<p>i think i’ve asked this before and i don’t think anyone answered it because i wouldn’t otherwise be making another thread for the same question</p>
<p>so someone once told me that TOP TIER COLLEGES expect to see “AP PHYSICS” somewhere along the transcript of their applicants?</p>
<p>Is this true?</p>
<p>I can’t decide whether to take AP BIO, something I love…or to take AP PHYSICS, something I hate with a passion yet is expected of me.</p>
<p>If you want to do science, particularly physical science, yes. If not, not so much. The thing is, AP Physics is quite often the most challenging course offered at most high schools.</p>
<p>at mine Calc BC, stats AP and Bio AP are much harder than physics ap</p>
<p>It's a requirement, even if expected (if you're a science type).</p>
<p>I didn't take any sort of AP Science, even though my school offered several blocks of all of them, even Computer Science. But then again, I am obviously not going to major in anything science related.</p>
<p>My advice... take what you love. If you're not going to major in Physics, why take Physics when you can take Bio?</p>
<p>To say that stats or bio are harder just means your physics teacher sucks.</p>
<p>In terms of the actual exam, physics is far harder than trying to take both stats and bio hung over, high on opiates, hopping on one foot, and trying to fart the national anthem.</p>
<p>Not really, AP Physics wasn't that bad, I got a 5, but Stats and Bio were FARRRRR easier as exams and so they should be as coures...</p>
<p>I took AP Bio as a junior, and I'm taking AP Physics this year. I can't say for sure until September, but it seems like physics is conceptually challenging, while it was more the workload for bio that was ridiculous. Like, 20 page lab report ridiculous. I think doing well with bio requires working really hard, and doing well in physics requires (while working hard) being really smart.</p>
<p>Yes, bio is all about memorization. In fact, it never matters who teaches the respective courses or what material is covered. I think most of my bio profs probably just have really good memories and study skills.</p>
<p>Which physics are we talking about here? B or C (mech? e&m?).</p>
<p>AP Bio (which I took 2 years ago) is a guaranteed easy 5 for anyone with a brain.</p>
<p>AP Physics C (both of which I took this year) is a cruel, and unusual punishment that only masochists would love (and ppl who love physics). And my physics teacher was particularly sadistic so it wasn't a fun year. </p>
<p>I only made it through the year because I took 2 summer physics course down at the local uni that covered the AP topics. </p>
<p>Given the choice, I would definitely choose AP Bio, especially if I don't plan to do engineering or physics. But since I'm BME, I took both of those course anyway. :D</p>
<p>SBR mostly has it right though he/she exaggerates C. It's not THAT painful. I enjoy the conceptual work and the thinking that no other coures pushed upon me in high school at the same level.</p>
<p>True, I might have exaggerated a bit, it was my teacher who made me stay up til 2 am doing problem, the actual material was pretty interesting, I'll admit. The C course is challenging though, and I think it's one of the few AP courses that accurately reflects the difficulty level of college courses (Having taken both, I should know ;P)</p>
<p>Edit: it's a he btw</p>
<p>Dead on SBR again.</p>
<p>I took AP Bio and got in.</p>
<p>Just take the most difficult courses available to you that are interesting.</p>
<p>i got in without taking AP Physics. It don't matter bro</p>
<p>i'm reading these responses and i'm leaning towards bio more and more.</p>
<p>Why not take both?</p>
<p>I heard after I came to Brown that selective schools look to see AP Physics and Calc. I took AB but somehow got away with never taking any Physics classes... nobody told me I was "supposed" to! Oh well... I turned out fine.</p>
<p>And I think we can all agree from this thread that:
1. Different students find different kinds of material more or less challenging, so while there may be general agreement about which AP exams are more difficult, they won't apply to everybody.
2. Different classes differ in difficulty from school to school, so even two classes which are teaching to the same AP curriculum may be quite different at two different schools.
3. Therefore, there's no point arguing over which class or exam is "universally" harder.
4. Even so, most people agree that bio's difficulty comes primarily from the sheer volume of memorization required, whereas physics' difficulty is more conceptual.</p>
<p>ILoveBrown-- that's normally hte well reasoned, put together response I'd like to give, but I have to say, even having seen friends who had AP Bio teachers who were WAY harder than necessary making the course require a ton of work during the year, and even being someone who physics comes far more naturally to than biology, the biology exam is simply the easiest one out of the big "three" sciences: Chem, Physics, and Bio included.</p>
<p>I can't speak to psych, or environmental science, etc...</p>
<p>But anyway:</p>
<p>AP Physics is a course Id suggest if you have any interest in science. It will prepare you better than any other course in high school for college. AP Bio is a nice class to take because the 5 should be easy to get and then you don't have to go through Bio 20.</p>
<p>modestmelody -- I think what you said agrees pretty well with what I said (#4 -- for most people, conceptual challenges are more "difficult" than just rote memorization).</p>
<p>And, off topic... the Pysch AP is a joke. I took it after taking a one-semester psych class, which was also a complete joke. Nobody in my Psych class wanted to take the AP because they thought they hadn't learned anything in the class... but I took it anyway without studying and got a 5.</p>
<p>Why not mention AP Chem? That is certainly harder than some of the tests mentioned in this thread.</p>
<p>I didnt find Chem to be harder than physics C at all, it was more a matter of a good teacher than anything else.</p>
<p>But I am a chem geek.</p>