Hi everyone, I’m new here. I’m a sophomore in high school, and we’re choosing our courses for next year soon. I am currently taking AP Biology, AP Euro, Honors Chemistry, Honors English, Honors Math Analysis/Trig (Precalc), and Spanish III. I took AP Environmental as a freshman and I got an A and a 5 on the exam, so I have AP experience. I have an A+ in all of my classes for the first semester. Next year, I would like to take AP English Language, AP US History, AP Calculus BC, AP Physics C, AP Chemistry, and Spanish IV Honors. I’m unsure of my seventh class as of yet. Obviously Calc BC and Physics C are both very difficult, so these are the two I’m unsure of. I have a 100 in Precalc and I find it very easy so far. I have always had a natural affinity for math. I have talked to a sophomore who takes BC and he says that as long as I have a good trig foundation and am able to learn fast, I should be fine. As for Physics C, my Chemistry teacher says that it is similar to Physics 1 just with Calculus and more material. We are allowed to take Calculus concurrently with Physics C. My rationale for taking Physics C next year is that I would like to be able to take both Physics C and Physics 2 by the end of high school. I plan on majoring in physics in college. If I take BC, there is a possibility that I could take Multivariable Calculus Honors senior year if there are enough students taking it for it to be offered. Would I be better off taking Calculus AB and/or Physics 1? Or would it be better to skip out on one of the other courses? Thank you in advance for any advice.
I would only skip AP calc ab if you taught yourself all of the concepts over the summer. Since math builds off of itself, you (probably) wouldn’t be able to just completely skip it.
@jakejake637 At some schools Calc BC teaches AB concepts. So you do either AB or BC, not both.
OP, it depends on how strong you’re feeling in math right now. And AP Physics C would probably be more beneficial, but its considered very difficult, so make sure you don’t feel overwhelmed with your other classes.
And I don’t see why you would take Physics C and Physics 2, just choose one. From what I’ve seen, Physics C is considered more rigorous, so therefore counts for higher college credits.
I can’t say a ton about the rest of your schedule, but I can say that AP Calculus BC and AP Physics C are not too much to take together if you have a natural affinity for math. Physics complements Calc really nicely–it’s a lot of the same concepts and there’s a definite element of discovery and many sparks of enlightenment that source from taking them concurrently. Your current Pre-Calc grade affirms that you would be fine in terms of math and science. If you feel like you would be overwhelmed, I would urge you not to drop to Calc AB, as there’s just not that much of a difference between it and BC if you have a bit of time (assuming that your school presents BC as a year of Calc and not just second-semester Calc). Again, if you like math, taking Physics C could be really fun-- and since you plan on majoring in physics I would go for it. Depending on your school, your courseload could be just too much-- I’ll leave that for CCers who know what they’re talking about a bit more than I do!
To snowfairy137: What I meant was that I wanted to take AP Physics C as a junior and AP Physics 2 as a senior. It is my understanding that Physics 2 is an entirely different course with many different topics such as nuclear physics and thermodynamics.
And thank you pseduoprimal for your insight. I will have to ask the math teacher to be sure, but I am believe that BC is taught as a full year course rather than just the second half. These two courses are more important to me than the other ones, so I would rather drop one of those if need be.
Oh, ok sorry, I haven’t looked at the curriculum for Physics 2 at all. My school just offers 1 and C, so I’m going to do C, but yeah. There still might be some overlap because (as I see it) collegeboard doesn’t expect you to take both, but that’s cool.
Maybe I’m not the best person to judge the difficulty of your AP load because I’m taking 7 for my junior year and that makes me crazy probably, but…
AP Calculus BC is honestly not as difficult as you may think. Everyone has a different opinion on it depending on their love of math. The person who talked to you about trig was partially wrong, because Calc BC includes way more than trig. Honestly, it contains tons of algebra, integrals, some geometry, and lots and lots and lots of formulas and derivatives. But the thing is, once you understand the concepts at the beginning of the year, you are good for the rest of the year. In calculus, the first chapters build and continue to be applied in the later chapters.
You said you have a 100 in precalculus. You will be totally fine. And you have a natural affinity for math–there is no doubt you will be successful and even maybe the top student in calculus. I wouldn’t be afraid.
