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How important is senior year for colleges when looking at your application? I think they only focus on the first semester but they still look at what classes you take the second semester and some of your progress reports. So how easy/difficult was your senior year? I wanna take these classes:
1. Business management
2. AP Euro History
3. AP Calculus AB
4. AP Biology (maybe)
5. AP English but I might drop to honors
6. Free slot (Considering AP psychology, Great Books-some class where its mostly student oriented and you read any books you want and discuss)
I wanna show colleges that I still took difficult classes but I'm not sure how much a difference it will make, especially if I don't too well in those. I always sorta wanna take AP spanish but its so retarded b/c the same teacher that teaches AP teaches Spanish 4 and we do almost the exact same activities so it will be just a repeat. Senior year is suppose to be a breeze, and I wanna just relax but at the same time I know I need to do well.
So please discuss what your senior year was like and what college you got into. Do you think junior is the most important?
  
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do it man.
damn if i could go back in time i would've taken ap classes, trust me it makes stuff easier for you in the long run.
im now starting my junior year edit - in college - edit and i still havent covered up all my core courses when i shouldn't have if i had taken those classes.
and yes, junior year was tough as ****, i felt my senior year in a most relaxed type of atmosphere.
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Dude, you're going about it all wrong. I realize that it's very common for high schoolers to freak out about getting into college, but in 2 years, you'll barely even remember.
Basically, if you want specific information, research the colleges that you wish to attend and look at what they like, what they don't like, just in general narrow down your field of scope.
EDIT: The AP courses are good for getting college credit and if you pass their exams, though.
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Regardless of impressing the school, If you do well on the AP exam, you can get credit for it and skip a few require college courses. Saving $$$ money and time in the future!
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United States47024 Posts
IMO, Senior year is where you take the classes you want to take. Don't intentionally pick easy classes, but don't go all-out trying to pick up a ton of APs or whatever. Take APs you want to take, and don't force yourself into ones that you know you'll hate.
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Well wanting a easy second semester is definitely understandable. Do you plan on taking Spanish in college? Most colleges give some sort of credit for AP, so AP spanish here might be a good idea, cuz it won't be too much work for you and you also get some credit.
Otherwise, go for classes that you're interested in. I think TheYango's got it right.
Best of both worlds!
But anyway your schedule seems pretty rigorous for second semester with APs. Good luck with everything! And ENJOY second semester!
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ummm... GL? 
that is quite alot of AP
im currently in only 2, due to tech taking up three of my hours, and i didnt have an issue getting into college, although it was a state university.
i would think your overall gpa and act/sat test scores would matter more.
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On February 24 2009 10:20 ilovezil wrote:
Dude, you're going about it all wrong. I realize that it's very common for high schoolers to freak out about getting into college, but in 2 years, you'll barely even remember.
Basically, if you want specific information, research the colleges that you wish to attend and look at what they like, what they don't like, just in general narrow down your field of scope.
true you won't remember shit, but if you do take those courses you won't have to take them in college thus saving you money, time, gpa, and what not.
besides if you're truly serious about going to college i reccomend you get off of that common mindset of "I'll just study to pass the test and that's it... do it at the last time... i won't remember... i just do my hw thats it" that won't help you.
but sooner or later you'll have a thrive for just learning as much as you can not for the sake of academic purposes but for the sake of learning man!
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they wanna see that you take a vigorous courseload in the senior year, and that youre not getting Cs in those classes if you usually get As and Bs. so take the APs.
youre gonna have to send in your midyear report to colleges, which is your first semester grades, and they do consider that.
youll find out if you got accepted before you send in your second semester grades, so those arent as important, but they can change their acceptance to a rejection if you suddenly do terrible on your second semester grades.
my junior year was tough; had to work hard to make sure i was getting all As, and do well on the APs (they dont really look at those though, but college credit ftw).
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you definitely need to take a hard course load, but depending on the school you're going to try to get into it could be different... I'd suggest making a thread on http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/.
