said it’s best to get that out of. I asked my parents to write me a note saying that I did not want to take AP Economics and my counselor stepped off a bit. We don’t have math placement tests. In my county, you’re basically put onto the Honors track in 6th and 7th grade. I really wish CCs were free where I am. There’s dual enrollment, but that’s not really anything special in my county.
For Computer Science, you could just take an interest course on edX to see if you like it.
You’re welcome, BTW!
@Tobster18 def. put golf on your application. Golf is not easy and you are going to practices and meets which takes up time and it def. counts as an extracurricular.
@ddeebaa I take a CC class over the summer, and am taking another during the school year. I would recommend it if you are up to the challenge. I am part of the High School Program in my CC and I have to stay afloat with the class. During the school year I will be taking an easy online class probably, just so I can get credit out of it. As for you, I would give it a shot and if you can not handle it, drop it and get your money back. Just make sure the class will get taken off your CC transcript! Feel free to ask more questions!
@kassh4 I never said it wasn’t easy, I just said it wasn’t that popular at most schools, so you’re basically on the team as long as you don’t completely suck. I know golf would be a big time commitment and I know it counts as an EC, but if it wasn’t really popular at your school and you’re just looking for a “lesser energy-draining” sports EC, I wouldn’t put it on there. That’s just my opinion. I don’t know how they run golf at other schools, but in my county, the few who actually play golf are really good at it or are just trying to participate in what they believe is an “easy” sport. Take the kid from my Spanish class for example. He literally tried out for the team as a joke and still got on the team, on a team that was in need of a couple more players. He didn’t even participate but was somehow on the roster.
I’m not saying golf isn’t easy, but in my opinion, I’d rather be on a team where I had to work to earn my place, and not have it handed to me for little to no effort. When I was doing track, on the first day anyone who ran over 1:20 on the 400-meter was immediately off the team and I barely made it. When I decided to do shot-put, in order to compete I had to throw a 12-pound shot-put ball at least 28 feet. I’m not saying golfers don’t have to go through this, I’m just saying on my school’s golf team, you already have a place for you from the minute you ask to join. I feel like not having to earn your place in sports takes the competition out of sports. In order to earn your place, you’ll have to work against yourself and other.
@Tobster18 If you love golf, then continue doing it despite what I’m saying. The above is mainly for those don’t have a passion for golf, go to a school where it’s easy to get onto the team, just want an “easy” sport to put on their college apps. What I meant by golf being easy compared to sports such as basketball or track and field, I meant that about MY school, at the very least. I have two friends on the golf team, both aren’t that good at golf but are getting the hang it, told me they literally just practice on Saturdays for 2-4 hour, compared to me having a 1 1/2 - 2 hour practice every weekday. Anyways, it’s really just my opinion.
Yeah I get it, I’ll probably stick with golf, and see if I squeeze a winter sport
@ak2018 yeah my parents and other peoples’ parents have tried fighting it (bc a lot of people I know have this same problem) but oh well. thanks for the advice!
Well I just thought of a good idea! With school fast approaching, only 5 weeks for me now, I thought we should basically tell how much homework we’re planning to get in each of our classes as well as how much we plan to study. I’ll go ahead and start. I’ll do it on a scale of 0 -5 (0 being no homework, 1 being not that much homework or studying, and 5 being a lot of homework and studying)
Engineering Explorations 1/Robotics
Homework: 1
Studying: 2
Explanation: The class is literally going to be a design class based around FTC (FIRST Tech Challenge). The only homework I can imagine we’ll have is looking up some cool robot designs we could use for our robots. We’ll probably have to do other things such as helping out with Robotics events throughout the county and going to FTC competitions, but it all really depends on what our new engineering teacher says.
PLTW Principles of Engineering
Homework: 2
Studying: 3
Explanation: I feel like the amount of Physics involved is going to make me actually studying for this class, that and it’s weighted. I’ve been literally watching YouTube videos about what we’ll have to learn and the Physics seems pretty complicated. We’ll probably be made to do CAD projects at home.
