Are you choosing the right subjects in Class 11?
CRUCIAL DECISION Subject selection becomes a tricky question if you hope to study abroad
TShiT s is n e of year are not required to have taken either subject through Class 12. Keep this in mind and remember that your current subjects need not be a direct map onto your future goals.
In the US, because the application process is holistic and students are allowed to change their major course of study and colleges are looking for overall academic preparation. This is why US colleges recommend you take courses in all subjects including English, social studies, mathematics, science, and foreign language throughout grades 9-12. The more selective the college, the more rigour they will expect, no matter what your intended major – example successful applicants to the best universities for history have usually taken three to four years of science and math.
Higher education in the US is grounded in the philosophy of liberal education, which equips students to manage diversity, complexity and change while also exposing them to in-depth achievement of a specific subject. As such, US colleges are not seeking students who are overly specialised or narrowly focused at an early age and the idea of professional studies at the undergraduate level is rare (example medicine and law can only be studied as post-graduate courses in the US). This approach to education partially explains why entry requirements to US colleges are not overly specific.
The above scenarios of the UK and US are the most extreme – one very rigid, the other very flexible. Many other country requirements, such as Canada, Singapore and Australia, fall somewhere in the middle and vary by college and course. But as a rule, no matter your intended country of study, dropping either science or math after 10th grade will limit your options. And it is almost universally true that students interested in engineering should plan to study math and physics. If all else fails and you have specific questions about whether you are eligible to apply with your particular subjects, you can email or call the university directly. Also remember that ‘scoring’ should not be the criteria for subject choice.
The author is a study abroad advisor and co-founder of The Red Pen.