Also your latest grades matter more than early grades in High school (if two people have the same GPA then the one with the upward trend/harder classes looks better). It's true that Junior and Senior year are the most important, just don't let off until you get into the school you want to go to...
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On February 24 2009 10:20 ilovezil wrote:
Dude, you're going about it all wrong. I realize that it's very common for high schoolers to freak out about getting into college, but in 2 years, you'll barely even remember.
Basically, if you want specific information, research the colleges that you wish to attend and look at what they like, what they don't like, just in general narrow down your field of scope.
EDIT: The AP courses are good for getting college credit and if you pass their exams, though.
This guy's smart
Just don't tank in your senior year and you're fine. You really, really have to do bad to get your offer yanked.
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The first semester is usually the only thing they ask you about (for the mid year report). I recommend taking classes you want to take. A lot of colleges only ask what classes you are taking senior year, so just make sure your schedule is a good mix. For me personally, I had to keep my rank so I took a shitload of AP courses (8), but if that's not as important to you, then take an off period or two and then have AP classes for the rest.
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7. Making a girl cum (squirt)
I think that's the most important thing tbh
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I'm a senior who applied to colleges two months ago. My GPA is the weak point of my application, but I got straight A's with 5 AP classes last semester. I'll let you know if it helps about a month from now.
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United States10774 Posts
I am a senior this year and I gotta say senior first semester is the busiest time of high school. Start on your college essays as early as possible so you can avoid them when the school year starts. I regret pushing them off until winter break, trying to finish them all just a week before the deadline. Unfortunately, the IB classes I am taking are two semester long, so my second semester hasn't been that easy either. But of course, it's definitely better than the first. I have been trying my hardest to enjoy it.
Colleges do look at your first semester grades through the Mid Year Report, but second semester grades won't affect your admission. If they are terrible or far below your standards, however, your acceptance can get reversed. I will find out where I get in when the decisions come out late March/early April!
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Yeah, my friends and I are doing the same thing (taking a lot of AP's senior year). The mentality being that you want colleges to believe that you're not slacking off even though it's your last year. But really, to me, senior year is the year to relax a little (we submit our college forms early-mid fall though, so our senior grades, esp. 2nd semiester, don't really matter much, do they?)
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I'm am so damn lazy now that I'm a second semester senior now....
Anyways, don't worry too much about what you take; just do well in those classes. It's funny because I took AP Euro my sophomore year.
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IMO, for senior year take 3 APs max, especially if you hold off on your applications and then you'll be trying to juggle a shitload of work in December. For my senior year, I'm taking AP English, AP Physics B, Beginning Piano, Vocal Ensembe, Econ/Gov, and business management and I've had a pretty enjoyable year. Decided to take music classes because it was a subject I wanted to try out as part of taking part in new interests and becoming more well-rounded. Plus, I don't have a math class this year (Knocked out Calc B/C sophomore year and AP Stats junior year). I was originally going to take AP Psychology but changed my mind because I wanted to spend more time on Vocal development and general music theory. So far, I've had an enjoyable senior year. I kind of last minuted my application to University of Pennsylvania and got deferred which made me sad for a while, but I'm still hopeful for all the schools I've applied to. As for your extra class(es), take whatever electives are most enjoyable/that you'll benefit most from.
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United States3824 Posts
i talked to an admissions guy from Brown about revoking Acceptance because of seniors dicking around and here's what he said: As long as you keep B's and don't drop out of your normal classes you can pretty much fuck around.
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AP credits do wonders in college, especially if you get 5s. I basically have to go to college for one fewer year b/c I entered with 27 credits (a normal semester load is 16)
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so seniors are not really important in getting into colleges?
very different from canada; most of the universities here take a look at your senior years' marks (grade 11 and 12: 11 not even for some universities).
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On February 24 2009 11:13 Sunyveil wrote:
AP credits do wonders in college, especially if you get 5s. I basically have to go to college for one fewer year b/c I entered with 27 credits (a normal semester load is 16)
Yep, AP classes rock. I graduated in 4 years with taking 12-14 hours a semester because I started so far ahead. College is really easy when you're only taking 4 classes at a time, and I had a full scholarship so there was no reason to rush it. Funny enough, AP Spanish actually got me the most credit (6 hours vs 3-4 for other classes).
