<p>I'm a pretty strong science and math student and am taking two other hard APs in addition to this. Not really sure which one to take; just finished up honors bio and alg2, with pretty high marks in both. I've tried to talk to upperclassmen and my guidance counselor, neither of which has been particularly helpful. Any advice?</p>
<p>You could take both, but if you’re strong and like math a lot, Physics has more math involved than AP Chem. However AP Chem can be very manageable if you like the subject and put some time into it.</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity, have you taken AP chem? And if you have, two questions: Was it especially hard? And is there anything I should know before taking it?</p>
<p>I am a sophomore and I am currently taking AP Chem. At least at my school, it is HARD. I am doing well in the class (I have an A) but I do have to put in quite a bit of work and I am at the top of my class… others seem to be struggling even when they put in as much work as I am. I can’t speak for how well prepared I will be for the exam as sadly this is the first year my teacher has taught the course, but the previous teacher reported having all 5’s for the past six years, and apparently the current courses curriculum is identical.</p>
<p>So yes, it is difficult, and you should definitely know that going into the class, but if you like chemistry I THINK that you will be able to do it. (Although some of my friends in the class THOUGHT they liked chemistry but realized this was just because it had been easy for them before and actually weren’t to fond of it. I still like it as a subject even though it has given me some stress.)</p>
<p>Good luck choosing!</p>
<p>I’d probably ask a few upperclassmen which class is harder but personally I’d take the AP Chem because when you calculate your weighted GPA AP counts as 1 but honors only counts as .5, plus, I just prefer chem anyway.</p>
<p>If you think you will go to a college that gives college credit (or at least placement) based on AP courses, it’s pretty sweet to avoid needing to take an entry-level chemistry college class. By design they usually aren’t terribly fun. D obviously leans toward the physics side…but she took AP Chem and then AP Physics & the followup AP course for E & M. She had no problems with Chemistry, but much preferred the physics classes. However, when D2 took honors physics, it didn’t seem to cover nearly as much info as the AP courses. </p>
<p>One of the things “they” consider in the college application process is whether you took the most challenging coursework. In that case, AP Chem > Honors Physics.</p>