Some School Advice

[TevashSzat]

So...I'm gonna be a senior in high school next year in the US. I have already finished Calculus BC my junior year so I am technically "finished" with high school math.

I did, though, get into John Hopkins University's Future Scholars Program which lets me take a college math class. Due to scheduling issues, the only class that I can realistically take is Differential Equations with Applications. I've done a little bit of partial differentiation which, I have gladly found to be much more suited for me than vector calculus (cross products are evil and time consuming) or double/triple integration (bounds are a nightmare).

This question is probably going to those who are in college or finished recently. How hard is the class generally? Hopkins is pretty well known for being academically tough so I have some reservations regarding whether I really want to take the class since I will be applying the colleges and have alot of saxophone stuff to prepare for competitions in the fall which is when the class is taking place. I do find math, even the high level stuff, relatively easy and interesting so I don't think boredom will be that much of an issue.

Furthermore, the class, which is on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, starts at one which won't let me get back to school too early, causing problem with extracurriculars/sports.

In short, my dilema is whether I should take the class and pad my college resume more or have a more relaxing first half of senior year. I am going to apply to ivys (Northern East Coast ones) so the competition will be pretty high.

[Shahed]

The answer lies in your perception of what is more valuable, being more competitive or having more time to complete your objectives. Having enough time at college is very important as this is part of your adult formation, you would want to develop yourself with adequate R & R. However, applying to the ivys is stiff and it requires that you have as many competitive advantages as you can over other applicants. You'll have to weigh it out. I would recommend taking the measures necessary to ensure a prosperous and secure, yet challenging, future.

[Rhyfelwyr]

Well, the way the system works in Scotland I basically had an easy year before going to Uni, the year before is our nightmare year.

If this is your big school year, then I'd go for the class. You will have plenty of spare time at Uni.

Hmm, I am getting confused here, you mean you are going to Uni while at school, then going to college?

Well then I mean you will have more time at College, best to pad out your resume if this is your big year.

[Tristrem]

well depending on what you are going to major in, I'd say the Ivy's are overated for the most part. They give you the same education as most state university's and cost twice as much. Myself, I decided that for Engineering my state University was the best bang for the buck. So, if i were you i'd take it easy. On another note since you are thinking ivy, your prolly thinking grad school, and to be honest, no one cares where you get your bachelor's it's the master's degree that is more important, and grad schools look at your grades, not where you went to school.

So if i were you, i'd take it easy and go with the flow.:2thumbsup:

[TevashSzat]

@Tristrem

As for my future post college outlook atm, I hope to get into medical school (another 4 years...) which is like college applications, but even worse for the top ranked ones which means that you really do want to have a high GPA/rank in a good school ie top 20. Take Hopkins, for example, ranked 1 medical school. The program takes less than 100 with thousands applying

If I were in a mediocre high school, I probably wouldn't mind about this program too much, but my high school is extremely competetive. This past year we had 1 harvard, 1 yale, 1 princeton, 1 columbia, 1 dartmouth, and a couple UPenns, cornells, ect... My class has some really smart people too and so I want to stand out. This one friend of mine has a sister who graduated from harvard and a brother entering sophmore year at wharton in UPenn.

@Caledonian Rhyfelwyr

School in the US is pretty much the same (had a horrible junior year personally...wayyy too many standarized testing). I might not have said things clearly. I'm ahead in math at school so I finished our school's highest level math, Calc BC, so I ever take no math senior year or take this course through Hopkins.

[Whacker]

Bust your ass now and your life will be easier in the long run. Take the harder math. If you're going Ivy league you need to trump yourself up as best you can.

[discovery1]

take it, easier senior year is a good thing. Besides, what if your uni uses it as a weeder?