Make sure you check with the colleges you're applying to and find out which AP classes they actually accept for credit (and what scores you need on the exam, of course). Don't waste your time with ones that won't get you credit.
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I started senior year in all AP classes, a week after the school year started, I was no longer in any AP classes haha. How this effected how the colleges looked at my applications? I don't care at all cause my senior year was awesome 
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I passed 8 tests man and that gave me about 27 units(U.S. History counted for six), I took three classes my senior year and five tests and it didn't really seem like I lost a lot of time studying. Just take them, getting a year's worth of boring ass GE coursework out of the way in high school is worth it.
AP Euro is a great subject as is Calc AB, I hated English and passed by the skin of my ass. Biology I"m neutral on, so it's your call on the class choices. Although, don't fuck up you GPA in your second semester, getting all A's then a bunch of C's and D's is not going to look good.
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Thanks for the advice guys but there seems to be both sides to it, some are saying to take some AP but keep a somewhat relaxing schedule and others are saying to take a bunch to get credit. So I should take 3 max APs though?
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United States10774 Posts
I mean honestly, it also depends on what colleges you are looking at. I think it's always a good idea to take as many APs as your ability/time allows if you are trying to get into more selective colleges. Sure, it's nice to have some fun your senior year, but if you have set yourself high goals, you need to keep working for it.
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United States10774 Posts
I know that's a generic advice but that's what it ultimately comes down to, at least for me.
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On February 24 2009 12:01 il0seonpurpose wrote:
Thanks for the advice guys but there seems to be both sides to it, some are saying to take some AP but keep a somewhat relaxing schedule and others are saying to take a bunch to get credit. So I should take 3 max APs though?
However many AP classes you want to take ultimately depends on you. I don't know what kind of person you are/what study habits you have so 3 is a number that is manageble while still having some bit of fun.
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I'm just going to community college and then transferring to a UC school.
Fuck working hard in highschool when you can get the same degree for less money and effort.
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On February 24 2009 14:54 DoctorHelvetica wrote:
I'm just going to community college and then transferring to a UC school.
Fuck working hard in highschool when you can get the same degree for less money and effort.
I know people who went this path, it works if you don't tank your grades (they are basically all you have) but you miss out on the college experience for 2 years considering you just live at home, study, hang out with friends. The same things you have been doing in high school for 2 more years. Fun..
Also, for the higher end UC's, at least for my nearby Community College (Mt. SAC), you need like a 3.00 GPA anyways to enter their honors program which is a 95% guarantee (apparently) of a transfer to UCLA, if you succeed that is and not mess up like half of the people who take it
So unless you plan on going to a lower end UC, grades do matter in high school
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As for the main topic, your first semester of Senior Year is very important. In UC's, it is like 5x more important then your Freshmen Year grades which I believe UC's take a peak and stop caring. I recommend taking a few AP's (2-4) while getting As and Bs in all of them. A C will be drastic in first semester but not 2nd semester where you are already accepted, you need a D to screw yourself over then.
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I only took AP english and physics honors as my advanced classes and I got into an engineering school haha
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Take whatever courses you need to get into the program(s) you want. I wanted to get into Engineering (requires senior level Chem, Phys, Math), so I took AP Calc. I didn't take AP Phys/Chem because I didn't have time, because...
I didn't want to forget extra curriculars. I wanted to show the school that I could take some difficult courses, be involved in and outside of school, and still pull off awesome grades.
Of course, being in Canada, and attending the university I did, they completely ignore AP courses in the Engineering program. But it was still fun!
EDIT: AP courses can save you thousands of dolalrs in Uni. So do it if you know you'll be taking those courses! Just make sure they'll accept them.
