Hi,
I am a junior in high school. I need help with some course selections.
Right now my schedule is:
AP Econ
Spanish 4
AP Physics 1
Orchestra
AP US HIstory
PreCalc w/ Trig Honors
AP Lang
I need help in deciding whether or not I should take AP Physics or AP chem. I took Chem 1 honors last year and got a pretty solid A and my teacher was good, but from what I have heard, AP Chem is a lot harder than Chem 1 Honors. I was planning on taking Ap Physics 1 this year and next year I would take AP Physics C. But I am having second thoughts because of AP Chem. Plus, the teacher in AP Chem also taught me Chem 1 last year and liked me, so if I took AP Chem and did well in it she could possibly write me a letter of recommendation… I don’t know how ap physics and ap chem compare to each other… but do you think my science path looks good or should I change it to AP Chem? (also- would ap chem look better if I am trying to do something with medicine?)
Also- I am thinking about dropping AP Lang and just doing English 11 Honors. I do not want to get overloaded with work this year to the point where I can’t do anything else. I know AP Physics (or ap chem) and AP Lang would be a pain. So if I took out that AP would that be ok? I would probably take AP Lit next year just so I can have 1 year of AP english under my belt. I want to pursue a career in medicine, and am aiming for schools like Brown, Pomona, Harvey Mudd, Duke, and UCLA. Would the rigor of the classes above satisfy the needs of these colleges? Is taking 3 AP’s ok if I am trying to get into those colleges? Thanks!
At some point, you need physics. Top colleges will expect a year each of bio/chem/physics. Whether you opt to take it as a junior or a senior does not really matter.
There are very few instances where you should choose a class because it “looks better;” AP Chem vs. AP Physics is not one of those times.
If it comes down to either/or, take AP Lang. The writing skills you learn in that class, in addition to being a valuable life skill, will help you immeasurably in writing essays for college apps.
“I want to pursue a career in medicine, and am aiming for schools like Brown, Pomona, Harvey Mudd, Duke, and UCLA. Would the rigor of the classes above satisfy the needs of these colleges? Is taking 3 AP’s ok if I am trying to get into those colleges? Thanks!”
Rigor is relative. It’s your guidance counselor who rates the rigor of your academic record compared to 1) what the school offers and 2) what your class-mates do. In a school that offers 3 APs and you took them all and hardly anyone does that, then it’s likely your record would be rated as very rigorous. In our local public high school, which offers close to a dozen APs and some students take nearly all of them, the same schedule might not be considered ‘most rigorous.’
As for being pre-med, just remember that medical schools are relative prestige insensitive. Your state U is just as good as Duke or UCLA in their eyes - what they do care about is your GPA and MCAT score (and state of residence for in-state med schools). A 3.5 at Duke will not be considered equal to a 4.0 at State U.
And have that financial talk with your parents right now - what you can afford will have a much bigger impact on where you go than how rigorous or not your schedule is. If medical school is in your future, then you want to avoid undergraduate debt.
As N’s Mom pointed out medical schools care about GPA. Mudd is a great school, but for pre-med it’s probably not a good choice as high GPAs there are tough to get.