APsAnswered
I joined a new high school and due to this I wasn't able to take many AP/honors courses during my sophomore year. Here are the courses I am planning to take this year:
- Physics (I asked for honors but the classes were filled up)
- Honors Pre-Calculus
- French 2
- Intro to Business
- VS.net (C++ programming) (I tried to take AP World but the classes got all filled up)
- English 10
Outside of school:
- AP Computer Science A
- AP Psychology
Most students in my grade are taking AP Bio/Chem and/or AP World History. Does this put me behind, and if so, how can I explain this to colleges? I understand fully that my GPA isn't exactly going to be competitive this year.
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3 answers
Talking APs, I would say it depends on what you intend to major in or your interests. For example, I took AP Stats and Calculus because I want to study engineering and I need an intro to what I will be doing in college. If you want to do something science related then AP Bio or Chem might be good. AP Psych was my favorite, not too rigorous and very interesting so that's a good class to take outside of school.
I wouldn't worry about what other students are taking because those classes may not pertain to you. If you wanted to explain your classes to colleges, I think there is usually a place in the applications where you can tell them that you transferred and couldn't take the classes you wanted. And your GPA isn't exactly going to be bad, if you do well and earn high grades in your classes, your GPA will be just fine!
Also because classes are filled up now, doesn't mean they will always be. Make sure your counselor knows what you want because if someone drops the class you want, your counselor will know that you want that spot.
Hope that helps!
Not taking AP courses doesn't put you behind, taking them nearly helps you receive credits for college. Many people take all regular courses, and that is seen as a standard for most colleges
I think your school having limited class capacity for higher rigor classes is something that would be mentioned in the school information sheet they get sent. To be sure I would ask your counselor if that is something they disclose to colleges. If not you could mention that in the additional information box in the common app.
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