<p>Hi, I’m currently a sophomore in high school who has to choose a schedule for junior year. heres some background info: I moved from a smaller public high school to one of the top public schools in the country. The move was a huge eye opener. While at my old school, I was one of the best students, I am mediocre at best at my new school. My old school was much smaller. I joined nearly every club freshman year, because none were too large and generally, the students who joined clubs were students who cared about school like me. At my new school, I’ve been intimidated by the sheer amount of intelligence of the student body and the overwhelming amouny of students that I have only joined 2 clubs. I heard that colleges look at all the applicants from a school and determine individual admissions based on other students. at my old school, I probably would have gotten into a fantastic school, such as an Ivy League, for standing out amongst the low-achieving students. However, my confidence has since then completely plummeted and I amafraid I wont get into any of my college choices. It frustrates me that I perhaps could’ve attended a prestigious school graduating from my old high school, if it werent for the fact that my parents wanted to move to a better neighborhood. Now I am scheduling for junior year and don’t know whether to choose an academically rigorous schedule or a slightly more lax one. Basically, I can either double up on science and take AP Chem and Regents Physics, which will let me take Physics C in senior year OR I can take AP Chen and art seminar/ap art and possibly win art awards, but take Physics C in senior year. Which looks better on college apps? Also, my extracurriculars are art club, stage crew, honor societies, community service, and I work in my parents testaurant (since 7th grade actually). I dont play sports…bc I am physically weak and dislike aggressive competition…but I do yoga in ny free time. BTW art is a somewhat strong point for me, I am relatively talented but dont know how well top tier colleges will look upon someone with artistic talent…and I am not planning to major in art…its just a passion.</p>