<p>I'm planning on majoring in engineering or science related fields and my top choices are UC Berkeley and Stanford. I don't know whether I should take the only chemistry offered at our school, Honors Chemistry. The only thing is that there is only one teacher who teaches it and he is horrible. He doesn't teach at all in class but gives very hard tests and quizzes intermittently, therefore making many people fail; few people acheive A's (which is what I'm aiming for if I decide to take it) I'm going to be a junior next year and I'll have the SAT I's to worry about too. Not to metion my other 4 AP classes I'll be taking, AP exams, some science fair research and extracurriculars. Many of my smartest friends get B's in that class and they are taking it this year (sophomore), probably giving them a chance to focus in more and study more since they don't have any AP's or SAT I's in that matter. </p>
<p>I know colleges like to see you taking risks. Does this situation fit into what I should attempt to overcome. Should I take this class which I'm fairly interested in despite the teacher? Let's say I got a C in the class, will I be able to inform colleges about the rigorous status of the class and tell them how the teacher doesn't teach? I really want to take advantage of my resources (AP's and Honors classes) but I don't really know if Chemistry would be one of them since you basically have to self-study the whole year. </p>
<p>How hard is it to self-study Honors Chemistry? Are the concepts easy to understand? I have taken AP Physics B already and have gone through Thermodynamics, Kinetic theory, and understand some of the graphs and equations associate with those topics. That should work to my benefit next year right? What do you think I should do in order to get a sense of the class. Should I approach the teacher and ask him to give me samples of his tests, homework, and quizzes? Please help me out here as I wouldn't want an even more stressful upcoming junior year. Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>No offense to you, but honors chemistry should be mandatory for HS. I don't mean to be pessimistic, but you will have very little chance against other applicants for those schools unless you take honors chemistry.</p>
<p>Honors chemistry is not hard material, but it is hard due to introducing so many new concepts. You're always learning something new.</p>
<p>Top tier colleges like UC Berekeley and Stanford would rather see me take Chemistry Honors in my junior year as opposed to my senior year right? Would they rather see me take Chemistry Honors at my school or Organic chemistry at a community colleges? It is really hard for me to not think about what colleges are going to think about the courses that I send to colleges when I apply. Thanks for your help guys!</p>
<p>Hey Classof2009! I'm a soph in Honors Chem right now. My teacher is horrible, and teaches us "Fill in choice c if you ever get this question" (retarded advice) but gives crazy hard tests with exceptions, etc, and we're about 3 units behind (we're having a test on acids and bases tommorow). That said, you can learn it if you are very diligent, and have good prep books. I used Barron's SAT II Chem, PR Sat II Chem, and Barron's Regents Chem. I would re-read and re-read each different explanation until I got it. If you understand the concepts well enough, you can even get rid of an sat II</p>
<p>Honestly, you should DEFINITELY take honors chem. It will look bad to just have chemistry regular when there is an option, in your junior year, if you're looking at a competitive college. Chemistry regular at most schools is a joke to get out of state req's. Anyway, good luck, and get those review books at the BEGINNING of the year!</p>
<p>I hate to tell you that H Chem is essential for getting into good schools (because that's obviously not the answer that you want to hear) ... but it is.</p>
<p>I would also suggest taking H Chem sophomore year instead of junior year. That way, you can take AP classes junior and senior year... lots of topics in AP Bio, Envi Sci, Physics, and obviously chem relate to topics learned in H chemistry. After all, you'd have the same teacher no matter when you took it, right? Lots of people get C's in H Chem at my school, too (the teachers are good, they just give very difficult tests and expect a lot of us). I started out with a C, but then learned the correct way to study and ended up with an A+ in the course. So... you can do it! Challenge yourself, and don't be discouraged if you get a couple bad grades.</p>
