I know there are other threads on here asking, but I haven’t found a satisfactory answer.
I have the option to take AP Bio as a junior and take AP Chem and AP Physics as a senior, or take AP Chemistry as a junior, then Bio and Physics as a senior.
I’m planning on the former right now, but I’m worried about my course load as a senior. I know junior year is really important for colleges to look at, so Chem would be harder, and better, but I haven’t taken Chem or Bio Honors yet, so I don’t know if I’ll do well in AP. I can tell you that I’m much better at memorizing than at math/formulas, so I think I might struggle with Chem a little more. On the other hand, Chem and Physucs sound brutal, especially if I’m worrying abiut college apps, although I plan on trying to pull together my application over the summer (aside from teacher recs and maybe FAFSA) so I don’t stress as much over the school year.
Any suggestions?
I’d recommend doing the former, since AP Chem and AP Physics is such a bad combination. That will take up lots and time and effort. AP Biology (while still difficult) would still be manageable if paired with a harder AP.
IMO, for college applications, any of the three would be equal.
It will be a challenge, but not impossible. Especially for the AP exam, you will be competing with other students who had an intro course. AP Bio and AP Chem have a disproportionately low percentage of 5’s. So, you can do well, but you will probably be playing a lot of catch-up. Take one as a junior and the other as a senior with AP Physics. Honestly, it won’t matter which one you pair with AP Physics since either option will be a lot of work.
Good plan, although I would suggest that you line up your teacher recs before summer; some of them might prefer to write the recs during the summer, others may not, but you at least give them the option.
@skieurope I’ll be taking both Bik and Chem Honors next year, so I’ll have the material fresh for both… I’ve heard both AP’s are rough, but I’m pretty sure Chem is harder.
Can I really ask to havee teacher recs done over the summer? If I were a teacher, I would be a tad annoyed if I were asked that…
You’re not really asking them to do them over the summer; you’re asking them well in advance to write a recommendation. Whether they choose to write it over the summer is up to them. Keep in mind that some teachers receive a lot of requests for recommendations and some may impose limits on how many they will write. The sooner you ask, the better for everyone.
@skieurope Oh, thanks.
Sorry for the typos; on my phone here. Would you suggest the same as @languagewitch if it were you?
@IrisShadow Which AP Physics is it? AP Physics C or AP Physics 1?
I really don’t know, because my school lists it as just “AP Physics” and AP Physics C is available as an online class, but that’s not really an indicator of the class taught in school.
OK. I don’t think that it really matters which 2 you pair together. I have friends that did chem + physics and others that did chem + bio. I don’t think I personally know anyone that did bio + physics. No matter, any combination will be pretty challenging.
How did chem and physics go for him, @skieurope ? Was it really that brutal for him as everyone says? Also, was he good at math, and did that help/hurt him?
It was just time consuming, I think. At my school, the labs for AP classes are double periods, so taking two AP classes simultaneously means doing 2 labs and 2 lab reports at the same time. But, like I said, at least at my school, that would be the case regardless of the combination of classes. Certainly having a strong math background would help anyone.
Mine too… I know a girl who did AP Bio and AP Chem as a senior, plus the required math and english (AP Calc BC and AP US Gov and Pol.), and had an ‘aide period’ with her APUSH teacher/debate coach. I’m fairly certain she was okay, especially with solid math skills, but it was quite a challenge for her. Still did well, but got insane senioritis and didn’t attend any debate tournaments after getting accepted SCEA.
So, did the poor guy struggle? Or was it just time constraints?
They did well in the classes and they think the AP exams went well, but they were pretty stressed all year 
Craaaaaaaap! I was hoping to catch a break after an Engineering Design class this year, but I have Euro as a sophomore, probably Chem junior year, and then probably gonna die with Bio and Physics. @skieurope , see you in the afterlife.