question about courses in grade 12

[joethemole]

i'm going into grade 12 next year (senior), in canada. i will be taking 7 academic core subjects, math, pre-calc, social studies, english, bio, chem, physics. I'm in a semester system, so up to 4 cores in 1 semester, and 4 in the other.

Currently i'm leaning towards this setup:

1st semester: math, bio, chem
2nd semester: pre-calc, social, english, physics

the reason is that i want max time to study for the SAT Is in the first semester, so i might be taking a spare (meaning no class in that time slot). Also, i want to take Math 2, bio, and chem for my SAT IIs. I'm going into business/finance in uni.

but heres the thing:

Will by taking only 3 courses in the first semester, therefore only submitting 3 complete marks, make your uni application look bad? like if someone else has 4 marks or whatnot.

Also, would it be wise to take a spare, cause i read from harvard/princeton's sites that they want students who maximize their work load, make me look lazy? or will they not care?

thank you

[babypurin]

i'm going into grade 12 next year (senior), in canada. i will be taking 7 academic core subjects, math, pre-calc, social studies, english, bio, chem, physics. I'm in a semester system, so up to 4 cores in 1 semester, and 4 in the other.

Currently i'm leaning towards this setup:

1st semester: math, bio, chem
2nd semester: pre-calc, social, english, physics

the reason is that i want max time to study for the SAT Is in the first semester, so i might be taking a spare (meaning no class in that time slot). Also, i want to take Math 2, bio, and chem for my SAT IIs. I'm going into business/finance in uni.

but heres the thing:

Will by taking only 3 courses in the first semester, therefore only submitting 3 complete marks, make your uni application look bad? like if someone else has 4 marks or whatnot.

Also, would it be wise to take a spare, cause i read from harvard/princeton's sites that they want students who maximize their work load, make me look lazy? or will they not care?

thank you

I would recommend to take the maximum courseload, as you will be competiting with students who have high SAT's and have challenged themselves greatly. If you really want that spare to study for the SAT's, have you considered taking a night class at your local community college - not only will it prepare you for the rigor of college, but could provide credit that could save you time and money in the long run.

Regarding your SATII's, I don't normally recommend that one takes 2 SATII's within the same subject (in this case, Bio and Chem). Maybe not interesting to you, but taking the SATII: US History could actually impress adcoms as a high score will show a wide interest in all cultures and not that just of the motherland.

-Remember hundrends of 1600'ers and 4.0'ers are rejected from Princeton and Harvard - it ain't all about the numbers, its how you sell yourself.

[joethemole]

I would recommend to take the maximum courseload, as you will be competiting with students who have high SAT's and have challenged themselves greatly. If you really want that spare to study for the SAT's, have you considered taking a night class at your local community college - not only will it prepare you for the rigor of college, but could provide credit that could save you time and money in the long run.

Regarding your SATII's, I don't normally recommend that one takes 2 SATII's within the same subject (in this case, Bio and Chem). Maybe not interesting to you, but taking the SATII: US History could actually impress adcoms as a high score will show a wide interest in all cultures and not that just of the motherland.

-Remember hundrends of 1600'ers and 4.0'ers are rejected from Princeton and Harvard - it ain't all about the numbers, its how you sell yourself.

ya but the problem is, i don't KNOW american history. i don't think i've studied any specific american history in high school, or to any extent in junior high. I also doubt i'd be able to do world history... i'm bad at lit, especially poetry.

oh and ya, i'll try my best to sell myself. like mostly thru volunteering hours, work experience, marks, and school clubs.

Update: i talked with my friend, who is going to NYU this year, and i've decided not to take a spare, but to take 2 easy (hopefully) grade 12 options. in my case, keyboarding 301 and financial management 301. but the dillemma that neither he or I can solve is whether to take these two options in the first or 2nd semester. See, he said that if i take english instead of the 2 options in the first semester, there will be an advantage when uni's are looking at my school + SAT marks, because if i do well in english class, but not so well in the SATs, the uni will see that i don't completely suck at english.

but of course, the draw back to this is i get more work (essays, novel studies and whatnot), and get less sat prep.

whats you guy's opinions on this?

personal statement: are there other good SAT/college forums out there?

[babypurin]

Nearly (and I do stress nearly) all American colleges require at least 4 years of English in high school. So your best bet is to take the English course at the beginning of your 12th grade, so they at least see that you are continuing with your English studies for the minimum number of years.

What does keyboarding 301 entail? If you decide to go ahead with those "slack off" courses, you will be viewed as someone who is trying to boost their GPA/ or have the easiest senior as possible - and in the ivy league that is not an acceptable attitude.

-- Remember, for the writing section of the SAT, the College Board only tests about 15-20 different grammar rules. I'll try to dig up an old list of what they test, but it isn't where you need to dust off those old grammar books and intensly study. Its all about beating the game (Once you know whats going to be tested, and know what to come, it becomes easy.)