Hi i am a freshman and i got a list of courses that i could take in my sophomore year and i couldn’t decided if i should t
take AP chemistry without prior knowledge from the background. Our school doesn’t offer Chem Honors so i have to either choose Chemistry or AP chem. At the same time i do want to challenge myself but i’m not sure if it is duable in my abilities. Do you have any suggestions for me?
What other courses are you taking next year?? And if you take regular chem next year could u take ap chem junior or senior?
I wouldn’t suggest taking AP Chem before regular Chem. Imagine trying to learn new material all by yourself and taking a difficult exam on it at the end of the year.
If you take it your junior year, that’s fine. It would help if you took regular chem before, because you will have a background of the information and a good foundation for AP Chemistry. AP classes are fast paced; if you miss material it is on YOU to learn it, and memorize it by yourself, not to mention the fact you will be assessed on the info in class later, and on the AP exam in May.
So, just get knowledge of basic chem first before taking AP. AP Chem is one of the hardest AP classes, and not having a background in Chem will make it even harder. Your school should have set a prerequisite of regular Chem before taking AP.
I understand you want to challenge yourself, but think about this: colleges would rather see people who got a 5 and A’s in 3 AP classes than someone who took 6 and failed most of them.
This is from the CollegeBoard’s AP Chemistry course recommendation and description:
The AP Chemistry course is designed to be taken only after the successful completion of a first course in high school chemistry. Surveys of students who take the AP Chemistry Exam indicate that the probability of achieving a score of 3 or higher is significantly greater for students who successfully complete a first course in high school chemistry prior to undertaking the AP course.
Someone else asked about this yesterday on cc. I did skip general chem and am taking AP Chem with 3 other AP classes. I had to petition the dean to take it and was the first kid they said yes to in 10 years, (un)lucky me. First B (89) ever and I always feel like I’m playing catch up.
I am currently a Sophomore taking AP Chem. I did not take another Chem class before taking AP Chem and I’m doing just fine.