AP Chemistry
Homework: 5
Studying: 4
Explanation: Our AP Chemistry teacher are notorious for giving out mountains of homework. What’s on the homework is what’s on the test so if you fail the test, you’re not doing your homework. I feel like this is the class I’ll be studying for the most. I’m hoping to get at least a 3 on the AP exam.
U.S. and Virginia History
Homework: 1
Studying: 2
Explanation: This class is literally a simplified version of APUSH. This class will probably be my lowest priority because it’s pretty straightforward. I’ve asked the teachers who teach the class and they said most of the class time is spent on notes, so I long as I study them I should be fine.
Functions/Trigonometry
Homework: 0-1
Studying: 3
Explanation: My school does this thing where we technically don’t have math homework. Instead, we have what’s called “Independent Work”. Basically, all of the math teachers who teach the same math subject, like Functions/Trigonometry, all use the same tests, quizzes, and independent worksheets (homework). The independent work is never graded and only our tests and quizzes are. Our quizzes and tests are broken up into sections. If you don’t do well on a quiz but do well on the test, or a particular section, your quiz grade, on that particular section, rises to what you got on the test. So if you got a 86 on a section of the quiz and you got a 100 on that same section on the test, your quiz grade would rise to a 100. I’m probably going to study a little more than last year since we won’t really be using calculators.
Spanish 2
Homework: 3
Studying: 2
Explanation: If this class is anything like Spanish 1, there’s going to be a good portion of homework and a lot of memorization. Spanish 1 was literally so easy last year. I didn’t really study that much and I still got As on the tests and quizzes. Then again, it might have been because we were required to make flashcards.
AP English Language and Composition
Homework: 4
Studying: 3
Explanation: Depending on what teacher I get, I might either be made to read 6 chapters a week or 3 chapters every weekend. The class mainly involves in-class essays. There’s a bunch of homework, but it’s really all over the place.
I’ll do the ratings based on what I should do, but chances are I won’t study enough for any of my classes…
APUSH
Homework: 5
Studying: 4
Explanation: Based on the summer assignment, there is going to be a lot of work. It doesn’t help that the teachers have claimed that this is the hardest class in my school.
AP Lang
Homework: 4
Studying: 3
Explanation: I imagine there may not be a ton of short-term assignments, but lots and lots of essays. As for studying, I’ll probably need to learn a lot of figurative devices and what-not.
Honors Latin III/IV
Homework: 3
Studying: 4
Explanation: Based on my last two years of Latin, most of the homework is straight-forward translations, with a one large project each quarter. There are a lot of vocab and grammar quizzes, so I’ll probably be studying quite a bit.
Pre-Calculus
Homework: 3
Studying: 3
Explanation: I’m just basing this on my other math classes, since I honestly don’t know what to expect. Math is not my strong suit, so I’m pretty scared… I’ll probably need to study more than I’m predicting.
Chemistry
Homework: 2
Studying: 2
Explanation: After grueling through Honors Bio last year, I feel like taking standard Chem will be a lot easier. Compared to my other core classes, the workload should be much lighter.
Financial Literacy
Homework: 1
Studying: 1
Explanation: My brother took this class, and told me that its super easy, and that the teacher is great. I’m going to take his word on it.
Intro to Marketing
Homework: 1
Studying: 1
Explanation: I don’t know much about this class, I’m only taking it because of schedule complications. My guidance counselor assured me that its very easy, though, so like before, I’m taking her word on it.
I just finished the ACT Math section and I got 41/60 of the questions right! I’m actually kind of happy because I was expecting a 40/60 and I thought I’d do worse. I think the method @kassh4 described is probably a good one. I’ll try to focus on the Math section for now and then do all of the math sections. I definitely need to look over Geometry and Trigonometry.