Course Load Question with regards to rigor

Scoot27 said:
Regarding this, does taking Honors Engineering classes look good for competitiveness, or does admissions only really care about core classes? The class is fun, the workload manageable, and related to my goals regarding my major, but if it doesn't help at all would it be better to take a study hall so It's easier to excel in my core classes such as AP precalc, Ap Lit, Ap phys, Ap gov, and future APs?
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My hunch is that yes, it’s better to forgo the elective and put all your chips into acing those core classes.
 
Kierkegaard said:
My hunch is that yes, it’s better to forgo the elective and put all your chips into acing those core classes.
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Makes sense, If I can handle AP lit, but i need a study hall first semester, maybe I'll just drop engineering second semester to be able to keep a study hall to be able to suceed in that. I would have thought adding an Engineering Honors course looks good rigor and challenge wise, as well as showing well roundedness, but it makes sense that the academies care more about success in core AP courses then success in other courses. I definitely will try to succeed without that year-round study hall though.
 
'School Profile' has been mentioned several times above. Is that a 'report card' of how rigorous (or not) a school is? Our school counselor has told us that all courses taught at our school are 'college prep' (CP) courses. I think this means that even the basic courses (not Honors, not AP, not IB) are inherently more difficult (and rigorous) that a comparable course at a different school. Our school is private and therefore they can 'turn up' the rigor and difficulty. These CP courses then play better to college admissions when comparing one high school to another.

Any insight to what I wrote above...most of that is parroted from our school counselors. I've always wondered about a high school 'profile' in that it actually matters what high school you attend....yes/no?
 
Scoot27 said:
Hello Everyone

Course selections are coming up for next year (junior), and currently I am loaded up with a heavy courseload. Realistically, sustaining straight A's with a courseload this heavy would be extremely taxing. The USNA website says it emphasizes a strong base in english and mathematics, but how do I make my courseload manageable with sports and extracurriculars?

Currently I am slated for

AP Pre-Calc
Ap Physics 1
Ap Gov (not worried, APush and APhug extremely easy for me)
Ap English Lit
Honors Principles Engineering 2 (engineering course at our school)
German 4 Honors (not much harder than regulars, staying in it for seal of biliteracy)
Leadership Principles (taking instead of weightroom period for PE, kinda just a leadership and teambuilding thingy)


I want to go for an Engineering Degree of sorts, with maybe a side in PolySci. Would it hurt me to not do AP lit and take regular Eng 3 instead? I've taken honors English in freshsoph years, and test very well on english on the PSAT. I could do it and be successful but the homework load in addition to everything else could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. I know USNA values Rigor, and I have no aversion to hard work, but realistically I don't know how realistic it is to take this heavy of a courseload with club wrestling, track, and wrestling, as well as boy scouts (likely will serve another 6 month term as SPL (highest leadership position, need to be EXTREMELY active, of a 45 scout troop).

here are past courseloads to get an idea of past workloads.

geometry
biology
APhug
English 1 H
Comp Sci principles
German 2 H


Alg 2 H
Chem
APush
English 2 H
Engineering Princ 1 H
German 3 H

To sum it up, If Im going for engineering with a possible minor in Polysci, would taking normal english (only options english 3 or AP lit junior year) hurt my chances of admission? Is my courseload without AP Lit strong enough to be competitive? Sorry if I went on, but I have given this much thought and need to make selections by friday, and don't know what to do. Thank you!
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Not academic related, maybe a little more towards Noms (but I am sure it matters to admissions). If you have not already done so, get Eagle Scout and if possible, try to do something leadership wise high adventure. DS was crew leader for Philmont and that scored him major points with the nominating committee and while I don't know how much that will help with admissions, it can't hurt. There has to be a good reason that USNA, USMA and AFA send current cadets/Mids to Philmont each summer to act as guides....can't imagine they would not do so unless they really liked the program.
 
Inyati90 said:
'School Profile' has been mentioned several times above. Is that a 'report card' of how rigorous (or not) a school is? Our school counselor has told us that all courses taught at our school are 'college prep' (CP) courses. I think this means that even the basic courses (not Honors, not AP, not IB) are inherently more difficult (and rigorous) that a comparable course at a different school. Our school is private and therefore they can 'turn up' the rigor and difficulty. These CP courses then play better to college admissions when comparing one high school to another.

Any insight to what I wrote above...most of that is parroted from our school counselors. I've always wondered about a high school 'profile' in that it actually matters what high school you attend....yes/no?
Click to expand...
It is a profile of the school and curriculum. It lists what courses are available and the different levels. The grading philosophy/max GPA. It usually has the breakdown of grades so if 50% of honors 11th grade English gets an A colleges know there is grade inflation. They also list average ACT and SAT scores for the graduating class and the prior years college matriculation list.
 