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this year (sr year) im taking
ap lit
honors japanese 4
ap psych
h multvar calc / h diff eq
mod phys
astronomy
graphic arts
and i got into dartmouth ED
(i did take plenty of APs in previous yrs too tho)
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haha i took the easiest classes in senior year but kinda regret it. could have got way more credits coming into college, and now i have to take a bunch of useless classes to fulfill GE's.
i'd say take a few regs mixed with aps, not all aps. that's like hell lol. second semester senior year was the best, so chill XD
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Loosen up! TAke like 2-3 ap classes!
it makes life easier :D and u can relax the 2nd half of the year....and 2-3 isnt that bad at all out oif like 5 clases
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It really depends on what program you're looking at and which school you're planning on attending. In Canada, some universities don't accept AP credits for certain courses, so you have to make sure which do accept. In my senior year, I took Physics AP, but in grade 11, I took Calculus AB and Bio AP. I ended up not being able to use Calculus for university credit for my math program, but the material was worth it.
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I'd recommend taking AP English and Great Books, especially if it's Kalb who's teaching them. The man is tough, but he genuinely cares about the stuff he teaches.
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-definately AP bio and .. try calc BC ?
-AP lit is a waste of time if you don't plan on testing out with AP
-AP pysch is pretty easy but quite a bit of reading
-AP chem is quite easy if you want to consider that.
-physics is pretty brutal so ph34r
-music electives??
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Didn't read everything, but I know that most UC students have 15+ semesters of honors/AP courses in 10-12 grade. So each yearlong honors/AP would give you 2 towards the count.
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Heh, I'm taking
AP Bio
AP Comp Sci
Government/AP Econ
AP Calc BC
VMC (some stupid English course)
Some Art class.
I'd say go for what you want to take, but don't get lazy.
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Too many AP credits, possibility of burning out. Higher GPA is more important than what courses you take (as long as you take the courses required, and I don't know of a single program that requires all that AP shit) in my university.
Don't underestimate grade 12 as well, it's definitely not a year to chill out. I found grade 12 easy at first, then after first term I realized I was about 6% below what I needed to get into my university. I had to completely turn it around second term (though I still did get into my university, thank God).
Yeah also junior year is pretty well useless in comparison to senior year in Canada. It's pretty well all based on how well you do in senior year. The good thing is that senior year is probably best year in terms of fun, though there is equal work.
Please don't underestimate senior year like I did because I really paid for it.
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Baa?21243 Posts
On March 17 2009 14:14 Resonance wrote:
Too many AP credits, possibility of burning out. Higher GPA is more important than what courses you take (as long as you take the courses required, and I don't know of a single program that requires all that AP shit) in my university.
You must not go to a very good school.
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On March 17 2009 14:16 Carnivorous Sheep wrote:Show nested quote +On March 17 2009 14:14 Resonance wrote:
Too many AP credits, possibility of burning out. Higher GPA is more important than what courses you take (as long as you take the courses required, and I don't know of a single program that requires all that AP shit) in my university.
You must not go to a very good school.
I go to UBC, 34th in the world last year so it's not a bad school @ all -.-
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Roffles
Pitcairn19291 Posts
I mean, AP Credits are nice to have, but it's really not a necessity. It's great at getting you course exemption and credits to graduate, but it really doesn't help you that much. You still need to take all the other courses your major requires you to graduate, and that's a pain in the ass. For me, the only thing AP Credits help in are if I ever were to graduate early, in 3 years maybe.
I'll actually agree with Resonance on the aspect that AP Credits aren't really necessary, even for the most prestigious programs offered here at my college. It's mainly up to standardized test scores for prospective freshmen, but never AP Credits.
AP Credits are nice to have, but you really don't need them. Although it is good to show that you did take slightly rigorous courses, but you don't need to overload in them. It's good enough to show that you made an effort to try and take challenging courses, but you have to do well in them. It's no use taking 4-6 AP courses only to get straight Bs or Cs in them. You have to do well in order for them to pay off.
Good luck to you!
