<p>Two questions:</p>
<p>I took Honors Biology this year. Next year, I can take AP Bio and Honors Chem or Honors Chem and Honors Physics. (In my school, there is no AP Physics and you can't take AP Chem until you've taken normal/Honors Chem). Is one combination better than the other to take together? </p>
<p>This year I took Pre-Calc. Next year, I can take Calc or AP Calc A/B. There are no courses higher than AP Calc offered by my school at this time. However, I already have four math credits: Pre-Calc, Alg I, Alg. II, and Geo. Is AP Calc that different from plain Calc? </p>
<p>I don't know if it helps, but here are the other courses I will be taking:
-AP English Lang and Comp
-AP World History or AP US History
-Latin I</p>
<p>If you’re science oriented physics is not a course to miss, but neither is AP Bio in my opinion. I would say it depends on how much you liked Biology. Definitely take Chem.</p>
<p>Honors Chemistry and AP Biology go well together. There is no difference between Calc and AP Calc. If you going to take the AP exam take AP calc. </p>
<p>I agree with alittlemonster: if you are going to major in math, science, engineering, computer science, etc. . . then DONT miss Physics. Otherwise go with AP Bio and eventually AP Chem.</p>
<p>Thank you both very much. I appreciate the advice.</p>
<p>Sorry to keep pestering, but I have another question. While I enjoy science (well, I enjoy all my courses), I don’t know if I have time for two science courses next year. I heard that AP Lang and AP Calc will take up a great deal of time. So, which then is the better choice? I could go with AP Bio, following up on the Honors Bio I took this year. Or, I could switch directions and take Honors Chem, taking AP Chem and Honors Physics in senior year. Or, I could take Honors Physics, which would share some traits in common with the Calc I will be doing next year…Any ideas? Thanks</p>
<p>I would do AP bio with Chem since those will really help each other out. Also I noticed you are choosing between World history and US history, choose US history–more colleges give you credit for that one.</p>
<p>As for AP English, can you take AP Lit senior year? Most colleges will only give you credit for one of the two AP English courses so unless you plan to study English, maybe taking both won’t be necessary.</p>
<p>Thanks - I have to take either AP Lit or AP Lang next year because those are the only two courses above my current level. Since it seems like I should take AP Bio and Chem next year, which course would be easiest to self-study over the summer, so I am ahead come fall (AP Bio or AP Lang)? Also, do you know if most people take four years of history during high school?</p>
<p>If you are working to get ahead, definitely spend more energy on AP Bio, the better prepped you are, the smoother the year will go.</p>
<p>I think most people take 3 to 4 years of history. I recommend that you take all 4 years because it looks better on your transcript. US History also earns you credit at most universities so it’s a good class to take.</p>
<p>actually, i think if you are majoring in physics/math, <em>dont</em> take physics, b/c it is a waste of time. just take calc based physics in college.</p>
<p>Thanks again. I appreciate it. Since I can’t cut history or my other courses, then it comes down to the two science courses again. Am I overestimating the time investment involved with AP Bio and Honors Chem? Does it save time to take them together? Would it be that bad if I didn’t take AP Bio or only took Honors Chem and Honors Physics in senior year? (thepotato - I don’t think that I will major in physics or math; something the history or natural science is more likely; thanks for your suggestion, though.) I am sorry to bother everyone with more questions.</p>
<p>Honestly, if you have enough motivation to get a head start this summer by learning the chem (which IMO is much easier to self learn) You’ll probably excel in both science classes. You don’t even have to learn all the chem, just get the basics down like how the periodic table is organized, ionic bonding, covalent bonding, a good grasp of polyatomic molecules, and maybe the gas laws. Just knowing these topics ahead of time will make you more confident in both classes.</p>
<p>AP Biology and Honors Chemistry (junior year)
AP Chemistry and Honors Physics (senior year)</p>
<p>I would go for AP Calculus AB and you could always self-study AP Calculus BC material junior (if time permits)/senior year(over the summer/etc).</p>
<p>Thanks for the help. It sounds like the two courses shouldn’t be too hard (as long as I study a bit during the summer). dfa4ever, can I use an AP Chem prep book or should I find a Chem textbook? Thanks again and good luck on whatever AP exams you have coming up.</p>
<p>Either way works pretty much. If you want to use an AP book, then try the Barron’s AP Chem review books. It covers all the topics in chem succinctly and it’ll be a helpful reference during the year. As for AP bio, there are lots of outlines available on the internet that you can look through to get an idea of what you need to know.</p>
<p>Great! Thanks again.</p>