Scoot27 said:
Makes sense, If I can handle AP lit, but i need a study hall first semester, maybe I'll just drop engineering second semester to be able to keep a study hall to be able to suceed in that. I would have thought adding an Engineering Honors course looks good rigor and challenge wise, as well as showing well roundedness, but it makes sense that the academies care more about success in core AP courses then success in other courses. I definitely will try to succeed without that year-round study hall though.
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Service Academy admissions is a competitive activity. Are your competitors choosing study halls over classes?
I've interviewed many candidates who not only don't have study halls, they end up not scheduling lunch so they can take
an additional class. I've seen quite a few who get their school/teacher to allow them to eat a granola bar or similar
while in class since they are scheduled through lunch.
NOTE: Before someone tells me that "their school" does not allow scheduling though lunch, let me say that this was also the case for these candidate's schools. They had to beg/demand it with parental approval.

One of my BGO applicants from last year was doing that while also a state finalist in his sport as well as working part time to
pay some board to his aunt who he lived with.
 
OldRetSWO said:
Service Academy admissions is a competitive activity. Are your competitors choosing study halls over classes?
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This is also true! My thought process is take a study hall (for that 1 semester I dont have APgov) to try to do the hardest stuff, and if I can handle it with a study hall, then wean myself off it and push harder. I did think about dropping Engineering to do a study hall to do better in APs, but came to the conclusion that it was just better to drive until I begin to finally crack under the pressure, then ease off only enough to make that pressure sustainable. Boy scouts (again, I'm extremely active, have served as SPL and PL, gunning for reelection) + Sports means that mondays quite literally do not have enough hours in the day to get work done, so it's definitely a process to figure out how to juggle priorities.
 
Scoot27 said:
This is also true! My thought process is take a study hall (for that 1 semester I dont have APgov) to try to do the hardest stuff, and if I can handle it with a study hall, then wean myself off it and push harder. I did think about dropping Engineering to do a study hall to do better in APs, but came to the conclusion that it was just better to drive until I begin to finally crack under the pressure, then ease off only enough to make that pressure sustainable. Boy scouts (again, I'm extremely active, have served as SPL and PL, gunning for reelection) + Sports means that mondays quite literally do not have enough hours in the day to get work done, so it's definitely a process to figure out how to juggle priorities.
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Not knocking you for trying to manage a schedule with multiple obligations that pull you in all directions.

Your competitors are figuring it out. Anyone who attends a SA has to figure out how to get more out of a 24 hour day then 24 hours allows.

Every person who is applying and kicking butt may have sports, family challenges, academics, clubs, church, volunteer work, a job, club sports, etc etc etc.

You won’t find a study hall on your schedule at a SA.
I know I sound like a jerk but sometimes tough love and truth are a good thing.
 
They call "study hall" enjoying some ...... uhhhhh ...... quiet time at Nimitz, or having a "Youngster" afternoon. Plebes tend to lack the second one, but you will find a plethora of them enjoying some of the other, according to my kid's experience. He said the library was often like a hostel with how many people were enjoying the quiet. ;)
 
IronmanDaremo said:
They call "study hall" enjoying some ...... uhhhhh ...... quiet time at Nimitz, or having a "Youngster" afternoon. Plebes tend to lack the second one, but you will find a plethora of them enjoying some of the other, according to my kid's experience. He said the library was often like a hostel with how many people were enjoying the quiet. ;)
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Times have changed. I majored in study hall when I went to high school. 😂

My son never had study halls. There were semesters where he had classes during lunch.
 
USMC Crayons said:
Not academic related, maybe a little more towards Noms (but I am sure it matters to admissions). If you have not already done so, get Eagle Scout and if possible, try to do something leadership wise high adventure. DS was crew leader for Philmont and that scored him major points with the nominating committee and while I don't know how much that will help with admissions, it can't hurt. There has to be a good reason that USNA, USMA and AFA send current cadets/Mids to Philmont each summer to act as guides....can't imagine they would not do so unless they really liked the program.
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Thank you so much! My class of ‘30 son I s finishing Eagle and doing Philmont this summer
 
Scoot27 said:
I'm doing Philmont this summer with my troop, really looking forward to it.
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Enjoy ..truly a growth experience. I agree 100% with USMC Crayons on the value of Scouting and the High Adventure experience. I went to Philmont is 1977 and had a great experience. I always wanted to get back there. (I missed an opportunity a few years ago -- they run a weekend fly fishing trip for Scout Executives and key Council scouters...but my Scout Executive moved on to another position).
 
