High School Plan for College Prep - Get Opinion

[MIT00100]

Hi!

I need your opinion on the best course of action for High School. My plan needs to be a bit rigorous, as I hope to attend a prestigious College.


So, here's my High School plan.

9th Grade


1st Semester:


Algebra 3

Grammar and Composition IV

General Chemistry I

Biology

World History

American Government

Anatomy and Physiology

Computer Programming

French


2nd Semester:


Physics I

World Literature

Pre-Calculus

General Chemistry II

World Civilizations II

Microeconomics

Genetics

Data Structures

French


9th Grade Summer

Grammar and Composition V

Molecular Genetics

Physics II


10th Grade


1rst Semester:


Calculus AB

Molecular Biology

Macroeconomics

English Literature

European History

Analytical Chemistry I

Physics III

Ecology

Advanced French


2nd Semester:


Calculus BC

Philosophy

Quantum Physics I

Comparative Politics

Social Psychology

Computer Programming in SAS

African-American Literature

Advanced French


10th grade Summer

Embryology

Statistics I


11th Grade


1st Semester:


Calculus II

Microbiology

British Literature

Logic I

World Religion

Environmental Chemistry

Organic Chemistry I


2nd Semester:


Calculus III

Environmental History

Asian Literature

Molecular Biology

International Relations

Organic Chemistry II

Quantum Physics II

Intro to Robotics


12th Grade


1st Semester:


Differential Equations

Medicinal Chemistry

French Poetry I

Immunology

Intro to Neuroscience

Logic II

Advanced Robotics


2nd Semester:


Linear Algebra

Immunobiology

Histology

World Politics

Biochemistry

French Poetry II

Sexual and Gender Identities


This is sort of a rough draft but I want to know how it sounds.

Also, do you have any ideas for extra curricular activities within the medical field?


Thanks!

 

[Choppy]

I'm not sure I can comment on your high school plan. My high school plans usually focussed on asking out particular young women.

As for extra cirricular activities in the medical field:
- volunteer work in hospitals
- first aid instructor or attendant (St. John Ambulance, Red Cross, etc.)
- military work as a medic
- work with disabled or mentally challenged people
- just about any long term committment volunteer work looks good

 

[thrill3rnit3]

some of the stuff you have in there, such as "Calculus AB" and "Calculus BC" are year long courses

 

[SonyAlmeida]

If you can handle it and your school will let you do it, I guess there's nothing wrong with that. I took around 30% of the classes you did, though, and got into a pretty good college with a couple of extracurriculars and a few awards for the state math olympiads.

 

[Wellesley]

Are all these courses offered at your high school? Are you in the U.S.?

 

[thrill3rnit3]

Are all these courses offered at your high school? Are you in the U.S.?

If he is he can probably take most of them in a CC.

 

[snipez90]

Yeah what is up with that why is there like hardly any continuity between each semester. Is your high school really that strong at academics that it can teach you whole courses in a semester?

 

[thrill3rnit3]

I suggest that you don't focus too much on your academics (but of course make sure you maintain the A's), but more than anything else, make sure your extracurricular stuff is like no other.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Histology and Quantum Physics II? Either times have really changed since I was in school, or this is some really fancy high school! I just remember taking things like basic geography, algebra, social studies, and phys ed.

p.s. You guys are really lucky if you don't have to take phys ed. anymore. We had to take it every year. I still have some scars from dodgeball.

 

[thrill3rnit3]

I didn't even read most of the subjects he has listed down, seems like he's been getting way over himself a bit.

 

[Dembadon]

Physics I-III with no labs? No chemistry labs either?

I'd like to know the name of this high school. I can't even begin to comprehend the amount of funding this school would need in order to employ individuals who are qualified to teach some of the subjects listed.

Is this a private high school?

I'll be honest with you; I don't understand why you'd need us to confirm whether or not this is a rigorous schedule.

-Robert

 

[jtbell]

I've never heard of a high school in the U.S. that has courses like French Poetry I and II.

 

[TMFKAN64]

The secret to getting into a prestigious college is extracurricular activities. Sure, you need good grades and test scores, but almost everyone who applies to prestigious universities has these. The extracurriculars are what make the difference.