<p>It is absolutely imperative for you to take ALL of the 3 core sciences (physics, chemistry, biology) especially if you want to go into an engineering or science related field. I took Honors Chemistry as a freshman, and it was an extremely easy course. Quantum theory was a tad confusing, but I'm sure you'll have no problems with it since you have already taken AP Physics. I feel that self-studying for it should not be a difficult challenge. However, the curriculum for Honors Chemistry might be different for you, so I may be wrong.</p>
<p>I have signed up for the following classes next year (junior year):</p>
<p>AP Calc AB
AP Bio
APUSH
APES
Honors English 11
Honors Chemistry
Spanish 2</p>
<p>I heard that Calc, English, Spanish, and especially Chemistry (that's why I posted this thread) are very hard to get good grades in because of all of the work that you need to do. The only thing is that the Chemistry teacher doesn't teach at all and gives unpredictable tests and quizes often..</p>
<p>As a sophomore, I'm taking AP Physics B and have gotten A's both quarters. My class isn't really that hard and the tests are curved so it's fairly easy. I've self-studied thermodynamics in less than a week and have some knowledge of thermodynamics, kinetic theory, entropy, gas laws, and some other things. Is there anything that you think would be harder than the topics that I have listed above? I also understand how to read PV graphs and determine the amount of work done on/by the gas etc. I've studied most of thermo in 2 days because I was cramming for the AP Physics B exam.</p>
<p>I'm taking Chem now in sophomore year without having taken physics yet so the physics related topics are the hardest IMO. Since you've done and aced thermodynamics and other physics related topics, I think Chem will be fine.
Plus, as everyone else has said, you really should take it in HS.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if I will have to send any of my community college grades to either my high school or college that I want to attend? If you don't send them the grades, they won't know what you got right?</p>
<p>I took chemistry this year as a sophomore, and it's probably one of the easiest classes I've ever taken. I actually did learn a lot, but I had a really good teacher. I honestly wish I had skipped straight into AP Chem because the concepts aren't mind blowing; it's a matter of memorization.</p>
<p>i took honors chem this year to and i started it off kind of weak, even though we were learning easy stuff like conversions. i have an A/A+ right now, but the labs are still kind of hard for me b/c my teacher takes pts. of for the most pointless things.
anyways, good luck!!</p>
<p>We have teachers who don't teach here all the time. esp. my latin teacher I had for 2 years which I couldn't drop because I needed a language teacher. </p>
<p>Work Hard for the class. Unlike Latin which scare resources are available and it's a foreign lang. Chemistry is easier and if you keep rereading the textbooks and go to tutoring (if they have it at your school), you'll do fine. If you're really a top tier person, you should get an A. I had a horrible chem teacher too but I went to tutoring and stuff, and I understand it.... and heck, I'm not even a top kind of person.</p>
<p>I don't mean to take over this thread, but is Chemistry required to get into top universities? I'm a sophomore and for the next two years I'll take AP Biology and AP Physics. I wasn't going to take Chemistry because AP Chemistry isn't offered at my high school. Is this going to hurt me? I'll also be taking more AP classes such as, Calculus.</p>
<p>Olive Tree, if you don't have Chemistry at your school it wouldn't hurt you at all, because it wasn't offered I guess. Taking other science/math classes are fine, but if you really would like to be a person who "stands out" in the admissions process you should try to find a Chemistry course at a community college or something. Can anyone back me up with this? Of course if you don't even want to take it, don't.</p>
<p>Just take what is offered then that's all you can take right? If you want to challenge your self, you can take organic chem at a community college. It will probably look like AP chem? I don't know.</p>
<p>AP Calculus AB, if paced correctly, is not that bad of a course. It is work, but not as ugly as an AP Biology course taught well, which is a considerable amount of material.
Olive_Tree, many places say three credits in science, and most don't specify how those should be spent. Most do take it, but if you have the freshman-year lab, AP Biology and Physics, you have met the basic requirement of three science credits. If there is no room, then a college can't exactly penalize you for having to take required courses that get in the way of your attempting to satisfy the traditional HS core.</p>