English 10H
World Hist/Geo
Int Math IIH
PE
Physics(Likely Major)
Spanish II
Edit: DE Art Appreciation during summer to fulfill art requirement.
Here is my proposed Junior Year Schedule:
AP English Lang
DE History, DE Sociology(Paired)
AP Pre-Calc
AP Bio(Most Likely Major)
Spanish III
AP Psychology
DE ASL I, ASL II(Paired)
DE Astronomy(I’m very interested in this topic, possible minor in college)
I guess what I’m really worried about is Spanish. I’m doing fine in my other classes, but I’m having a hard time with Spanish, it has been making me think I shouldn’t do Spanish 3, but I know most colleges recommend/require 3-4 years of the same language. Any Thoughts? Also, any college suggestions for in-state CA?
This is a very demanding schedule. To me it looks like a huge step up in rigor from your current schedule, and very tough even for students who are headed to the most academically demanding universities. I am wondering why you have so many DE and AP classes. In addition to this tough course schedule, Junior year is likely to include thinking about which universities you are interested in, visiting some schools, and studying for and taking SAT or ACT exams. All of this will take up both time and effort.
We have occasionally heard from students who bit off too much for their junior year. This is not a good year to get one or two bad grades.
I would cut back somewhere.
It is early to suggest schools. Your grades, test scores, and budget will all be important inputs to consider. What you want in a school is also very important.
Since you are from California, you have a long list of excellent in-state public universities, including both the various universities of California, and the various CSU’s.
I’m sorry that you are having a hard time with Spanish, but you should probably continue with Spanish 3 and 4. You are correct that many colleges recommend or require 3-4 years of foreign language. Not taking it would limit your choices making your college list when the time comes.
So my D26 felt similarly about not loving Spanish. She’s in Spanish 3 now and doing really well! I wonder if something clicks at some point in the language learning process. It might also be her teacher, who is different from the Spanish 2 teacher. I’d suggest going for it since it is really valued in college admissions.
I agree with the suggestions above. Are you particularly interested in American Sign Language? Many colleges prefer students to go in greater depth in one foreign language than to go to intermediate levels in two different ones. But if you’re really interested in ASL and would plan on doing two more semesters senior year, that could be your more in-depth language.
I would also look at the syllabus for the astronomy class and talk to the professor about what kind of math background is helpful to have for it. Depending on the response, you may want to postpone that class.
If there are any UCs or Cal States are nearby, I think that visiting them to get a sense of your preferences could be worthwhile. It would be important to note whether the Cal State is a residential or commuter campus, so you can understand the different feel and to see your own reactions to that type of campus. Additionally, I’d take a good look at Cal Poly: Humboldt, Cal State: Chico, Cal State: Monterey Bay, UC Merced, and Sonoma State as those are some of the public schools that have residential campuses and more approachable admission rates.
Are you currently in integrated math 2 or 3? If 2, is your school’s math curriculum designed to allow good students in math to go directly from 2 to precalculus without taking 3?
UCs and CSUs require level 2 of language other than English for admission, but UCs recommend level 3. Note that many UCs have foreign language graduation requirements, so reaching a higher level in high school may allow fulfilling such requirements with fewer courses in college.
Also note: college courses cover more material at a faster pace than most high school courses. So a semester college course may cover as much material as a year high school course (e.g. college intro psychology versus high school AP psychology).
I’m in Math II Honors, so pre-calc is the next class, than Calc AB/BC. The college I’m taking ASL, shows that ASL 1 counts as level 1 and ASL 2 counts as level 3.
I am particularly interested in most of the classes I choose, most I wouldn’t mind studying more just for fun. I’m only really worried about Spanish, but if it becomes too much, I could readjust my schedule, but since I like almost all those classes, I doubt I would struggle too much. Thanks for the suggestion.