So I am an 8th grader and I am going to be a freshman next year, and I am currently planning out the classes I am going to take, and I was wondering if taking AP Physics 1 is a good idea. I am currently taking Algebra 2, and I will be taking Pre calc next year. I took 8th grade level Physics last year, so I do have some background knowledge in the subject. But I asked my sister, a Junior, for advice and she says that I would definitely not even be able to get in the class. She says that there was no way my school was going to allow a freshman to take AP Physics, and I had an extremely small chance of actually being able to take the course. Also, I am planning on taking chemistry 1 honors during the same year, and she says that they were most likely not going to allow me to take two science courses at the same time, and even if I got in, it would be very difficult and I would probably fail. I am pretty confident that I will do well in the course, as I am good at math and science. But do you think I will actually be able to take the course? Should I apply for it? I am aiming to get into MIT so I think that taking AP Physics in my freshman year would look pretty impressive, so I want to take the course.
Ask your counselor and don’t do things solely to get into MIT.
Don’t choose courses to impress colleges - they won’t be impressed.
She’s probably right. With graduation requirements, freshman typically have little flexibility in course selection, and doubling up in any subject is unlikely. However, the only person who can really answer that question is the GC at the HS.
The question to really ask is how did students at your school perform on the AP Exam last year? Overall, 63% of the test takers failed the AP Physics 1 exam last year due to a number of reasons.
I agree with the others — don’t do stuff just to impress. Besides how impressive will it be if you get a C? Or worse, fail the course?
I asked my H, who teaches the subject, what he thought of a freshman taking the course, his response in a word? No.
I suggest if you decide to pursue this, you talk to the teacher of the course as well as the GC. He (or she) may be able to assess the situation better.
Of course, this may all be moot point anyway, if they won’t allow it or there is no room in your schedule.
Thanks for all of the replies, I’ve decided not to take it. I guess I was underestimating the difficulty of the course.
I am very new to high school courses and I don’t really know what to expect.
But is AP Physics B still a thing? I have heard that it was split into AP Physics 1 and 2 and it wasn’t a course anymore, but it is still listed on the college board website, and is listed as a course in my school course guide.
But if it is, I am thinking about taking physics 1 honors during my freshman year and taking AP physics B during my sophomore year. I am not familiar with the difficulty of these courses, so please tell me if it’s too hard for a sophomore, or if it’s not a good idea.
But is AP Physics B still around?
There is no AP Physics B test just Physic 1 and Physics 2. Our school still teaches in the Physics B format which covers Physics 1 and 2 in one year D 16 took it as a junior and scored 5 on one and 4 one the other. S18 is taking it as a sophomore, be aware that it is a lot of work and make sure you have completed Algebra 2 there’s a lot of math involved.
I took AP Physics 1 as a sophomore, and it was a gigantic shift from Honors Freshman Biology. From personal experience, I suggest that you limit your freshman courses to learn about yourself as a student before jumping into APs. High school is COMPLETELY different than middle school, so don’t think that an AP class is comparable to something you took previously- it’s much more stressful. I wish you the best!
Also, I doubt that MIT will think your freshman rigor is impressive; if it was me, I would think that either you or your parents are extremely obsessive about impressing high ranking colleges and honestly that does little to separate you from the crowd.
My daughter is taking Pre-IB physics as a freshman. Which is the same as honor physics. She has an 88 in the class. That is struggling for her because all her other classes are high 90s. I also like to point out that the physic teachers told me she is doing great because she has one of the highest grades in the class. It’s a lot of math included that she haven’t learned yet because she is a freshman. I would wait to at least finish freshman math to do AP Physics.
My son took AP Physics B (a few years ago) as a freshman (apparently the first student to do so in his HS). He got a 5 on the exam and did quite well in the course. He definitely took the class because he loved physics and not to impress any particular institution (he had also taken basic physics in 8th grade). But alas, MIT was not to be. YMMV, but that was his experience.