Okay, so a new semester began at my school and I am a junior. Since I go to a college preparatory school (private), all of the classes are considered AP (and you cannot take anything above that).
This is my schedule:
U.S. History
Pre-Calc
English (with a REALLY hard teacher I’ve never had before-- but I know he is the hardest teacher)
Biology
Organic Chemistry
Golf (required P.E. elective, that actually gives you work to do)
French 3
No Free Period
So, basically I am taking 7 full courses and I am pretty nervous. I’ve done this for the majority of my high school career, but not with O-Chem and this intense English teacher. I have a 4.0 right now, but I don’t want to go to an Ivy or anywhere outside of my city (I want to live from home). I want to be a competitive student in order to increase my chances at a full ride.
I also want to go Pre-Med and I don’t know if taking O-Chem will actually prep me for college, or if it’s just a waste of time (because I will learn it from college anyway/will probably forget what I learned).
I really want to keep my 4.0 and I really loved taking Chemistry in 10th grade, BUT I’m thinking about taking a free period instead of O-Chem in order to even have a chance at keeping my GPA.
This super hard English teacher that now have is notorious for giving out C’s to A students and on top of that, English is my weakest subject.
Also, it is my junior year, so I think it is important to keep my 4.0 (even if that means taking a free) AND I have the SAT and ACT to study for as well as AP tests.
I think that sounds like a good plan. Taking two sciences at once with a bunch of other AP’s can be killer. You should probably take O chem at some point so that it will be easier in college, but save it for senior year. Plus, if you have some decent EC’s, you don’t want them to slip under too heavy a workload.
I would take the free period. Balancing AP tests, SATs/ACTs, AP Classes, subject tests, etc will be a ton. It’s better to have a strong GPA with one less AP class, rather than a weaker GPA with one more. Plus, you can always take O-chem in college or at a local community college in summer.
If you really want to take chem, because you love it, then go for it! But then you might have to be okay without a perfect GPA.
Take the free period.
OChem in HS is nothing like in college anyway (just like “physical science” in 6th grade really didn’t prepare you for 11th grade physics).
A free ride will mostly depend on your test scores, not on a 4.0.
Why do you need a free ride - parents can’t afford college, parents said they wouldn’t help…?
Free rides are VERY hard to get.
If your family makes 75K or less you can get a full ride based on merit and need at top colleges; if your family makes 125-140K you’d get a full tuition scholarship if you can get in.
At most universities, though, merit-based aid is strictly linked to test scores, with ACT32/SAT 1450 the magic number. The highest ranked university with a guaranteed full tuition scholarship is UAlabama. Ole Miss also offers good scholarships. Many state flagships offer good scholarships for their instate residents, but not always (Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, or Illinois are bad, for example).
@owl16548 If you intend to live at home during college then you will be looking for full tuition, which is somewhat easier to get than a full ride. Of course, that will also depend on how competitive your local university is.
I also recommend dropping O Chem to preserve your sanity!