So for Junior year, I wanted a buffer class to (partially) neutralize the toughness of 5 AP’s, ROP Child Dev being the buffer class.
AP CALC AB
AP Euro
AP LANG
AP US
AP Bio
*ROP Child Dev
Except the problem is, I know Junior year is crucial and I don’t know if colleges will look down on me for not taking that sixth academic class, regardless of it being AP or not. AP Psych at my school is a joke, and we also have two new classes: Engineering and Anatomy/Physiology that I’m interested in as well.
I was really looking forward to ROP Child Dev cuz the last two years of HS, I’ve helped out in the Adaptive PE class and was super touched. I kinda feel a calling towards the behavioral sciences or neuroscience with children and felt this class could be a great experience to work with children.
Rundown on Child Dev: I get placed in a local elementary school and I work with the teacher to setup lesson plans, teach in small groups, grade papers…honestly it seems like TA for a elementary school teacher.
Now, should I really take this class, and if I do, does it make my junior look bad?
I took child development last year, and I know that I learned a lot. I think colleges would actually appreciate that you took the class, it shows your interest in the field, plus it could count as a sort of free school-provided EC since you get to go help out at an elementary school. Your child dev sounds a lot like our school’s teacher aid program, they send students who took child development to do the same thing, and I know it put a lot of those girls at an advantage.
I feel like if you take the class it’ll help you stand out, seeing as you had firsthand experience with children. Colleges look for more in a student than the ability to get good grades in difficult classes. (: I feel like taking the class will help make you more well-rounded, since you have the difficult/academic side covered with all of the APs you’re taking. Plus, it could help you relax from an academically demanding schedule.
On the engineering thing, you should definitely take some of those classes next year. I took the introductory engineering course at our school last year (my sophomore year) and I really enjoyed it, and I got college credit at the end of the year. I’m taking the “next level” of the engineering path this year honestly as more of a filler, but they tend to look good on college, especially if you’re female… I know lots of colleges are looking for females interested in the sciences and technology now. The classes aren’t exceptionally demanding, and they’re pretty self-driven (at least at my school, they are.) They’re totally worth trying out if you don’t have your schedule completely filled up for next year.
Haha, that’s the funny part. I’m a guy, but I’m really into the behavioral sciences/humanities/child care. IK IK, It’s all STEM nowadays, and many of my friends told me to take AP Physics 1 instead of Child Dev, but I legit fell in love with the class description, and from what you’re saying I’ll most likely take it
@Salm0nfishy Don’t let gender expectations deter you from taking the classes you want! For some reason humanities classes are seen as feminine and STEM classes masculine. I think you’re brave for not giving what your classmates think a second thought!