Old Navy BGO said:
Enjoy ..truly a growth experience. I agree 100% with USMC Crayons on the value of Scouting and the High Adventure experience. I went to Philmont is 1977 and had a great experience. I always wanted to get back there. (I missed an opportunity a few years ago -- they run a weekend fly fishing trip for Scout Executives and key Council scouters...but my Scout Executive moved on to another position).
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Always regretted not going there. Went to two jamborees and an OA national conclave instead.
 
Old Navy BGO said:
Enjoy ..truly a growth experience. I agree 100% with USMC Crayons on the value of Scouting and the High Adventure experience. I went to Philmont is 1977 and had a great experience. I always wanted to get back there. (I missed an opportunity a few years ago -- they run a weekend fly fishing trip for Scout Executives and key Council scouters...but my Scout Executive moved on to another position).
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I was not provided the opportunity to become a Boy Scout, so knew very little of the organization going in. I was happy with the program, and attended everything with the exception of one summer camp. High Adventure was definitely a pleasant experience. We did both Philmont and The Marksman program at Bechtel in WV, didn't have the chance to do Northern Tier and Sea Base...just couldn't squeeze it in with COVID. From my perspective, I can't think of a better set of programs for military minded young people. DS is in his first year of Marine Option, and he is amazed at how much he already knows and has mastered via his Boy Scout experience. When he did his first field op with his unit, Gunny thought he cheated with his phone he did so well with land navigation (he had to empty his pockets). I guess when you have already mastered a map in the Rockies, flat earthing it is easy. Between that and all of the weapons training, it's definitely an advantage for OCS and TBS.
 
USMC Crayons said:
I guess when you have already mastered a map in the Rockies, flat earthing it is easy. Between that and all of the weapons training, it's definitely an advantage for OCS and TBS.
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No question ..just being comfortable out in the woods is probably a big advantage. One of my Protramid highlights was during our week at Quantico.. I was navigator on our night ambush field exercise and led my team out of the woods about 50 yards from where we went into the woods after about three hours. (Gonna admit, a little luck there). Naval Aviation survival training and land nav were also a breeze.
 
Scoot27 said:
Hello Everyone

Course selections are coming up for next year (junior), and currently I am loaded up with a heavy courseload. Realistically, sustaining straight A's with a courseload this heavy would be extremely taxing. The USNA website says it emphasizes a strong base in english and mathematics, but how do I make my courseload manageable with sports and extracurriculars?

Currently I am slated for

AP Pre-Calc
Ap Physics 1
Ap Gov (not worried, APush and APhug extremely easy for me)
Ap English Lit
Honors Principles Engineering 2 (engineering course at our school)
German 4 Honors (not much harder than regulars, staying in it for seal of biliteracy)
Leadership Principles (taking instead of weightroom period for PE, kinda just a leadership and teambuilding thingy)


I want to go for an Engineering Degree of sorts, with maybe a side in PolySci. Would it hurt me to not do AP lit and take regular Eng 3 instead? I've taken honors English in freshsoph years, and test very well on english on the PSAT. I could do it and be successful but the homework load in addition to everything else could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. I know USNA values Rigor, and I have no aversion to hard work, but realistically I don't know how realistic it is to take this heavy of a courseload with club wrestling, track, and wrestling, as well as boy scouts (likely will serve another 6 month term as SPL (highest leadership position, need to be EXTREMELY active, of a 45 scout troop).

here are past courseloads to get an idea of past workloads.

geometry
biology
APhug
English 1 H
Comp Sci principles
German 2 H


Alg 2 H
Chem
APush
English 2 H
Engineering Princ 1 H
German 3 H

To sum it up, If Im going for engineering with a possible minor in Polysci, would taking normal english (only options english 3 or AP lit junior year) hurt my chances of admission? Is my courseload without AP Lit strong enough to be competitive? Sorry if I went on, but I have given this much thought and need to make selections by friday, and don't know what to do. Thank you!
Click to expand...
You're doing well considering you are only a Sophomore this year. Focus on standardized tests and practice your CFA. Don't overtax yourself to a point of burning out at the end affecting you mentally and emotionally. Focus on community services that you're passionate about and stay with it! More APs do not necessarily get you in and the same for top colleges. I only took 1 AP in my Junior year and 3 in my Senior year. I was accepted to 4 SAs with a single Nom. My younger brother is in the same boat as you. He's aiming for BS/MD route with ROTC rather than SA. Good luck to you!
 
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