So IMHO, you'd probably be much better off taking fewer courses and spending more time volunteering in a hospital.

 

[Tibarn]

Is this for real? I find it rather dubious that the OP would be taking quantum mechanics and calculus BC concurrently. Or Anatomy and Physiology concurrently with biology and chemistry. Or Molecular Biology a full year before organic chemistry.

Assuming the OP is in good faith, that schedule is nigh impossible. Not only are courses taken out of order, the workload itself is immense. To cover 7-9 classes a semester, especially classes that have little to do with one another, would require giving up sleep altogether. I don't even think John Stuart Mill could handle that kind of workload.

 

[qntty]

First, have you considered the possibility that you could burn-out after a few semesters?

Second, are you aware that your physics education is very out-of-sync with your math education? You're taking physics I before you even begin calculus and two quantum mechanics courses before taking linear algebra.

 

[Wellesley]

If he is he can probably take most of them in a CC.

You are right you could, but with the kind of courses the OP listed, he/she could just skip high school and go right to college. I really see nothing stopping them from doing just that...

 

[brainy kevin]

I'd just like to point out the ridiculousness of taking quantum physics with only calculus. This will almost certainly end up being a "concept" class where you won't really learn the material.

 

[MIT00100]

I didn't expect so many comments in one day.

1. I am female.

2. The list is still a rough draft, I just wanted your opinions on the classes I have listed as well as any others I should take.

3. Sorry about it being out of sync, I didn't pay that much attention to it. I will increase or decrease the acceleration depending on the class, this is just a generalized plan. Maybe next time the the courses will fit the pre-requisites, lol.

4. I am Homeschooled so I planned on either taking courses at a Community College or getting a private tutor.

5. I will also be taking weakly tennis lessons. Unfortunately I DON'T get out of the P.E requirement

6. I will be doing school on weekends as well as having a larger workload so that's why it will hopefully only be a semester, although I realize there is still a high possibility that it will take longer.

7. I really just hope to accomplish something at least similar to this. I will change most of the courses accordingly, but I do hope to take 6-8 courses a semester, although I do realize it can be overwhelming so I might drop a course in a semester if that's the case. That or I'll never sleep and just inject caffeine straight into my body, lol.

8. I usually wake up at 5am, at least within the school year, so I was hoping for days possibly around 6am-3pm. Again I am Homeschooled so I don't have to take long lunch breaks, I can just eat Lucky Charms while doing my school. Pi=Magically Delicious.

 

[thrill3rnit3]

You need to modify that schedule big time. Learning "Quantum Mechanics" while haven't even touching Linear Algebra just sounds way off...

 

[MIT00100]

I will definitely change the physics

 

[TMFKAN64]

Being homeschooled, you might want to take a look at http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/apply/homeschooled_applicants_helpful_tips/homeschooled_applicants.shtml for a few comments about homeschooled admissions to MIT.

In particular, they seem to value going *deeper* into the material, not *broader*... trying to cover everything just won't impress. Keep in mind what they say about the community and recommendations as well.

 

[glueball8]

You might want to consider IMO, IPhO or IChO.

No international medal = No MIT. Especially for non-usa people.

 

[doublemint]

Wow! Your are taking all of these courses in high school while I will be doing others beginning this fall...at university. Do they actually offer there courses to high school students in the US?

But to the point - your scheduling is off. You should be taking general chemistry then organic and afterward if you really want to, you can take analytical chemistry.. but this course is usually for chemists. And where are the labs? One lab usually takes 2-3 hours, at least at where I study. Especially in organic and analytical chemistry, labs are a must.
Also, you must have completed your biochemistry perquisites and along with organic chemistry before you can take molecular biology, immunology, embryology, etc.

I must say, subjecting yourself to a broad range of courses and also the level of depth will be difficult. Not to mention the number of courses per semester and the work load you will have to do. Have you taken any high school science courses when you were homeschooled? Much knowledge from those courses are required to understand higher level courses. Although you can get away from some of it in introductory level courses.

As for volunteering, anything would be good as long as you stay in it. Changing volunteer jobs every year does not look good. Right now I am volunteering at a rehabiliation center and just applied to the military to become a medical technician.

