It may matter if the CS major is engineering based at the college. Some are, but some are not.
As noted, if CS is in the CoE, then yes, it can be an issue. Also, it can help show increased rigor. Depends what you are taking instead.
Iād be taking APES instead. Do you think not taking physics would be a big enough issue to make it worth taking? Iām not sure iād be able to keep an A in it
What is it that you hated about physics? It feels like itās mostly math/calculus, so if you donāt mind those, Iām not sure whatās so different about physics. Are you taking Calc BC?
Computer Science majors require a lot of math courses, so if thatās something you want to avoid, you may want to look at an adjacent major (and colleges expect competitive CS applicants to demonstrate real strength in math). Sure, you can be a capable web developer or designer without using a lot of math day to day, but you also donāt need a CS degree to do that. For a coder who doesnāt love math, a program in software engineering or UI/UX design might be a better fit.
Hereās one piece that speaks more to the difference:
- āStarting computer science studies to become a software developer is probably going to be disappointing, because Computer Science is more a ādegree in applied mathematicsā than a ādegree where you learn how to codeā, as David Budden puts it.ā
Worth doing some more research to figure out what classes you really want to take, and which major would best accommodate those.
Itās not that I donāt like math or even physics itself, itās more that the class is very rigorous and I think iād be extremely burnt out by the workload
I guess it depends what else you have going on/what you prioritize. You have a LOT of different activities ā a sport, part-time job, 4 school groups, volunteering ā which will be tough to balance with AP classes and college research/applications. Even if you donāt take AP physics, I think youāll have a more enjoyable and productive senior year if you step back from one or two school groups and trim your work/volunteer hours ā and your course rigor and grades will have a much bigger impact on college admissions than a long list of ECās. Plus, time really flies senior year ad you want to be able to enjoy it and make some memories!
For what itās worth, AP Physics should be less work than AP Bio or AP Chem, especially because thereās so much overlap with calc.
What else are you taking senior year? Iām concerned that you said you wonāt have taken any of the core AP science course.
I would honestly put in AP physics or AP chem over a humanities AP for your intended major.
Question: have you had any physics in high school? If not, then it may be best to take physics in high school (does not necessarily have to be AP), especially if you will have to take physics in college.
Iāll be taking AP French, AP Econ, AP Lit, AP Environmental Science, and calc 3/lin. algebra
Yes, i took honors this year and did fine although it was pretty difficult
Since you already took high school physics, it is not as critical to take AP physics, although if AP physics is the C version (with calculus), and you like math, it may be interesting to you for that reason.
Sounds like plenty of rigor to me.