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Baa?21243 Posts
On March 17 2009 14:43 Resonance wrote:Show nested quote +On March 17 2009 14:16 Carnivorous Sheep wrote:On March 17 2009 14:14 Resonance wrote:
Too many AP credits, possibility of burning out. Higher GPA is more important than what courses you take (as long as you take the courses required, and I don't know of a single program that requires all that AP shit) in my university.
You must not go to a very good school. I go to UBC, 34th in the world last year so it's not a bad school @ all -.-
I don't understand your college's admissions process then. Every single college that I've encountered has encouraged applicants to apply themselves and challenge themselves with harder classes like AP ones. AP classes in the US are weighted on a 5 out of 4 scale on the GPA to account for the increased difficulty. Every single college that I've encountered says that they'd rather see some B's in the most challenging classes your school has to offer than see A's in slacker classes.
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Roffles
Pitcairn19291 Posts
On March 17 2009 15:32 Carnivorous Sheep wrote:Show nested quote +On March 17 2009 14:43 Resonance wrote:On March 17 2009 14:16 Carnivorous Sheep wrote:On March 17 2009 14:14 Resonance wrote:
Too many AP credits, possibility of burning out. Higher GPA is more important than what courses you take (as long as you take the courses required, and I don't know of a single program that requires all that AP shit) in my university.
You must not go to a very good school. I go to UBC, 34th in the world last year so it's not a bad school @ all -.- I don't understand your college's admissions process then. Every single college that I've encountered has encouraged applicants to apply themselves and challenge themselves with harder classes like AP ones. AP classes in the US are weighted on a 5 out of 4 scale on the GPA to account for the increased difficulty. Every single college that I've encountered says that they'd rather see some B's in the most challenging classes your school has to offer than see A's in slacker classes.
They say it's that way, but in fact it's actually not always that way. Sure taking some challenging courses is great, but I know plenty of people where I go that didn't take a single AP course and are here because their grades in slacker classes were good. There's more than one way of getting into a good college, no cookie cutter class build or that shit. It's rather a mixture of every aspect that they look at. AP Courses and GPAs are simply one aspect of them.
But from my experience, AP courses simply play into your course rigor, and determine how much credit you get once you get to college.
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Baa?21243 Posts
You'd be hard pressed to find someone in a top college with a GPA not over 4.0, signifying that they took many challenging (AP, IB, etc.) classes.
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Roffles
Pitcairn19291 Posts
On March 17 2009 15:47 Carnivorous Sheep wrote:
You'd be hard pressed to find someone in a top college with a GPA not over 4.0, signifying that they took many challenging (AP, IB, etc.) classes.
I could probably find plenty of people where I go who didn't take many APs and IBs and had decent grades but not stellar grades, instead making up for it in other areas.
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On March 17 2009 15:32 Carnivorous Sheep wrote:Show nested quote +On March 17 2009 14:43 Resonance wrote:On March 17 2009 14:16 Carnivorous Sheep wrote:On March 17 2009 14:14 Resonance wrote:
Too many AP credits, possibility of burning out. Higher GPA is more important than what courses you take (as long as you take the courses required, and I don't know of a single program that requires all that AP shit) in my university.
You must not go to a very good school. I go to UBC, 34th in the world last year so it's not a bad school @ all -.- I don't understand your college's admissions process then. Every single college that I've encountered has encouraged applicants to apply themselves and challenge themselves with harder classes like AP ones. AP classes in the US are weighted on a 5 out of 4 scale on the GPA to account for the increased difficulty. Every single college that I've encountered says that they'd rather see some B's in the most challenging classes your school has to offer than see A's in slacker classes.
Well ya it is a bit weird actually. They recommend you take harder courses, what university wouldn't want AP students. However w/our school, really all that matters is the GPA. My friend decided to take AP courses two years ago because it was supposed to be better. However when the grades came, he only had about 83% average, and wasn't even high enough to get in. He got on the waiting list and he just barely got in. He worked his ass off that year, and he just BARELY got in. Compare this to some of my other friends, who take the minimum amount of courses required, get 95% average, and get into sciences or some really good faculty (sciences is like 90% avg. to get in).
