<p>Here is a big reason to take high school physics: You want to know if physics is something you find interesting before you decide you want to do engineering (and select a college based on it having engineering degree programs). Engineering involves designing things using math and science, and the science most commonly used is physics.</p>
<p>If you wait until freshman year in college before seeing physics, your options may be more limited if you find that you do not like physics enough to want to continue in engineering (e.g. you cannot rewind the clock and apply as a freshman to different schools based on other possible majors, and may have to transfer to a different school).</p>
<p>Thanks to the two most recent answer, however let me clarify. I want to take physics desperately, but it won’t fit into my senior year schedule, so I am asking really if it is possible to not take it, even if it is HIGHLY recommended (I can now see how important it is). </p>
<p>I am still waiting for my GC to email me back a out changing my schedule… I am really hoping he can stick physics in there without dropping too many classes. </p>
<p>Thanks again,
<p>If it puts your mind at ease, you could take AP Physics B independent of the school curriculum and put in your application that you didn’t take physics because your plan was independent study.</p>
<p>OP, there does not to seem to have been any discussion so far about your Math background. Most colleges and universities will not allow you to register for the first semester of Calculus based Physics which is usually Mechanics until you have completed Calculus I as a prerequisite and are enrolled in Calculus II as a co-requisite. If you are strong in Math you can succeed in College Physics whether you took Physics in high school or not. On the other hand, if you do not have good Math skills, including Calculus, you will really struggle with Physics in college even if you took a lot of Physics in high school.</p>
<p>^Good point. You will be required to know the basics of differentiation and integration to be able to derive some formulas, such as those for work, power, and many of the kinematics formulas, among others.</p>
<p>And, yes, there are some kids who are so highly involved (and successful) in a broad range of STEM related ECs and have excelled at all calculus courses, maybe taken some at cc, who can slide by the “rule” that one should have physics in hs. But, OP’s problem is schools that require or highly recommend the course. He won’t have the course, the exerience and he certainly won’t have a physics LoR.</p>
<p>OP, unless you are certain the GC is not at school, call him! Make that contact. Don’t risk that he’ll send back a pro forma, “can’t be done” email. And there you are, stuck with no conversation.</p>
<p>Thank you neoDymium, Lemaitre1, ptontiger16, and lookingforward.</p>
<p>@Lemaitre1 - I am actually quite good at math. I am currently enrolled in AP Calc and have an A average thus far in HS math. I’m glad that you said a good math background will allow me to take physics without much difficulty.</p>
<p>@ptontiger16 - I actually did a lot of that last year in H Pre-Calc. Now that I think about it, we did a lot of physics related stuff!</p>
<p>@lookingforward - I am going to go into the school tomorrow and make an appointment. I am tired of waiting for him 
</p>
<p>Also, I have an idea… I found this one website (National University Virtual High School) in which you take high school classes that either aren’t offered at your school or didn’t fit into your schedule. These classes are fully accredited, they say, and they do offer physics that they say is similar to honors physics.</p>
<p>So, my question is, would that be an option? I can take that in addition to all my other classes since it’s the kind of online class where you can do the work on your own time as long as it’s completed by the end of the week. However, I worry that it wouldn’t mean anything to colleges… </p>
<p>Thanks,
<p>Also, I have an idea… I found this one website (National University Virtual High School) in which you take high school classes that either aren’t offered at your school or didn’t fit into your schedule. These classes are fully accredited, they say, and they do offer physics that they say is similar to honors physics.</p>
<p>So, my question is, would that be an option? I can take that in addition to all my other classes since it’s the kind of online class where you can do the work on your own time as long as it’s completed by the end of the week. However, I worry that it wouldn’t mean anything to colleges…</p>
<p>I think that taking the course online wouldnt be ignored by colleges. </p>
<p>However, I would do what I can to take the physics in class with a teacher. Youll learn it better, and youll have the labs, which are really critical in understanding physics. If you stay at it, your guidance counselor will find a way to get the course into your schedule. People are on vacation right now, so things are happening slower. Your guidance counselor is on your side.</p>
<p>Online classes generally aren’t viable for lab courses. You can learn the material, yes, but you need to have practical laboratory experience to understand it at another level. You can take online classes for humanities/history classes since those involve mainly memorization and concepts that don’t require hands-on experience.</p>
<p>@EarthPig - I hope you are right about my GC. He does this to me every time I email him though (even during the school year). I know I need those labs, but I am just trying to come up with alternatives in case my GC cannot get me into AP Physics.</p>
<p>@ptontiger16 - I agree with you, too. The labs are definitely a necessity, but I am just trying to think of worst-case scenarios and how to get around them. And by the way, I just realized what your name says! Haha, I would have never needed to ask what school you go to had I realized it earlier! :)</p>
<p>Thanks again,
<p>Not all adults find email to be the preferred line of communication. You can find threads where kids are dumbfounded that profs don’t answer emails (some will, some won’t.) </p>
<p>My vote is for taking it at your hs. As back-up, did you look at RVCC? Algebra-based.</p>
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<p>High school physics does not have to be AP physics.</p>
<p>@Lookingforward -</p>
<p>I am going in tomorrow to make an appointment. Maybe you’re right and he just doesn’t respond to emails? I have not looked at RVCC yet (I was quite shocked when you said RVCC, but then I remembered I have my county under my name haha!) because I’m not sure if I’ll have time for a community college class during the school year, but if that’s the last conceivable option, I’ll do it. And yes, best case scenario is I get it into my HS schedule for this year!</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus - </p>
<p>I know it doesn’t have to be AP Physics, it’s just that I would hate to drop two AP classes for an honors class! I’m ridiculous, I know… If I can’t get AP physics then I will be fine with going down to honors (we don’t have anything less than honors physics). </p>
<p>Thanks guys, you’re really helping me a lot!</p>