But if you are ready then Good Luck!

DoubleMint

 

[eri]

You'll have to check out your local community colleges - the thing about them is that they only offer courses that you'd take the first year, and maybe the second, of college - not advanced college courses like quantum mechanics. That's not going to be an option at community college, nor are some of these math classes. And good luck finding a tutor that could teach you that - they're called college professors. I think you're getting well ahead of yourself when planning out this schedule.

 

[MIT00100]

I'm taking Summer courses now so I'm almost done with High School chemistry, biology and algebra 2.

Some of the courses that I listed in 9th and 10th grade are going to be online CC classes.

I'm actually going to cut out super advanced classes such as histology, quantum physics, ect. Most of those were just personal goals, but I think there might be a Summer program that let's me take a few neuroscience classes.

I might go to a boarding school focused on science and math in 11th and 12th grade, if I do then I can take all the math, biology, and chemistry courses.

 

[thrill3rnit3]

Stanford offers online classes called EPGY that offers wide varieties of math and science classes online - probably the best way you can take the classes you have listed down.

e.g. these are the UNIVERSITY-LEVEL physics classes they offer:
P055 Light and Heat
P070 Modern Physics
P110 Intermediate Mechanics I
P111 Intermediate Mechanics II
P120 Intermediate Electricity and Magnetism I
P121 Intermediate Electricity and Magnetism II
P130 Introduction to Quantum Mechanics

math UNIVERSITY-level courses:
M51A Linear Algebra
M52A Multivariable Differential Calculus
M52B Multivariable Integral Calculus
M53A Differential Equations
M106 Complex Analysis
M109 Modern Algebra
M115 Real Analysis
M131 Partial Differential Equations
M146 Point-Set Topology
M152 Number Theory
M157 Introduction to Logic

http://epgy.stanford.edu

 

[snipez90]

The one thing that bothers me is that I still don't have a clear idea of where the OP's passions lie. I don't understand why on the one hand quantum physics is a personal goal yet the OP seeks extracurriculars in the medical field. By no means should you unnecessarily confine yourself to a few subjects, but what subjects have you encountered so far that really interest you (ok well I guess the answer could be everything at this point).

 

[naele]

I doubt very much that course load is sustainable. Unless you don't want a life.

edit: By the way, community colleges don't teach analytical chemistry. That's something you need to go to a 4 year school to take. Also, anatomy and physiology concurrently with first year biology? Is this plan a joke? Not even college students do that. Either OP is pranking us, or she's really naive.

edit2: Medicinal chemistry your senior year? I mean really do you even know what you're typing?

 

[MIT00100]

The boarding school I will (hopefully) attend goes beyond the Community College courses that I could take, beyond the things I listed.

 

[thrill3rnit3]

What's the name of that "boarding school" you're supposedly going to, if you don't mind telling us? It seems more like a university to me.

 

[MIT00100]

NCSSM (North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics) it had the best SAT score in the state. http://www.ncssm.edu/

 

[thrill3rnit3]

I thought you said you were homeschooled?

Anyways, if you are going to attend a high school, I doubt you can take that many courses in a semester, plus you're just over-loading yourself way too much. Maybe use the extra time to do extra-curricular activities.

 

[MIT00100]

NCSSM is strictly a Junior/Senior school. So I will be Homeschooled until that point, at which time I will probably participate in the "learn and earn" program at my CC. Even if I could take all the classes, I'm starting to think I should cut back a couple

 

[MIT00100]

Or I'll try EPGY my Freshman and Sophomore years.

 

[naele]

While it's impressive that a boarding school offers subjects beyond typical AP classes, after browsing the course information it seems that they are merely watered down versions of what is available at universities. The vector calculus course covers in one year what is usually covered in 10 weeks at some universities. The analytical chemistry class doesn't even touch on complex equilibria, instead choosing a shotgun approach of various topics.

OP, you would be re-taking these classes anyway. You would be much better served taking courses at a community college and then entering university 1-2 years earlier than expected than taking watered down classes you would be re-taking anyway. At a community college you can easily knock out your general education requirements while taking pre-med requirements such as physics, chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, anatomy&physiology, etc.