Basically for MOST faculties (I am not sure about ones like music or other smaller faculties), first years take general courses according to their faculty, then second year declare a major. So basically as long as somebody gets in first year, it doesn't really matter TOO much what courses they took (AP or not AP) as long as they filled the requirements, because everybody in their faculty is doing general anyway. This is in Canada @ least, I am not sure about US, China, etc.
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On March 17 2009 15:32 Carnivorous Sheep wrote:Show nested quote +On March 17 2009 14:43 Resonance wrote:On March 17 2009 14:16 Carnivorous Sheep wrote:On March 17 2009 14:14 Resonance wrote:
Too many AP credits, possibility of burning out. Higher GPA is more important than what courses you take (as long as you take the courses required, and I don't know of a single program that requires all that AP shit) in my university.
You must not go to a very good school. I go to UBC, 34th in the world last year so it's not a bad school @ all -.- I don't understand your college's admissions process then. Every single college that I've encountered has encouraged applicants to apply themselves and challenge themselves with harder classes like AP ones. AP classes in the US are weighted on a 5 out of 4 scale on the GPA to account for the increased difficulty. Every single college that I've encountered says that they'd rather see some B's in the most challenging classes your school has to offer than see A's in slacker classes.
I think the difference might be Canada vs the USA. Its much easier to get into a good school in Canada than it is in the USA from what I understand. Our government pumps a lot of money into schools so as long as you have respectable grades you can get into any school you want because there is tons of room.
I go to UBC as well. I did shitty in high school then got straight As for 2 years at some crappy community college and UBC admitted me with nothing more than a transcript. I dont even have English 12 lol, and I am graduating in 2 months with a degree.
I feel sorry for you americans that have to work your asses off to get into a good school, than pay ridiculous sums of money. I pay about 5k a year for full time study and will come out with a highly reputable degree. I would seriously recommend you consider a Canadian school. Its quite easy for foreigners to get in and it will cost you far less even as an international student than any american school would cost.
High school should be all about slacking off and partying hard. Enjoy yourself.
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Wow thanks for opening up options Mastermind!
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AP credits help a lot in college (if they accept them). I have a few friends that graduated in two years because nearly all of their damn lower division breadth requirements were satisfied just from APs.
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On February 24 2009 10:20 EsX_Raptor wrote:
do it man.
damn if i could go back in time i would've taken ap classes, trust me it makes stuff easier for you in the long run.
im now starting my junior year edit - in college - edit and i still havent covered up all my core courses when i shouldn't have if i had taken those classes.
and yes, junior year was tough as ****, i felt my senior year in a most relaxed type of atmosphere.
u gotta realize though that some college won't give F**K about the AP courses u took and won't give u any creds for them and u'll just have to take them again...
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United States10774 Posts
who else is suffering senioritis? dont feel like doing shit...
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Baa?21243 Posts
Oh, yeah, definitely lots of senioritis. To be fair, I've had senioritis since about 9th grade, but still, I'm hitting new lows...
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doing the bare minimum as a senior is harder than i thought it would be
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On April 07 2009 12:56 OneOther wrote:
who else is suffering senioritis? dont feel like doing shit...
you think its bad in high schoool? Just wait until you suffer from it in college.
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On April 07 2009 12:56 OneOther wrote:
who else is suffering senioritis? dont feel like doing shit...
Not really... at my school no one has really let down on their work (although we all feel like slacking off haha)
Oh god I can't wait for this week to end and spring break to begin... School/Track/lack of sleep has taken such a big toll on my body T____T
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Roffles
Pitcairn19291 Posts
I've had this feeling of wanting to do nothing ever since elementary school. Sucks cause it's still going on in college. There's always another day.
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On February 24 2009 14:54 DoctorHelvetica wrote:
I'm just going to community college and then transferring to a UC school.
Fuck working hard in highschool when you can get the same degree for less money and effort.
dumbass, you get what you put into college its not a cost to work hard... community college is a major pit fall in my opinion.
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EPT
