<p>Track 1-Honors
Track 2-College prep classes for above-average students
Track 3-General classes for the average to below average student
Track 5-AP Classes</p>
<p>When I entered freshman year, my roster was filled up with track 2 courses. I didn’t attend this school as a sophomore, but came back as a junior with track 2 courses again. As a senior, I have 6 track 2 classes and 1 track 1 class. I have the opportunity to move up a track in each of my 6 classes, but I’ve already gotten to know the teachers, formed a specific group of friends in each of my classes, and I just like the way my schedule is. I balked at taking AP Psych. I took Economics & U.S. Gov. because I’m planning to major in Econ. So how much will not taking honors and AP courses affect me? Is it too late for me to move up a track and make a better impression on an admissions officer?</p>
<p>It depends solely on where you are applying. Top 20 schools don’t want kids who aren’t taking tough classes, but outside the top 20, as long as you are getting a great GPA, it won’t reduce you chances by a whole lot.</p>
<p>Hmmm. I’m thinking it might extend beyond the top 20. There are a lot of colleges that won’t mind, but selective ones will mind that you aren’t interested in challenging yourself by taking at least honors if not some AP courses.
But whether it really matters depends on **your **expectations about where you want to go to college.
If you are already a senior isn’t it too late to move up a track?</p>
<p>And please tell me your username is in jest?</p>
<p>@risubu Lol I know right! It’s a weird thing dude. And college prep classes are like non honors, but above general courses.</p>
<p>@BeanTownGirl Nope, I’m for real. I want to be a doctor, specifically a neurosurgeon. I can move up a track by the end of the 1st quarter so that they can get me into the track 1 or AP course by the start of the 2nd quarter.</p>
<p>@Drac313 I don’t have any top 20 schools on my list (Unless UConn is considered in the top 20). I would rather go to a large public state university than a small, private, or liberal arts college.</p>
<p>well, if you intend to make it into Med school you will have to improve upon the “I don’t feel like doing honors” attitude. You will be in pre-med courses next to all the kids who maxed out on AP’s and whatever most challenging courses their schools offered. And you will compete with them for your GPA which is critical for med school admission. They will come in better prepared and with well-honed study skills.
I’m not saying you can’t achieve your goals, perhaps you gained this ambition late into your high school years. But, you should step up your game ASAP to start preparing yourself for the road ahead.</p>
<p>You know where you can get the most knowledgeable answer to your question? Your own guidance counselor. The guidance counselors in your school have a lot of experience working with students from your school, and they have a whole lot of data from previous years about the kinds of colleges and universities where students who took mostly Track 2 classes have been admitted.</p>
<p>Presumably, these are “regular” versions of the typical courses that one takes to prepare for college, like English, math, history, science, etc… Honors courses would be more rigorous versions.</p>
<p>Community college courses typically do not transfer if they are remedial (in a college context) courses (i.e. high school level), but typically do transfer (at least to state universities) if they are college level courses.</p>
<p>Taking whatever the most rigorous courses are in high school will better prepare you for college courses.</p>
<p>@BeanTownGirl When I choose my courses, I don’t get a choice in track. Since I go to a Catholic school, they choose my track for me. I don’t have a “I don’t feel like taking honors” attitude. If I could, I would’ve filled my roster up with honors and AP courses, but it’s an archdiocesan policy that the school chooses the track.</p>
<p>Futuredoctor: Since your school is private, I agree with asking your guidance counselor this questions. In our local public school, the students aiming for very top schools take honors, but college admission to other schools is possible from college prep. It affects a student in a few ways compared to honors: less rigorous, the weighted GPA, and class rank. I would expect a Catholic school to have higher standards for CP classes, and since students are placed in the classes, the school would meet their academic needs. The GC would also explain the school curriculum and policies on the letter to colleges, so colleges should be clear that the student did not choose the classes. The school may also have valid reasons for the track they place a student in as some students may come to the school more prepared than others. You mentioned you were not there for sophomore year and it’s possible they placed you in the best classes they could with this gap. None of this is due to your choices.
How will this affect you? I think you can take a long term and short term look at this. Your long term goal is to be a doctor, and you will take many steps toward that goal. Consider that the kids who took honors/AP may be a few steps ahead of you- curriculum wise but if you are all on the same path, that’s a few extra steps you need to take. Would it be wise to skip steps by jumping ahead into accelerated classes either in HS or college? Medical schools heavily weigh GPA, so it’s probably not a good idea.