The thing is, you will have 4 other AP’s and Calc BC is very fast-paced, so if you would like to have a more relax calculus environment, AB is an option, too. There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s the same material for the most part, just a slower pace, and it may make you have less stress with the other 4 AP’s.
I agree that AP Physics C is difficult. But if you like AP Physics, you should go for it.
You seem like a very excellent student with surplus AP Experience, and I believe you will do fine in any class you choose. Good luck! Message me if you have any questions. 
The actual physics sequence is Physics 1/2-> Physics C. In other terms, Physics 2 would be a junior level course (or senior-level for those who took 1 as juniors), and C would be a senior-level course. C is calculus-based, meaning that it’s a good idea to actually know calculus before you take it, even though you can take it concurrently - you just make things more difficult for yourself for no good reason and don’t understand the math/physics relationship as well, which would be too bad for a future physics major.
My advice to you is to take Physics 2 next year and Physics C as a senior, especially since you’d be doubling up in science with both AP physics and AP chem.
As for math:
Calculus AB is the equivalent of Calculus 1 stretched over one year. Calculus BC is the equivalent of Calculus 1 at college pace, meaning you’re done in 4 months instead of 9, and the rest of the time is devoted to Calculus 2. HOWEVER, some high schools offer Calculus AB-BC as a sequence, meaning that they teach the AB part (calculus1) over one year, and the (B)C part (calculus 2) over one year. In that situation, it’s a bad idea to “skip” AB without working on its curriculum over the summer. Ask your current math teacher which of these two systems your high school uses.
If senior year you can take more advanced math (calculus 3, diferential equations/linear algebra/discrete math…) that’d be best.
Your last class can be anything you find “fun”. If you’re interested in the UCs, make sure you have art, music, or another form of creative expression.
@MYOS1634 Knowing the concepts are more important.
@MYOS1634 The sequence for AP Physics is actually AP Physics 1 then a choice of either AP Physics 2, AP Physics C, or a different AP science course. At least according to college board.
You don’t have to take AP Physics 2 before AP Physics C.
No, hence the Physics 1/2-> C wording (“taking 1 or 2 before C”) but taking Physics C first, and physics 2 second, is the wrong order. In addition, to benefit from Physics C, knowing calculus is a must. Calc and C can be taken concurrently but it’s just not as beneficial for a future STEM major.
@IamNotCreativ most schools don’t have ap physics 2 it’s usually just ap phys 1 to c
@MYOS1634 That’s kind of what I thought originally, but my Chemistry teacher said that taking Physics 1 and then C would be redundant, and that taking C and then 2 would be okay. Then again, I’m not sure how much she knows about it, so I’ll have to ask the Physics teacher at my school. If that is the case, would it be possible to take Physics 1 as junior and both Physics C and Physics 2 as a senior? I would like to get the material from both Physics 1/C and Physics 2, but I think taking Physics 2 without taking 1 first might be kind of weird. Please correct me if I’m wrong. As for Calc BC, I’m pretty sure that it is taught as the full course at my school rather than just the second half. But I will check to be sure.
Check with the Physics teacher and with your Math teacher to make sure.
However I would strongly warn you against taking Physics C without Calculus and as a junior. Don’t do that to yourself
I’m currently taking AP Calc, APUSH, AP Language, and AP physics C (along with ap comp sci and Spanish) as a junior & personally I don’t find the schedule to be too incredibly difficult. I personally am not too strong at math, but even for me the concepts for calc aren’t too difficult my teachers class is just incredibly difficult. I find that taking AP physics C while taking calc is actually pretty beneficial bc we learn some concepts before calc therefore helping me in calc. APUSH and AP Lang aren’t too bad you just have to put the right amount of effort into them. From what you have told us I think you could definitely succeed with your schedule. Good luck with whatever you choose.
As is AP Chemistry, and depending on the teacher, the workload in AP Lang and APUSH can be pretty daunting. You really should ask some current students in your school.
I’m not sure of the purpose. It’s unlikely that a college will give you credit for all 4 physics tests, and to spend an entire year in AP Physics 2 to learn the few topics that are not covered in AP Physics C seems like it would not be the best use of scheduling. You’d probably be better off taking a Modern Physics class in college and taking some other class as a HS senior.