Currently, I am a Junior in high school who is looking to go into pre-med programs at more selective colleges such as UNC, Tulane, UC Davis, Emory, Vandy, and Georgetown. My high school course load has consisted of entirely AP and honors classes where they can be and originally I planned on my senior year being no different.
However, I’ve begun to consider taking a surgical tech program senior year that would take up a majority of my school year. I would go from all honors and AP classes (5 periods a day, trimester system) to my only classes all year being two AP classes. One of which being a part of the new capstone program. I’m curious to know if more selective colleges would consider a more rigorous senior year more appealing, or a senior year less rigorous and more so tailored to my career plan.
This program would also keep me in state longer, meaning I would either be taking a gap year, or finding colleges with spring admissions.
Take the most rigorous courses offered at your high school. It will better prepare you for your college courses which you need to ace to be competitive for med school.
Agree, selective colleges look for a rigorous senior year schedule. In general the feeling is that HS is a time for a student to get a strong and well-rounded education – there will be plenty of time to pursue courses for a particular major/career while in college.
My gut is that you are better off continuing with an AP curriculum and applying to colleges on a regular timetable. If you do want to consider pursuing the program I would do the following:
–Discuss with your guidance counselor how the program you are considering has been viewed by college admissions officer, how people who have done it in the past have fared in terms of college admissions etc.
–Think hard about if the program is worth being forced to take a gap year or look for schools’ with spring admissions. FWIW I’m not a fan of freshmen starting in the spring – the fall is where almost all freshmen start, where many friendships are made, where a quarter of the school’s population is adjusting to college etc.
Unless any of the possible courses taken while in high school is a college or dual enrollment course, in which case, be aware that they will be included when your college GPA is recalculated for professional school admissions.
Hello, current UNC freshman in the honors program and Georgetown admit. I’m actually going to disagree with what most people are saying. Yes, colleges want to see competitive courses, but more than that they want to see what you’re interested in and what you will want to do on their campus. My senior year I planned to take 6 AP classes, but after talking to my guidance counselor, I realized AP physics doesn’t really scream potential political science major. Instead, I took an honors sociology course and a dual enrollment philosophy course. Your courses, activities, and essays should all combine to tell a story in your college application about your passions.
No college, including the tippy top, is expecting a senior to have 6 AP’s. But most are expecting a rigorous courseload covering all (or most) of the core subjects. If a student applying to HYPSM wants to take culinary arts as a fun class, be my guest; it will likely have no impact. However, the OP is proposing dropping down to 1-2 academic courses (albeit AP courses, and I’ve yet to be convinced that AP Capstone is a valid substitute for a core class, but that’s beside the point) to take what is essentially a vocational training program. That is fine for those looking for a career as a technician/technologist. I could even be persuaded that it’s fine for the final trimester. But for an entire academic year when one is trying for some highly selective universities, no, I don’t think it’s a good idea.