It could make anyone crazy to get on CC and read posts about people with 2400 SAT’s and a million AP classes but you have to make a plan for your education starting from where you are, with your particular circumstances. It is important that you choose the college where you are most likely to succeed- the best academic and financial fit for you. Your state colleges are good choices. You have not wanted a small college ( and I have seen your housing posts) but sometimes they are the most supportive and personal- the smaller campuses of Penn State may be more supportive than the main one. Admission to med school will depend most heavily on how you do in college. I have seen some kids jump into this highly competitive race in extremely competitive schools and crash and burn. Some people would say that since medicine is so difficult, this is how it should be. For kids with financial need, this is a perilous step because not succeeding in college can leave them in debt.
So to answer, with taking CP effect you? IMHO, I would take it as a sign of where you are on the road to your goals and pick the best fit college for you- the one that will best prepare you- not anyone else- for medical school. Even if you have to take a post graduate med school prep year at the end, success in your college- not the one that only takes honors/AP students, is the best next step to your goal.</p>
<p>to add- the question is not about impressing ad coms but navigating the steps from where you are academically to the pre-med curriculum. In many large state colleges, the first set of classes: biology, chemistry, calculus, physics, are “weeder” classes. They are large, and tough, with sections taught by TA’s and profs whose main goals are research. Many of the students taking them have taken honors and AP, and they are sometimes curved. These same classes can feel a lot different in smaller campuses where classes are smaller and the focus is on teaching undergraduates. I am not familiar with the Penn State system, but there is a 2-2 plan or one can finish there- which may give you the advantage of long term relationships with profs and research programs. Are any of the other campuses smaller with a more personal feel? Are there any pre requisite classes in college that you can take next year that will best prepare you for these med school requirements- like pre calc or intro to bio? What math level do you need to succeed in physics and is there an intro physics class to best prepare? Are there any financial aid programs that provide mentorship or any “student success” programs? Many of these programs are designed to help capable students who have lacked some opportunities to take advances classes navigate the bridge from high school to college. Will med schools care where you attend college? Maybe, but your grades and achievements will count a lot more .
It’s a good idea to sit down with your GC and see what schools are your best fits. I know you want to use the housing option you have but what good is free housing if you are not in the best place to meet your goals.
You have academic and personal strengths. Now is the time to plan carefully which next step is the best one for you. You don’t need to be in AP/honors classes now to get into med school, but you do need to be very successful in college.</p>
<p>FutureDoctor -
Sorry, I guess I read too much into the words of your post when you said:
“I have the opportunity to move up a track in each of my 6 classes, but I’ve already gotten to know the teachers, formed a specific group of friends in each of my classes, and I just like the way my schedule is. I balked at taking AP Psych.”
It’s too bad they put you in track that was not optimal for your goals. At the time of the placement did they explain why? At this point it is water under the bridge, but might be useful to a parent of a student in a similar situation…</p>
<p>@Pennylane2011 Thanks for the wise words, as usual. You’re right, they probably put me in track 2 for my junior year because I was not there for my sophomore year. Plus, my public HS didn’t have ANY type of honors or AP classes, so I guess they just put me where they saw I succeeded freshman year. They also do expect a lot out of us track 2 kids. In fact, some track 2 classes (For instance, my English and Anatomy & Physiology classes) are harder than the honors classes. The problem is just that I just don’t get the quality points of a track 1 (Honors) student. </p>
<p>@BeanTownGirl It’s ok, I understand. They didn’t explain why because they don’t have to. No one really questions their track (Except the ones who really care about their education, like me).</p>
<p>Is it just me, or are there a lot of inconsistencies here? You got the opportunity to move up, but didn’t take it, but you say you want to take honors classes, you flipped back and forth between high schools, you say you want to be an Economics major and become a doctor?</p>
<p>I think lack of focus and inability to convey your ideas are bigger problems to worry about than your courses, honestly.</p>
<p>OP has posted elsewhere about having financial need. I am just a parent, not a pro, but having raised children, I am now familiar with a few cohorts of kids who have gone on to college, and I know many of them since kindergarten. Preparation for AP/honors classes actually starts young, and some kids with financial need have ended up on another track for lack of opportunity. The OP’s school is private, and CP classes may be a higher rigor than our public schools. Many kids in our honors classes feel the jump from high school to university. CP is even a bigger one.
If a student with high financial need is poorly matched to a college, and has trouble, it can lead to difficulty graduating and then the student has no degree, and debt. Support programs and mentoring are vital. I know my own state has some in place for state residents who attend state schools and I have seen them in others. Our large state flagship is huge and competitive. Honors kids have been challenged there. Some of the smaller, maybe less prestigious branches are supportive.
Many CC’ers focus on the prestigious schools, but for pre-med and perhaps everything else, success in college without massive debt are more important. OP is having success exactly where he is: a strong GPA, a good relationship with teachers and peers. IMHO it is not as productive to interrupt this in first semester senior year as it is to continue doing well and applying to colleges. The next step is to build on this success by choosing the best fit college. It is possible to major in Econ and be pre-med as long as one takes the prerequisites.</p>