<p>I am having a dilemma as to what science AP to take next year. I am going to be a senior and have been a straight A science student throughout high school and I exceed all of the prerequisites for the AP's. My school offers:
AP Bio: I am really interesting in Bio and really want to take this class, I have been planning on taking this class since freshman year (it is a senior only class)
AP Physics C Mechanics: I really enjoyed physics this year and I really think I would enjoy this class. However, I am not taking AP Calc, as I am not advanced a year in math, and this class is calc. based. ( I am planning on possibly taking a math class over the summer so I could take calc.</p>
<p>I would try to take both, but my school only allows either/or, not both together. So, this is my question to you, which one do you think I should take? Which looks better for college? Which is harder? ect.
I am at this point leaning towards bio, but whenever I start to think bio, I always feel upset that I am not going to get to do physics..
Thanks in advance for any help!</p>
<p>Which part is either/or?</p>
<p>From what I heard, you need to be doing Calculus in order to do Physics C.</p>
<p>No, it is bio/physics C mechanics either/or. AP calc is recommended to be taken concurrently with physics at my school and I would take pre-calc during the summer (I am doing this already) so I am good on that. I was wondering whether I should take AP bio or physics.</p>
<p>That is usually the case because the workload for those two combined might be a lot.</p>
<p>It is your choice essentially whether you are more interested in biology or physics and whether you dont want to work with one of them in college (get it waived by using the AP credit). Interest vs waiver work in opposite directions though!</p>
<p>PhysC: Mechanics is manageable without taking calculus. Most schools cover Mechanics and the E&M Exam in one year; with the extra time your class should have by just doing Mechanics, surely the teacher will be able to provide the calculus knowledge you need. Mechanics really just requires very basic calculus knowledge. You might wanna talk to the teacher to make sure, but I bet he’s very use to teaching students who do not know calculus at all.</p>
<p>If you could manage to take that math class over the summer and take Calc AB or BC, I’m sure it would be helpful, and look better on your college application, but it’s not necessary for Mechanics. PhysicsC: E&M is more heavily based in calculus, and really shouldn’t be taken unless you’re taking a calculus course at the same time. Sounds like you aren’t even considering PhysC: E&M though.</p>
<p>As for your other questions, Physics C is more difficult than Bio, and is more highly regarded by colleges. Bio requires a lot of memorization but isn’t particularly difficult to understand/comprehend, whereas Physics may take a little more work to get your head wrapped around (though you will be memorizing a lot of formulas).</p>
<p>Have you checked the universities you are considering to see which AP is more likely to be accepted for the major(s) you are considering?</p>
<p>My school does not even offer Physics C (E+M), they just have Physics C (Mechanics). In addition, the teacher said that he only taught one student who did not take calculus concurrently. I think that if Physics C look significantly better, then I would go to the trouble of taking it, but if not, I am more interested in AP bio. Still, I am worried physics C would give me an edge in college app’s. Also, I really want to do AP calc, but even if I do the class in the summer, I doubt my school would let me into the AP, they are not exactly keen on AP’s.</p>