Honors classes?

[div60]

I recently just transferred to a new high school as a sophomore...

Right now I am only taking one honors course, Sophomore honors English. At the high school I attended during 9th grade, I also only took one honors class, which was english and I got an A.

However I am considering dropping my sophomore honors english because it is pretty tough for me, which would mean I would be transferred into regular english and I would have no honors for my sophomore year.

I'm not a bad student, I get straight A's and I'm not really involved in stuff yet. I doubt I am going to go to a great university, I will probably just apply to the private university here, since my parents probably wouldn't let me go too far anyway. They do want me to follow my brother's footsteps and go to medical school though...

so no honors classes for sophomore year, does that look pretty bad to a college?

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[div60]

My brother just showed me this forum network, and I just signed up, so sorry if I posted this wrong or something...

 

[DrYoda]

I didn't take any honors or AP classes in highschool and I got a full-ride to one of my state schools. Maybe it makes a difference to really competative schools, but if your not going for one of them I don't think it makes a big difference.

 

[Depakote]

Medical Schools tend to want to see you take the toughest route possible, but colleges are a bit more forgiving. If you aren't gunning for the absolute most competitive schools then you don't need to take the all honors route, esp if you're still getting A's.

Your standardized testing will come into play as well when it comes down to where you'll get in.

Overall, I'd say going down to regular English from honor's wouldn't be the worst case.

BTW. I dropped AP Euro for Regular Euro History Sophomore Year and still managed to get into some very good colleges and did get into med school.

 

[xnfs93hy]

I recently just transferred to a new high school as a sophomore...

Right now I am only taking one honors course, Sophomore honors English. At the high school I attended during 9th grade, I also only took one honors class, which was english and I got an A.

However I am considering dropping my sophomore honors english because it is pretty tough for me, which would mean I would be transferred into regular english and I would have no honors for my sophomore year.

I'm not a bad student, I get straight A's and I'm not really involved in stuff yet. I doubt I am going to go to a great university, I will probably just apply to the private university here, since my parents probably wouldn't let me go too far anyway. They do want me to follow my brother's footsteps and go to medical school though...

so no honors classes for sophomore year, does that look pretty bad to a college?

Depends what we are talking about here. For example, the most competitive school on my list is NYU which would probably want to see honors and AP all four years. I didn't have honors last year, I am in CP and will have honors next semester. Then next year I will have all honors and AP. I am a volunteer, do research and am trying to do an internship. I am also trying to get in contact with a few docs at my local hospital for shadowing experience. If I continue doing this and pulling straight A's I know I will get into NYU early decision. Honestly, unless you want to go to an Ivy League for undergrad you really don't need the honors and AP, just make sure you do something else besides playing video games every day after school.

I am in the same position as you so don't worry about it, just get into a good college and prove yourself in UG because if you do stellar in UG and make connections you can go just about anywhere and it doesn't have to be a top 50. I mean, if I don't get into NYU then I can just go to the University of Maryland, no big deal.

Lastly, if you ARE dead set on a really competitive school (Like much harder than NYU or UVA or w.e) then you can always take dual enrollment classes, community college classes, SELF STUDY AP's...take C.L.E.P, thats what I'm doing. Good luck.

P.S-I don't think an Ivy will happen for UG. Again, don't get upset because lots of people go to Columbia, Harvard, Princeton graduate school after UG. Oh and just because your brother went to med school doesn't mean you have to, its your life, do what YOU want.

 

[xnfs93hy]

Medical Schools tend to want to see you take the toughest route possible, but colleges are a bit more forgiving. If you aren't gunning for the absolute most competitive schools then you don't need to take the all honors route, esp if you're still getting A's.

Your standardized testing will come into play as well when it comes down to where you'll get in.

Overall, I'd say going down to regular English from honor's wouldn't be the worst case.

BTW. I dropped AP Euro for Regular Euro History Sophomore Year and still managed to get into some very good colleges and did get into med school.

This is unrelated but AP U.S is a pain, my friend is in that and he HATES it. I am taking AP Psych and Art History (The only ones they would let me take). Another one of my friends is in A.P Euro and he dropped it too, it must suck.

 

[Depakote]

The funny thing is, I went on to take Regular US history, aced the class... then CLEP'd it and got college credit for it.

(The CLEP tests are very easy, btw)

I think I never actually took Sociology 101, but bought the Study Guide, studied for a weekend and CLEP'd sociology.

Then again, my school had pretty low standards for accepting CLEP credit.

 

[bookgodess15]

I say stick with the AP class. All colleges, competitive or not, want to see you challenging yourself. They'd rather see a B or a C in an honors class than an A in a regular class.

However, if the English is really killing you, don't martyr yourself over it. Does your school offer any other honors/AP classes in subjects that you're better at? If so, definitely try to take those.

 

[Depakote]

I say stick with the AP class. All colleges, competitive or not, want to see you challenging yourself. They'd rather see a B or a C in an honors class than an A in a regular class.

I'm not so sure about that argument.

Absolutely they'd like to see an A in an Honor's class, but when they've got thousands of applications to screen you spend a lot of time as a collection of numbers, the most important of which are GPA and Standardized Test Scores before anyone sees which classes you took.

There might come a time when they're looking at your file and say... "gee, he got an A, but it would have been nice had he taken some harder classes" At which point they're free to decide whether to accept or reject.

