Senior year workload questions

[sa_applicant2023]

hello guys,

I am an incoming senior in HS applying to USAFA and I attend a gifted and talented high school within my county that requires a test and admissions process to get into. It offers a good amount of AP’s and honors, but since freshman year i have only taken two AP’s (world history and us history, and i did fine in them with A’s) and the rest of my classes are honors classes. Next year I am taking:

AP Physics C - Mechanics (hardest physics and quite possibly the hardest science too)
Advanced Russian Language (hardest russian course offered, having a straight 100 in both junior year russian semesters)
Honors public speaking (trying to fix to get honors english instead)
Honors Calculus (with a straight 100 in my two semesters in precalc)
Honors Career and Financial Management

However, My school has a 100% college rate and they go onto top schools such as Ivy’s and we ranked as one of the top schools in the country. Do I have to worry about my academic workload hurting my chances? Earlier in the year, West Point told me that since my school has these statistics of people going into top schools and having a 100% college rate, i didnt have to worry that much - does USAFA think the same thing?

PS: I have a SAT score of 1440 (740 math / 700 reading)

 

[kinnem]

If your school offers AP Calc then you should take that, IMHO. As long as your taking the toughest courses possible then you'll be OK in any case. If AP Calc is available then Honors Calc might be considered slacking off. All that being said, you need to do what you're comfortable with and what you can succeed at. Just one man's opinion. YMMV.

 

[Nomak54]

I second AP Calc. I was in the same boat as you, AP Calc is just more in-depth. The work load difference wasn't even too noticeable unless you really don't like math haha

 

[sa_applicant2023]

If your school offers AP Calc then you should take that, IMHO. As long as your taking the toughest courses possible then you'll be OK in any case. If AP Calc is available then Honors Calc might be considered slacking off. All that being said, you need to do what you're comfortable with and what you can succeed at. Just one man's opinion. YMMV.

I second AP Calc. I was in the same boat as you, AP Calc is just more in-depth. The work load difference wasn't even too noticeable unless you really don't like math haha

My school places people in these classes based on what you apply for. It depends on your past performance in classes and since I had a bad start at the beginning of high school, I couldn't get into the AP calculus classes. Is this something that I give a note to admissions about?

 

[kinnem]

If your school offers AP Calc then you should take that, IMHO. As long as your taking the toughest courses possible then you'll be OK in any case. If AP Calc is available then Honors Calc might be considered slacking off. All that being said, you need to do what you're comfortable with and what you can succeed at. Just one man's opinion. YMMV.

I second AP Calc. I was in the same boat as you, AP Calc is just more in-depth. The work load difference wasn't even too noticeable unless you really don't like math haha

My school places people in these classes based on what you apply for. It depends on your past performance in classes and since I had a bad start at the beginning of high school, I couldn't get into the AP calculus classes. Is this something that I give a note to admissions about?

I wouldn't mention it other than, perhaps, in an interview. As I said, as long as you're taking the toughest load you can you'll be OK.
The only other thing I can think of, if you choose to pursue it, is that based on your pre-calc performance you might convince your guidance counselor to make an exception in your case. Totally up to you.

 

[USMA 1994]

I think you are competitive. The difference in one class over a four year period will not have much impact on your overall ranking. Keep doing your best.

 

[CrewDad]

@sa applicant2023. I think you heard it all. I also think you are competitive. But that’s just looking at your limited stats you shared with us. I would like to add that at this point what you take in your Senior Year take it for yourself and not for optics. If your school is as good as you say it is, I assume there are many at your school who are stronger than you academically. Even kids with 1500, 1550, 1600 SAT and many with 32-36 ACTs. These scores at your school may be at the top 10% and that’s the type of kids all SAs would like to recruit academically. But in reality all kids come in mixed bags of talent, even at the Ivies.

You know yourself better than anyone on this Forum. You read many posts on competitiveness of all the SAs. If your school is a local school and not a STEM School by Admissions Test, you have to hope that you are just about the only kid applying to West Point from your school. It only takes one more kid who can beat you to it to take the Appointment. Of course there are cases 2 kids in same school district win the Appointment.

Bottom line, when you become a Plebe or Freshman, Calculus Physics, Chem, Literature, History, Economics are harder at places like West Point Annapolis Yale Harvard Stanford Berkeley and in colleges in general. Even if you got 5 on AP Test, kids struggle with Calculus and Physics at Annapolis and West Point. Because colleges teach with more rigor and you are taught by more demanding faculty and studying with more competitive students.

