No rigorous high school science program - help!

[Anonymous]

Rising 9th grader's high school only has two AP science courses - environmental science and bio. She is aiming for engineering. I am concerned that skipping either of these would be looked upon as "less rigorous", but I don't consider either a great background for engineering. Is she shooting herself in the foot by doing something like honors bio > honors chemistry > honors physics > AP bio. I'm at a loss here of how to proceed here, but we need to get her on the right track ASAP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rising 9th grader's high school only has two AP science courses - environmental science and bio. She is aiming for engineering. I am concerned that skipping either of these would be looked upon as "less rigorous", but I don't consider either a great background for engineering. Is she shooting herself in the foot by doing something like honors bio > honors chemistry > honors physics > AP bio. I'm at a loss here of how to proceed here, but we need to get her on the right track ASAP.

Is this a public school? AP bio is good. She is working with what's offerred. More variety with math course offerings?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rising 9th grader's high school only has two AP science courses - environmental science and bio. She is aiming for engineering. I am concerned that skipping either of these would be looked upon as "less rigorous", but I don't consider either a great background for engineering. Is she shooting herself in the foot by doing something like honors bio > honors chemistry > honors physics > AP bio. I'm at a loss here of how to proceed here, but we need to get her on the right track ASAP.

Is this a public school? AP bio is good. She is working with what's offerred. More variety with math course offerings?

Yes, public. Math maxes out at AP Calculus AB.

[Anonymous]

She can always take classes on her own to show interest. She can also study on her own and take AP exams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rising 9th grader's high school only has two AP science courses - environmental science and bio. She is aiming for engineering. I am concerned that skipping either of these would be looked upon as "less rigorous", but I don't consider either a great background for engineering. Is she shooting herself in the foot by doing something like honors bio > honors chemistry > honors physics > AP bio. I'm at a loss here of how to proceed here, but we need to get her on the right track ASAP.

Is this a public school? AP bio is good. She is working with what's offerred. More variety with math course offerings?

Yes, public. Math maxes out at AP Calculus AB.

PP. Hopefully Calc AB is part of the schedule too? As i mentioned, doing the best she can within "the system". If adventurous, could always consider community college or self study for AP Physics and/or Calc BC. However I don't think that's REQUIRED to get into a good school.

[Anonymous]

Has the high school teamed with a local community college to provide college courses to the high schoolers? This is the best case scenario because she doesn't even have to take the AP exam to get college credit for community college classes. She should be fine at her school for the first two years. After that, she should advance her math and physics as much as possible, and chemistry doesn't hurt, either. Ask the guidance counselor she has that option. Some students at my kid's school take their entire senior year at the community college. Not too shabby.

[Anonymous]

Calm down. She hasn’t even started high school yet. You have a long time to go. Get through 9th grade and see where she’s at. My senior didn’t even take any calculus class and has many colleges to pick from.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Calm down. She hasn’t even started high school yet. You have a long time to go. Get through 9th grade and see where she’s at. My senior didn’t even take any calculus class and has many colleges to pick from.

Not in engineering.

[Anonymous]

She should definitely take AP bio if that's the only core science class available at the AP level.

Selective colleges are mindful of weak high schools. For engineering, in this context math is going to be more important. Make sure she gets to Calculus AB at least by senior year, even if it requires enrolling at community college.

But generally, engineering is incredibly competitive. At absolute minimum, she needs to take the most rigorous courses available. And that includes the core classes - biology, physics, chemistry, history, English, and especially math.

Most engineering students will have taken 10-14 AP courses in high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She can always take classes on her own to show interest. She can also study on her own and take AP exams.

Neither of which really helps much. They key is "Rigor in context". I.e take full advantage of what your HS offers. Self study for AP exams doesn't really help admissions but it could help if you are looking at publics and trying to get some credit. CC classes are so hit and miss that most privates give nothing for them either in admissions or course credits. The kids stacking all of this stuff are just wasting their time in most cases.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She should definitely take AP bio if that's the only core science class available at the AP level.

Selective colleges are mindful of weak high schools. For engineering, in this context math is going to be more important. Make sure she gets to Calculus AB at least by senior year, even if it requires enrolling at community college.

But generally, engineering is incredibly competitive. At absolute minimum, she needs to take the most rigorous courses available. And that includes the core classes - biology, physics, chemistry, history, English, and especially math.

Most engineering students will have taken 10-14 AP courses in high school.

100% not true

[Anonymous]

A few thoughts.

My first thought is that right now you're making decisions for 9th grade. Engineering programs are going to expect students to have all 3 core sciences, and almost all state graduation requirements include a life science. So, regardless of what will be available in future years, Honors Bio is the place for her to start, assuming that's the sequence at her high school. The same is true for whatever is the highest math available for her this year. The choices for this year are obvious.

My next thought is what colleges mean when they say they evaluate kids in the context of their environment. The high school will send a school profile that shows what was available to them.

At the same time, colleges value kids who seek out opportunities to go beyond their environment. So, if she figures out a way to do online dual enrollment, for example and passes Calc 1 and Calc 2 in senior year, and takes the first year of college physics, she'll look better than a kid who covered the same content with Calc BC and Physics C in a high school that offers them. This is just one example. She will have lots of options for showing she can go beyond what is available to her. Without knowing what school district she's in, and your family resources, I can't provide specific options, and it's too early anyway but there will be plenty of them!

Finally, I'll point out that options change. What they offer this year may not be what they will offer down the road. It may be that she decides to be the force that brings change to her high school!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She should definitely take AP bio if that's the only core science class available at the AP level.

Selective colleges are mindful of weak high schools. For engineering, in this context math is going to be more important. Make sure she gets to Calculus AB at least by senior year, even if it requires enrolling at community college.

But generally, engineering is incredibly competitive. At absolute minimum, she needs to take the most rigorous courses available. And that includes the core classes - biology, physics, chemistry, history, English, and especially math.

Most engineering students will have taken 10-14 AP courses in high school.

That's only expected, if at all, when the school offers those classes. No school, even the very top, expect students to take classes that aren't available to them. That's why applicants are evaluated in the context of their high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has the high school teamed with a local community college to provide college courses to the high schoolers? This is the best case scenario because she doesn't even have to take the AP exam to get college credit for community college classes. She should be fine at her school for the first two years. After that, she should advance her math and physics as much as possible, and chemistry doesn't hurt, either. Ask the guidance counselor she has that option. Some students at my kid's school take their entire senior year at the community college. Not too shabby.

+100

At my son's public school, one student took so many dual enrollment courses at the nearby CC that he graduated HS early and only needs to attend UCSD for about two years. It is a pathway that allows a student to take on as much as they can handle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She should definitely take AP bio if that's the only core science class available at the AP level.

Selective colleges are mindful of weak high schools. For engineering, in this context math is going to be more important. Make sure she gets to Calculus AB at least by senior year, even if it requires enrolling at community college.

But generally, engineering is incredibly competitive. At absolute minimum, she needs to take the most rigorous courses available. And that includes the core classes - biology, physics, chemistry, history, English, and especially math.

Most engineering students will have taken 10-14 AP courses in high school.

Absurd. My kid is in engineering at a regional public and he only took a couple of APs. My other kid got into Virginia Tech with only 5 AP classes. The truth is that all engineering programs have a high drop out rate due to the rigor of the curriculum, and if your kid makes it all the way through any of them, they will do well.