If you get rejected by the computer before a human even sees your file b/c you didn't meet the X GPA x Y Test Score = Magic Number then none of the other parts of your file will even matter.

 

[bookgodess15]

Mm... I don't know. A lot of colleges are really getting away from the whole "if he doesn't have X GPA, we cut him" kind of ideology. Even the larger state schools. It depends on where the OP is planning on applying, really, because smaller schools definitely take the time to look over each application, while some of the bigger ones might not have the time and use a computer program like the one you described.

Sorry--I get into the "small school" mindset a little too much.

 

[Depakote]

I will admit it's been a while since I applied to college and I'm thinking in a more med school app mentality.

I would still hesitate to sacrifice GPA for difficulty.

You want to have a high GPA in the most difficult classes possible, but if your grades start falling because you're over-stretching, it's going to hurt you at the next level of applications.

 

[Depakote]

Another thing I've learned is that some courses have a way of impacting the other courses you're taking.

If Honors English winds up monopolizing the OP's time this semester, he might work his butt off to get a B, but this might result in him not getting A's in the classes he should have b/c he wasn't able to devote the time to them.

As always, I'm just giving advice from my experience. The OP is free to make up his own mind.

 

[ertraumashield]

I recently just transferred to a new high school as a sophomore...

Right now I am only taking one honors course, Sophomore honors English. At the high school I attended during 9th grade, I also only took one honors class, which was english and I got an A.

However I am considering dropping my sophomore honors english because it is pretty tough for me, which would mean I would be transferred into regular english and I would have no honors for my sophomore year.

I'm not a bad student, I get straight A's and I'm not really involved in stuff yet. I doubt I am going to go to a great university, I will probably just apply to the private university here, since my parents probably wouldn't let me go too far anyway. They do want me to follow my brother's footsteps and go to medical school though...

so no honors classes for sophomore year, does that look pretty bad to a college?

They want to see a challange. If you're getting all 'A's stick with it. Even if you get 'B's in the honor's classes, stay in it. The more honors the better! :]

 

[pressmom]

My high school had

AP > Honors > College Prep > Regular

I ended up dropping AP english to go into Honors. I still got into three top colleges (Duke, Washington-St. Louis and Vanderbilt). I'd focus on a good GPA and a work load you can manage. Good luck.

 

[Electrophile]

I recently just transferred to a new high school as a sophomore...

Right now I am only taking one honors course, Sophomore honors English. At the high school I attended during 9th grade, I also only took one honors class, which was english and I got an A.

However I am considering dropping my sophomore honors english because it is pretty tough for me, which would mean I would be transferred into regular english and I would have no honors for my sophomore year.

I'm not a bad student, I get straight A's and I'm not really involved in stuff yet. I doubt I am going to go to a great university, I will probably just apply to the private university here, since my parents probably wouldn't let me go too far anyway. They do want me to follow my brother's footsteps and go to medical school though...

so no honors classes for sophomore year, does that look pretty bad to a college?

I think when I was a sophomore, the only honors classes we could take by that point were honors English and honors Spanish/German/French/etc. AP classes were open to juniors and seniors, so I wouldn't sweat it just yet. I took quite a few AP classes (English, Spanish, Calculus, European History, American History, Biology, Chemistry...loved most of them, though chem in particular sucked a lot) and definitely didn't get As in all of them (got Bs or Cs in calc and chemistry if I recall), but I still got into all the places I applied, including Wash U, Vanderbilt, Tulane, and Emory.

And yeah, you're young yet. Don't go into medicine because your brother did or because your parents want something to brag about at cocktail parties. That won't make you happy or fulfilled in the long run.

 

[Terpskins99]

I'm willing to bet that most colleges consider your GPA as the bottom-line before anything else.

Honors, AP, etc... thats icing on the cake for a college applicant, but only if you can maintain a very high GPA. A poor grade (i.e. C or worse) is a pretty big risk and will be a huge blemish on your academic record.

I think course selection becomes more of an issue for medical school applications. But for getting into a good college, maintaining a high GPA should be your first priority.

There are other ways you can improve your college application anyways. Extracurriculars (like music, sports, volunteering) are a big one.

 

[xnfs93hy]

I'm not so sure about that argument.

Absolutely they'd like to see an A in an Honor's class, but when they've got thousands of applications to screen you spend a lot of time as a collection of numbers, the most important of which are GPA and Standardized Test Scores before anyone sees which classes you took.

There might come a time when they're looking at your file and say... "gee, he got an A, but it would have been nice had he taken some harder classes" At which point they're free to decide whether to accept or reject.

If you get rejected by the computer before a human even sees your file b/c you didn't meet the X GPA x Y Test Score = Magic Number then none of the other parts of your file will even matter.

Do they seriously do that?. I'm applying to Ohio state next year. Would a school like that use a computer program? Sorry, I'm just a bit nervous because I thought they all schools looked through the entire app.

 

[MilkmanAl]

Med schools definitely do that, but I don't know about colleges. They might.

 

[xnfs93hy]

Med schools definitely do that, but I don't know about colleges. They might.

I think I'll be fine if I can pull all A's these next two years and keep volunteering and stuff. I cannot believe med schools do that.

 

[Depakote]

I might have been a bit dramatic...

Even in med school applications the computer cut is reasonably low at most places. As long as you're above the published minimum required GPA and MCAT you probably won't get a computer generated rejection... More frequently they defer looking at your application in favor of other more competitive files (with better stats) and then just send you a rejection at the end of the year.