Hi! I will be taking AP Physics 1 online from UC Scout this year. I was wondering if anyone had experience with UC Scout courses, or more specifically, UC Scout’s AP Physics courses. I would just like to gauge the quality of the class from students who have taken courses from UC Scout. Thank you for your help.
Did you take the AP Physics 1 from UC Scout? Can you share your experience? My DD is looking into taking it from UC Scout too
Have you gotten any feedback or made any choices? We are in NorCal and looking at this too.
@worriedincal and @findingbalance My DC took AP Physics C, Mechanics from UC Scout this academic year. The teacher, who I believe teaches all the UC Scout physics courses, is wonderful. He knows his stuff (Berkeley physics grad), is a very nice person, and is very responsive. There is a pacing guide to help keep on track, and I would recommend following it closely. If I can help answer any other questions, I am happy to do so.
Did you consider any live online options? We are trying to provide as much live learning as possible because our high school went asynch almost entirely and it’s been quite dull.
We tried to find live online courses, but unfortunately we could not find any for Physics C. There may be more options for Physics 1. I see that Johns Hopkins’ CTY offers Physics 1, and although this has video lectures, it does have online discussions.
I agree with your dullness concerns. My DC had two online classes this year (BC at BYU) and they really missed the social interaction with classmates and the teacher. Being able to casually ask questions and start discussions just can’t happen–despite the Scout teacher’s excellent communication via email.
I was thinking of taking AP Physics 1 from UC scout this summer too. I was wondering how the pacing was for scout courses, how many weeks do 2 semesters of a course usually take to complete and how many hours a day should I expect to work a day if I’m trying to complete the course this summer? Do you think it’s possible to complete the course in 6 weeks? or 8 weeks? Thanks so much!!
When my DC took Physics C during the school year, UC Scout said to expect to spend 100 hours on the course. I can say without a doubt, they spent many many more than 100 hours.
A friend of my kid took PreCalc last summer and said that she spent 5 hours a day, everyday, for 5 weeks on the course. This friend did great in Calc AB this year.
I would say that you need to look at a math or science course as a full time job if you are going to take it over the summer–not only to get a good grade but to be able to fully understand the concepts. On the bright side, with many states keeping their stay at home orders in place, this could be a great summer to take a tough and time consuming class like Physics 1.
Thanks so much for your reply! It was very helpful. Do you have anything to say about how difficult the course was? Like how difficult AP courses are at UC Scout compared to school AP courses? I know it’s impossible to define the difficulty since it’s so subjective, but any info on the overall difficulty and assessment difficulty would be helpful.
I wish my kid had taken Physics 1 because then their experience might help you more. For Physics C, they found the coursework to be very challenging and time consuming but manageable. It was harder than Calc BC for them, but they hadn’t taken another AP science or a basic physics class, and had had Calc AB, before taking C.
They needed to ask for help often and to retake quizzes, sometimes multiple times (which was allowed), before getting into the A range. That said, the midterm and final were extremely difficult–no softballs there! Fortunately, there was a significant curve for each. I’m sure the teacher made the midterm and final that difficult in order to match the rigor of a college physics course and in order to help prepare the students for the level of difficulty they should expect on the AP test. Keep in mind that only 6.7% of the AP test takers scored a 5 on the 2019 Physics 1 exam.
Physics is a tough class no matter when you take it. If you decide to take it over the summer, you may want to look for a tutor right away. You may not need to use the tutor, but if you get into an area that you don’t understand, you’ll have someone to call pronto. With such a tight timeline, you won’t have days to spare–you’'ll need your questions answered ASAP to stay on track. Best of luck and feel free to PM me. However, in order to PM, you will need to reply to a few more threads to get your reply count up. 
Alright, thank you so much! Everything you said was very helpful, and I think I’ve decided to take AP Physics 1 this summer. Thanks again
Great! Best of luck!
My dd enrolled in Physics1 but dropped it because she could not advance to physics 2 or physics C in school. Has anyone taken physics2 @ChezCurie in UC scout? How hard is it?
@worriedincal Unfortunately, my kid didn’t take Physics 2. If your dd dropped Physics 1, why is she looking for a Physics 2 class?
What we have found in the two classes that my kid took online (BYU/Scout) is that these online classes are at least, and possibly more, time intensive than a regular hs class. They also seem more stressful because they are less flexible in that you just don’t have the same kind of access to your teacher or the same kind of personal relationship as an in person class. UC Scout has strict deadlines, while BYU is self-paced.
Khan Academy has an AP Physics 2 course you may want to look at for content and difficulty.
@ChezCurie Do you happen to know the curve for the midterm and final? I am taking the class right now and want an estimate if you can provide.
@Ascii2 would you be able to provide any general info about the course you’re currently taking? How good are the lectures, how reachable are the instructors, and what are your overall impressions of it? Have you been able to learn adequately from it?
Also, what are the physics labs like? I bought the $30 basic version of AP physics e&m to sort of ‘demo’ the course on UC Scout and it seems like I’m supposed to buy (or get from my school, but my school doesn’t necessarily have this stuff) a bunch of really expensive equipment. The first lab itself requires almost $250 worth of electrical equipment and I can’t even see what the last several labs require (there’s like 8-12 labs total). How did labs work in your course? Did you have to buy the equipment yourself? How much of the grade did labs actually count for?
Thanks so much for any info you can give me. 
@Ascii2 The curve was substantial. I will PM you with more specifics.
I am taking Phy C and finding it difficult to devote time to study along with school work. But i want to finish this before end of sept. So what are the best ways to study for midterm and finals in order to get 100 %.
Are there any testbanks available online?
@ChezCurie I am taking Phy C and finding it difficult to devote time to study along with school work. But i want to finish this before end of sept. So what are the best ways to study for midterm and finals in order to get 100 %.
Are there any testbanks available online?
@moma23 I don’t believe there are any testbanks available online. As I mentioned in my other posts, this is a time-intensive class and calc-based physics is a tough subject. Unless you are devoting hours every day, maybe 5(?), I don’t think it is realistic to finish this course in a matter of weeks. My kid spent well over ten hours a week on C and just barely finished the course on time. As far as getting 100% on the midterm and final? From what I remember, they were able to see the other scores of all of the students in the class and there were no 100s–not even close–but they are substantially curved. Why the rush to finish by the end of September?