Next year, I will be taking AP Bio and AP Chem as a senior. I feel like it will help me most in the field that I am going into. My only AP’s are AP Biology, AP Chem and AP English (which is lightwork for me). Would I be able to do this or is it too much? My brother graduated as a chemistry major and would be able to help me. Is it a wise decision? What are my chances at succeeding in this?
I am currently a junior in high school btw.
I did AP Bio & Honors Chem together last year and honestly it wasn’t terrible. Some stuff overlapped. My school doesn’t offer AP Chem but if it was offered I probably would have taken it. I say go for it. Both are relevant to your future major and your other workload doesn’t look too bad.
AP Chem is light years ahead of honors chem, so the experience is not equivalent.
Personally, I would not recommend taking both AP Bio and AP Chem concurrently. In addition to the time commitment required by virtue of being AP’s, each requires a lot of time for labs and lab reports. For many schools, these classes are either double-periods, or require additional time before/after school. It’s possible to do, but it will be very very intensive.
@skieurope I believe that if you’re willing to put in the time and effort, you can succeed in the schedule that the OP is hoping to pursue–it just depends on the OP’s work ethic and if they truly want to take these two classes and are interested in them.
@perchperkins It also depends on how difficult the classes in your school are. Personally, my school’s AP Biology class isn’t terrible, but the Honors Chemistry class is truly awful. Like I said, we don’t have AP Chemistry but it’s basically the equivalent. More than 40 people in my grade took it sophomore year, and less than 5 of us made it out with an A. Also, I took these classes together out of necessity. My schedule was messed up; people on the AP track at my school usually do Honors Science freshman year, then Honors Chem, then AP Bio, and finally AP Physics. I had to take honors bio my sophomore year, so I was planning to do AP Chem as a junior and then AP Physics. Then, they got rid of the AP Chem class so I decided to double because I wanted to do an AP science, but I still had to take chemistry. AP Bio was much more manageable since I had experience with bio.@perchperkins since you will be a senior next year, I will assume that you probably have already taken regular or honors chemistry and biology. If that is the case, then you have a solid foundation. If you haven’t taken chem, then take chem. If you haven’t taken bio, then take bio. Are you planning on doing physics, or have you already taken physics? I think that colleges like to see you take chemistry, biology, and physics.
Ask people who have taken either class before you about the time that you have to put into each. Talk to the teachers and see if it is manageable. Ask if anyone has done this before you. Then decide for yourself–it really depends on your school and ultimately on you. In my opinion, considering you are only taking one other AP class it doesn’t look too bad, but again it depends, so you are probably better off talking to people at your school like a teacher or a guidance counselor.
I’d focus on one science. AP Chem requires so much of your mental capacity that you are gonna wish you never even took it (I took AP Chem last year).
Yeah. Honestly, chem sucks, whether you take Honors Chemistry or AP Chemistry or Organic Chemistry. If you talk to people at your school and they suggest taking only one, I say go with bio. But then again I say that because I love biology but for all I know you might be a chemistry genius or you adore chemistry. Again, it really depends.
Woah, thanks for the responses! 
I am going to major in bio in college however, I need to take chemistry in college as well. My goal is to become a doctor and I will need Bio, chem and physics in college.
I don’t really mind regular chemistry. I took regular bio in my freshman year. The reason why I considered both is because my brother graduated as a chem major and would be able to help me.
But I will consider both sides. I might take some classes over the summer so that I could free up my schedule for the school year.
Don’t take AP Bio and Chem at the same time LMAO… neither of the two are anywhere near close to “senior classes’”. Take a class like AP environmental science with one of the two.
By the fall of your senior year, you should be primarily focused on college apps. Taking two of the most workload-intensive AP’s is no good way to achieve this. Unless you like doing two hour lab reports every week for chem and bio, don’t fathom doing it.
if it is easy at your school then do it,
if not then don’t
Just ask people who have taken the class