I am currently a high school sophomore and want to major in CS and possibly astrophysics in college. I’m looking at a mixture of both specialized engineering schools like MIT, Caltech, CMU SCS, WPI, etc as well as schools looking for more well-rounded applicants like the Ivies and Stanford. I also have an eye on state schools like Georgia Tech, UC Berkeley, University of Michigan, and UIUC that have strong CS programs as well.
So recently I have been thinking about what I want to take my later years of high school. My junior year, I can take either AP Chem or AP Physics C, as I will be in Calc BC by that year. Because it is double-blocked (class on A-days, lab on B-days on the A-B 4 block schedule my school runs on), AP Chem forces me to pick between AP Spanish or AP Computer Science. If I do AP Spanish, I can fit in the recommended 4 years of Spanish by pushing APCS to senior year. Yet if I choose to do APCS, I can take iOS programming senior year and build more rapport with my comp sci teacher, something important for recommendations come college application season in 2017. Essentially, taking AP Chem will cause me to be more well-rounded. I am, however, more interested in physics than I am in chemistry, so Physics C does seem like an attractive choice. It is also single blocked at my school, so I can fit in both AP Computer Science and a fourth year of Spanish, or even a second year of research if I wanted to go that route (1 year of a college-level research class is required by the magnet program at my school). My only problem with this path is that I won’t be able to fit in a hard AP science senior year (AP Bio and AP Chem are double-blocked with their lab components) and Physics C is essentially the highest level of science that anybody can take at my school. I could use the research class to work on something astronomy related, thus demonstrating the “spike” that engineering schools look for, however if I do this senior year I probably won’t have enough time to submit at the least bit a working draft of a research paper to the colleges I am applying at.
So is it worth not having an AP science senior if I end up exhausting them by junior year? I wish I could just take a higher level past Physics C but there are none offered through dual enrollment/community college in my area. Thanks!
TL;DR Deciding between taking AP Chem and AP Physics C junior year. AP Chem=more well rounded, AP Physics C=more flexible but is highest level AP science offered at my school. I will have exhausted all science courses by junior year if I do Physics C.
Anyway, at this point it doesn’t really matter- most people take AP Physics C in senior year with Calculus AB or BC; others take it with AP Stat, but you’ve already taken these classes. Have you taken (honors) physics? If not, then take it junior year w/AP Chem and take Physics C senior year with post-AP Calc math classes. You’ll a) get a chance to practice single variable calc and b) the material will be quicker and easier to understand since you’ve already taken AP Calc before taking the class as opposed to during (since sometimes the topics in Calc may be taught after the topics are presented in Physics). Physics C is also very math heavy.
All of your schedules look well rounded and unique to me, but do what you think is best. I would go with two years of research since a lot of people (myself included) go to level 4, 5 or AP of Spanish (since 2 is required and 3 is recommended) but not a lot of people get to have research experience while in high school.
It’s probably really a toss-up. I will say this: colleges do not expect, and in many cases do not want, students to be specialists in HS. So if you’re aiming for colleges that recommend 4 years of a foreign language, I would find a way not to let research get in the way of Spanish.
Oh, sorry, I had to delete your link to your spreadsheet; it’s not allowed here.
@TheSlacker16 Thanks a lot for the input…and unfortunately the schedules got taken down by the mods, lol. Yes, Honors physics is available at my school, however I can’t take it with AP Chem without having to drop orchestra, something I do not want to do. The upperclassmen at my school also tell me that it is a waste of time, and as a result most people usually go straight into Physics C, taking it concurrently with Calc BC their senior year and ending up doing just fine. However, as you have seen, I am taking both Stats and Precalc this year so I will be in a unique position being in multivariable calc/differential equations by my senior year.
However, you did point out that having a solid foundation of single variable calc will help me out in Physics C. Would it be worth it to drop Spanish after Spanish 3 and take APCS/AP Chem junior year, rendering me with only 3 years of Spanish and 1 year of research? People do say that 4 years are important however engineering schools seem to be worried about your background in STEM than the number of years of foreign language you have in high school.
On the other hand, though, people tell me that the calculus in Physics C is super basic and can be taught within 5 minutes, so I could get away just fine taking it junior year. I could also take the physics SAT II that year as well.
Any other opinions on the topic? I’m so confused at the moment.
@skieurope Edit: Just saw your post, thanks for the heads up.
Honors physics may be a waste of time (for the gifted) as the topics there use trig/algebra as opposed to Calculus in Physics C, but it does give a good background so that the calculus based physics is easier to understand (and make connections) from.
A lot of people (at my school) drop Spanish after 2 years (Spanish 3 or higher); others (like I) take it for 3 years (Spanish 4 or higher) so it’s up to you. (We only require one year to graduate). As long as the rest of your schedule is rigorous (like yours is) and you’ve taken the required/recommended, colleges will be more willing to overlook it.
Yeah, it’s Calc AB for the most part (with some Calc 2 topics) but it would seem pretty confusing when combined with physics (which is helpful to have a background in.) You can review some physics concepts by looking over an AP review book or a textbook for some coverage before school starts next year.
FYI, none of the AP Physics classes are designed to, nor do they do a good job of, preparing one for the SAT Subject Test. You can certainly take the Subject Test, but you will need to learn a lot of topics on your own.