So I’m currently an eighth grader who got the chance to take honors bio this year. That means that as a freshman I have the opportunity to take AP Bio. Is it a good idea for me take it? What are people’s experience in the class?
AP Bio usually requires a Chem/Chem Honors as a prerequisite. Some schools require completion of at least Algebra 2, so it’s probsbly not a good idea to take AP Bio as a freshman.
I would take Honors Chem next year, then Physics of some sort…you have time junior and senior year to take AP Bio and then someother AP Science.
I know a freshman who is currently taking AP Biology. She is taking Honors Precalculus though and taking AP Bio alongside Honors Chemistry. From my experience, AP Biology does not require very much prior knowledge of chemistry, and the chemistry topics are not very advanced and are in some ways re-taught to you. The girl who I referred to also took honors bio the summer before. Typically at my school people take honors chem before but I took chem alongside it.I took honors bio before as well and that was very useful. I don’t think you need a lot of knowledge of chemistry honestly. Maybe if you do take it review some chem topics using online resources the summer before you start the class. Biology is probably the least difficult AP science class. It’s a lot of reading and memorization but conceptually it’s not very difficult to understand if you put in that time. There are also plenty of resources online like Science with Mr. J, Bozeman Science, Crash Course, Khan Academy. It’s not that bad. And the math isn’t very advanced. I won’t say that I recommend taking it as a freshman, but it is a possibility if you are more advanced and if you are willing to put in work right when you start high school. The valedictorian in my grade took AP Physics C when we were freshmen. Like I said, I know a freshman girl currently taking AP Biology and doing very well without prior chem knowledge, only with prior biology knowledge, so it’s possible. I say do what feels right, and what your teachers recommend. If you feel like you won’t be able to do the work or you want a smoother transition into high school without diving into those AP classes right away then don’t do it. If you think you’ll do well and if your teachers agree then go for it. I don’t know you well enough to judge, and neither does anyone else on here so it’s probably best to talk to your teachers and to the teachers at the high school. Good luck!
Im also going to be taking Honors Pre Calc so all I’m really scared about is the workload.
I’d advise you take honors chemistry as a freshman, honors physics or ap Physics1 sophomore year, and the choose your AP sciences.
Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.
What would your schedule look like?
Write chemistry honors/AP Bio for the science line but include everything else including lunch, study hall, zero period, etc
Take honors chemistry.
My other advice is that yes, some people are capable of taking AP bio as a freshman. Some are not. I have seen both cases here on CC. It is sad when people are trying to accelerate their classes and then get Cs or Ds.
How do you know which one you are? Take Honors Chem as a freshman. That is still a challenging class. See how that goes. If you ace it, then you may be ready to accelerate. If you don’t, then stick to your already advanced curriculum.