Hello friends
I am currently a freshman and I have physical science. There was an option between physical science and biology. I regret taking physical science. The reason I picked physical science is because the teachers played a physiological trick on me, they physiologically tricked me by telling me that 95% of freshman who took bio failed or have a D-. so I got scared and fell into their mind game and took physical science. If I had taken bio I would have been able to take college-level bio and college-level physics. So Did I make a mistake by picking physical science and falling into their trap?
Thanks
Adam
It is what it is at this point.
But for any incoming 9th graders reading, given the choice between bio and physical science, choose bio if academically qualified. The general rule is to take the more advanced option in any subject where recommended and if you can handle.
That said, I do think something was lost in translation during the course selection process, as I am skeptical that a teacher would make a statement that 95% of students failed. If true, that speaks to failures of the teacher or the school or both.
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At my school, the 9th grade history teachers (we were 7-9, and 10-12) made everyone think if you weren’t amazing at history you would fail AP Euro. I took the course anyway and got my highest grade ever and a 5 on the exam. It’s very possible the teacher did something like that
At my kids’ high school physical science is the default science choice for 9th grade(all kids must take the course). Not really sure why it is this way - there are certainly a lot of kids who could or should take bio . As a result, kids who are strong in math and science typically double up with honors bio/honors chem in 10th grade. As our school doesn’t offer AP before 11th grade, these kids are still able to take AP Physics, AP Chem, AP bio etc.
See the difference in the statements? That is why I suggested that the OP heard something that was said. You will fail is different than everyone fails.
If the OP was told that s/he should take physical science because bio might be a struggle, there may have been a valid reason.
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It looks like you were placed on the non advanced track by default, perhaps because you came from another district, originally came from Nepal, and your GC knew nothing about your previous curriculums.
You can catch up by taking biology over the summer if your school offers it, chemistry honors 10th, ap physics1 in 11th, and either AP Bio or AP chem in 12th. That would 100% appropriate for a future STEM major.
Ask your English teacher what you need to take in 10th grade to prepare and take AP English Language and composition in 11th.
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With the caveat that the OP, based on another thread, is also looking to accelerate in math. Jamming too much acceleration over the summer will likely result in a poor foundation for the future. And none of us know the OPs abilities.
I think that you are worrying about something that really isn’t a problem. Both classes are good classes to take, and classes that you will want to take at some point in high school. You have plenty of time to take biology.
You really will be a stronger student in a year or two than you are now. The teachers do have plenty of experience with seeing strong students “overreach” and take classes that they are not ready for.
Do as well as you can in the classes that you are taking. This will help you do well next year.
Math is an area where you definitely want to understand the basics very well. What you take now is based heavily on what you took last year and the year before. What you will take next year and the year after will be based on what you are taking now. You want to handle each level well to be set up for doing really well the following years.
To a large extent the same thing is true in sciences also.
I answered based on the other thread whereby op wouldn’t be taking Geometry over the summer. Hopefully that’s the case.
@anjal: what does your school offer in terms of summer school? How is it handled?
Op moved from abroad then from another district. It could obscure his/her path. It’s been a common problem that honors transfer or international students aren’t properly placed at the HS level because their GC doesn’t understand their background and they themselves don’t understand the new system.
Starting in Physical Science at a school where it’s the normal class is different from being placed there when the normal path is Biology.
It could be that OP was a borderline student in middle school but since s/hes taken the initiative to learn about the paths to AP and calculus on his/her own, s/he may well have been placed on the wrong track; if so now’s the time to fix it as the longer they wait, the harder it is to fix.
@anjal, can you detail your academic background? Were you a good student? If your family hadn’t moved, would you have been on a college track?
my school’s summer school is not very good, main/good classes arent offered and summer school is for kids who failed regular school to get back credit.
I was top of my class and still am. I think i am a decent student, if we hadn’t move I would 100% go to good college and I would probably get a masters degree or a phd.
@anjal , you are in 9th grade. I can promise you 100% that taking physical science now will not keep you out of a good college.
There are 2,000 non-profit colleges which confer MA or MS degrees. At least 500 of them are great colleges, which will prepare you for life, including for going on to do a PhD.
Finally, what does your guidance counselor say? That is the person to ask which classes you should take, and that is the person who should have sat down with you, and set out a four-year plan of classes ( all which can be changed, of course).
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thank you for your peaceful reply
My guidance counselor did not say anything to me and I never made a four-year plan with her, but I have made my own four-year plan
You will still 100% go to a good college. You still can get a master’s or PhD. There are a lot of very good universities. You do not need to attend a “top 10” university to get a master’s degree or PhD. However, if you are near the top of your class you might still go to a very highly ranked university for your bachelor’s degree.
I got my master’s at a highly ranked university (#1 in the world for my major). There were other students there from a very, very wide range of other universities. I only remember one single university that had sent more than one student into the master’s program I was in, and it was NOT a top 50 university. As another example, someone I know very well attended a university for their bachelor’s that was not in the top 100 in the US (it was affordable and they could live at home to save money), but then did their master’s at an Ivy League university. These were both several decades ago. However, one daughter did their bachelor’s at a university that was just barely not in the “top 100” overall, but was in the “top 50” for her particular major. She just got accepted to do her doctorate at a university that is in the top 5 in the world for her major. She will start in September.
Universities understand that strong students come from a wide range of high schools. Graduate programs understand that strong students come from a wide range of undergraduate programs. Universities also understand that students mature at different rates and run into a range of different problems along the way. Overcoming these problems is part of growing.
I think that you really do not have much to worry about. Just keep doing well in your courses and you will have lots of opportunities in the future.
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I fell into that same trap…it was Physical Science or Honors Bio as the only options. I took Physical Science. But I still was able to take Bio, Honors Chem and Honors Physics in HS and went on to go to a top 50 college and major in Electrical Engineering.
Try to take Honors Science in the next years.
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@anjal, does your school offer AP physics 1? If so, you could take that after taking honors bio and chem sophomore/junior years. Our high school does not offer regular or honors physics, so my D had to take AP physics 1 without having taken any physics or physical science class beforehand. She was able to earn an A (working really hard) even though STEM is not her best area. AP physics 1 is algebra-based, not calculus-based, so it’s possible to do without a lot of preparation (she took the class while taking pre-Calc). If you arrange your schedule accordingly so that you don’t neglect other core courses (and you feel up to it) you might be able to double up and take AP physics 1 and AP biology senior year.
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