<p>Hi there!</p>
<p>I am a rising senior and I am applying as a Biological Engineering major to Tier 1/Tier 2 schools this fall. I have only taken basic Biology in 9th grade, and have never taken Physics. </p>
<p>I have taken AP Chemistry (5), SAT II Biology M (700+) and plan to retake SAT II Biology and Chemistry in October. </p>
<p>My extracurriculars are heavily biology based (ie. hospital volunteering, research at local university, etc), and I am taking classes in biology outside of school, though not specifically based on the curriculum taught in AP Biology.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, next year I do not have enough room in my schedule to accommodate both AP Physics and AP Biology. Since I am applying for Biological Engineering, I realize that both are extremely important to have in my schedule. Which one should I take?</p>
<p>Thanks for all your help!</p>
<p>I think you should take AP physics. It seems like you have a good background in Biology and you could easily pick up on what you don’t know .</p>
<p>It’s better to have a good foundation in physics before you leave of to college.</p>
<p>Could you take Biology at a local community college?</p>
<p>Are you even permitted to take AP physics with no previous physics courses? At DS school you have to have regular physics first. If you can take physics (regular or AP) you should do that. It will round out your background, and also give you (at least a tiny bit) of additional insight as to whether biological physics is really the direction you want to go. Even the non-AP course would be a better choice than the AP BIO.</p>
<p>He could easily remedy that problem by taking a regular physics course.</p>
<p>I think you should take AP Bio, to be honest. Yeah AP physics looks sexy because it’s hard as hell, but to me it doesn’t look like it fits into your major. Take one of my friends for example. She’s a senior this coming year, and is going to apply as a civil engineering (or mechanical, I can’t remember) and rather than take AP bio that most juniors took last year she decided to take AP physics because it showed her interest in the subject.</p>
<p>Of course, if you think you’re ready and want to challenge yourself then by all means. But if you want to just test the waters in a physics background I would suggest just taking the regular physics course. AP physics is just a really calculus heavy, demanding course.</p>
<p>@Sylvan8798</p>
<p>The non-AP course would NOT be better than AP Bio.</p>
<p>I think you should talk to people who have taken both courses and factor that into your decision. I’m a rising senior myself and took AP Bio my Junior year (even though most take it their senior year in my school and science isn’t my strongest subject) because at my school it’s one of the “harder” science courses, and I ending up loving the course and my teacher (I got a 5 
). I also wanted to take an easier science my senior year (I’m taking honors physics.) </p>
<p>That said, AP Physics at my school is (supposedly) really easy, and AP Biology involves a lot of work and dedication (and patience in terms of dealing with the plant unit! 
) So I would talk to other people at your school and figure out which course you would be more willing to take in you senior year, based on the different levels of difficulty for your school in particular, the teachers, etc. It might sound silly, but it’s your last year in HS, do what you love or think your second semester self will be more willing to do. (That is, if you had exposure to physics as sylvan8798 mentioned!)</p>
<p>If you’re good at calculus and the like, you should go ahead and take AP Physics B, just so you can get exposure to the subject (since you already know some biology). If you aren’t really amazing at calculus, jumping straight into physics is really hard and not very rewarding, so you should take bio.</p>
<p>
I disagree. If OP does not take ANY physics in HS, then he is facing freshman calculus- based physics with zero background. This course has bested many a good student.</p>
<p>Sorry about the confusion</p>
<p>I have already taken AP Calculus and at our school we are allowed to take AP Physics B (I dont think its calculus based) without any prior physics knowledge : )</p>