Most competitive students would have completed 7-10 APs when you graduate from high school. If you are there then I wouldn’t worry so much about taking more APs. Most Seniors applying to top US Programs take 3-5 APs in their Senior Year. IMHO you can take any APs that you like if you have covered 4 years of Lab Sci and 4 years of Math through Calculus. Treat yourself to classes you can enjoy in Senior Year and do well.

For your perspective and reference to compare to a successful Appointment to the Class of 2022 and from a very strong district and schools in America, here’s my DS Academic Stats. I assume it is representative of students coming from very strong districts to win their Appointment. Only 3 were selected with Appointment to USNA straight from high school. There were nearly 1,000 who applied to SAs and 40 were given Nominations to 4 SAs.

My DS graduated from a Top US 100 Program school in the country designated by the USNEWS Rankings. He took 7 APs 4 he took in his Senior Year. He took 34 high school credit years. Got mostly As with few Bs. All his STEM grades were 96-97 Unweighted. His humanities and Social Science grades were 97-99, Unweighted. His Senior GPA was 4.0+ which means he didn’t slack off and kept up his dedication. He took 8 core classes in his Senior Year. His SAT 1550, ACT 34. He was a 4 Varsity Sports Letter Man and did the same sports since 6th grade. Topped his CFA. He’s tall but light. He’s a Swimmer. Topped highly rated Leadership Programs. Received 20+ National Awards and Medals in Academics, Athletics, Leadership, and Service. Received 4 ROTC Scholarships including AROTC, 2 AFROTC with Type 2 and Type 1 in any Majors. Tier 3 NROTC in any Majors. But he received only 1 Nomination because his MOCs coordinate and offer 1 Nom and rarely 2 Noms in his District. I only saw 2 females get 2 Noms this year in his District. One is URM and one is ethnically Unknown. One of these females got accepted to many Ivies but got turned down by all SAs. The URM female went to USMA with an LOA. With one Nom, my DS had to choose one SA that requires a Nom to get an Appointment. So he chose USNA, even though he grew up preparing for West Point most of his youth. He attended USMA SLE and USAFA SS on a full Merit Scholarship, attended Harvard Business and Yale programs during high school. USNA was very smart to offer him an LOA in September. They knew LOA can seal the deal in his District. My DS is extremely happy as a Plebe at USNA, he loves the Academy and he is thriving. We look forward to working with him as he continues to grow.

Do what you think is right and dedicate. I hope you make it!

 

[MidCakePa]

Great advice being given you above. So just a couple points to add:

Good idea to change Honors Public Speaking to Honors English. An even better idea to change it to AP English. As mentioned by others, academies want to see you take the hardest classes your school has to offer. And they’ll know, via school profile, what those classes are.

Can you change Honors Career and Financial Management to some kind of government or history class, ideally at AP level? Government and history are core subjects that are highly valued. Even if you’ve met your school’s graduation requirements for social science classes, it would say a lot about you to go above and beyond.

 

[kinnem]

Can you change Honors Career and Financial Management to some kind of government or history class, ideally at AP level? Government and history are core subjects that are highly valued. Even if you’ve met your school’s graduation requirements for social science classes, it would say a lot about you to go above and beyond.

MidCake makes a good point if the academies are your goal and are driving your decisions. If you want to gain some life skills then stick with what you have. Too many kids have no idea about finances these days. Most can't even balance a checkbook until much later in life after learning through the school of hard knocks.

 

[Devil Doc]

One thing about the financial management course is some districts are requiring it to graduate. Mine has required it for about four years now. Most kids take it by sophomore year but have until the last week of school to pass the certification exam.

 

[USAFA10s]

I'd also recommend seeing if you can do anything about getting into AP Calc. Since pre-calc is really the foundation for calculus and requires an understanding of previous topics like algebra, I'd say you have a pretty solid argument with those perfect scores. If not it probably won't be a big deal, but IMHO it would be worth the effort.

 

[FiddleSticks]

I'd say you are a bit weak in the STEM arena. However, you have good standardized test scores. My recommendation is AP Calc, AP Chemistry, and AP English to round out your academics. If you are good at applied math, then AP Physics is ok. However, I'd take chemistry over physics.

The real question in my mind is not academic, but leadership and athletics.

 

[fencersmother]

In general: take the absolute most difficult schedule you can at your school, AND DO WELL.

If homeschooled: get into college classes as soon as available to you (age 16ish here).

If you opt for Honors instead of AP and the latter is offered, you will have some 'splainin' to do.

 

[BBBRRRTT]

Those SAT's look great, and yes they look at your school survey and take the competitiveness of the institution into account. If you don't get in, you will never really know what specifically held you back, but for a free ride education and an opportunity to serve your country, it's worth the time to do all the paperwork, interviews, and finish the application.