<p>Hello everyone, I am currently a HS junior and at my school we're just beginning to pick our courses for next year. I either want to go to UVA or U Wash as some sort of science major, I honestly hardly have a clue at this point.</p>
<p>Here are the courses that I have already decided for sure I'm going to take next year:</p>
<p>DE English Lit I-II (6 college credits)
DE Microbiology/Human Anatomy (6 college credits)
DE Calculus I-II (6 college credits)
DE Advanced College Composition (Basically an Independent Study) (3 college credits)
AP US Gov
AP Economics (micro 1st semester, macro 2nd)</p>
<p>I then will still have 1 spot open that I need to put a class in. I have not taken a physics class yet my entire HS career, but for the first time ever my school might be offering AP Physics B next year. Before we have only had honors physics taught according to the AP physics C material, but all of the teachers' students would take the AP test and almost always end up with a 1. That being considered, would it be a waste of time to do AP Physics? (H physics will not be offered next year so I cannot take that instead)</p>
<p>I also have the option to take AP Physics B (or C, I'm really unsure of the difference :-S ) online, but I'm not certain if that's a good idea considering that I do not have any sort of physics background whatsoever. I have taken 2 online classes before, AP psych and AP stat, two notoriously easy APs, and would be taking the physics through the same site. I do like the way that the courses are set up through this online "school," but I am still not sure if I want to take this sort of class without an actual teacher that's there and that I can go to at any time.</p>
<p>The third option would be to just forget about physics all together, and take a BS class or study hall. It would be 2nd semester so to me it sounds like a pretty solid option, but not if it would look bad to colleges that I've never taken a physics class. So what do you guys think, should I take a physics class or is it unimportant to colleges if you're not going into that type of field? </p>
<p>A lot of colleges recommend that you take physics…it’s a core science class. </p>
<p>Are you sure they are bringing in physics B next year? The physics B test is being discontinued, so it’s an odd time to begin teaching that class. And, yes, physics is considered a core science class and if you think you might be a science major, you should take it. Look up the expectations for colleges you might apply to. Also, the difference between physics B and physics C is that C is calculus-based. </p>
<p>It doesn’t matter what you score on the test. You will be admitted or rejected long before that, and placement is the least of your worries anyway. You want to get admitted. And schools like UVA want to see you take the most rigorous curriculum available to you. Skipping physics might seem a bit odd, especially for a science major.</p>
<p>@mathyone
My school is very backwards to say the least. We currently don’t even have AP sciences unless you take them online. You’re required to take 4 sciences for an advanced diploma, and most people do earth science, bio, chem, and either HS level anatomy or environmental. They let a lot of people graduate w/o physics but not all are looking at upper-level colleges like UVA. I’ve take H Earth Science, H bio, H chem, DE college chem, and DE college bio so far and I’m taking the DE micro/human anatomy next year, so I’ve definitely already taken enough sciences for graduation. It is just very hard to work that class, that is only taught once the entire year, into my already very busy and intense schedule. </p>
<p>@WastachWriter
It definitely would make sense to take physics especially for a science major. I am taking the most rigorous course load of anyone in my grade this year. Most AP students are only taking 2 APs and 1 maybe 2 DE classes if any, and I did 3 APs and 24 credit hours (12 per semester) worth of DE classes through my CC’s DE program. This past semester I received a 3.67 (4 As 2 Bs), which is not spectacular but is okay considering I was in the hospital for 2 weeks in November, so I really need to maintain fairly close to a 4.0 this semester and senior year. You’re right, the AP physics test won’t really matter to colleges because the scores won’t come in until summer. I totally didn’t even think of that, I think that it would probably be best to just do the AP Physics next year then. I had the teacher for H chem and he was probably my favorite HS teacher. I really learn a lot from his teaching style so I’m almost certain I’ll be able to get an A in his physics class.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the advice :)</p>