Honors vs Regular Chemistry?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

Hi! I’m currently a sophomore, and I’m currently finalizing my schedule for my junior year. I’m by no means an amazingly stellar student, but I have almost all B’s and I take a range of classes (College Prep, Honors, and AP).

I know for certain I’m taking AP English Lang, Honors US History II, CP Algebra 2 (math is my weakest subject), Concert Band, and either Psychology or Current Events (both are electives, it’s a matter of which fits in my schedule).

This year, I took Honors English II, Honors US History I, CP Geometry, and AP Environmental Science as my core classes. I’ve maintained decent enough grades in the former 3 classes, but APES has been a C+ all year. I took Honors Biology last year and finished with a B+, and everyone told me APES would be a breeze, so I fell for the bait and screwed myself up for the rest of sophomore year. My APES teacher placed me in CP Chemistry for next year due to my poor grades, but she gave me the opportunity to be placed in Honors if I felt I could handle the class.

The Honors Chemistry class at my school is definitely difficult, but my friends who took the course this year have talked about how talented the teacher of the class is, and many of them are taking AP Chemistry with her next year due to how much they liked her and her class. I’m willing to take a B in the class, but I’m hesitant to take the course if it means risking another C.

I have no intention of attending any particularly selective colleges, and I plan to major in English and Secondary Education so science really has no relevance to my career choice. Will the level I take chemistry at really matter for college? I’m worried going from an AP class to a CP class will look concerning.

2

I really understand the concerns you’re facing right now, especially because I’ve never been a science person. I don’t know that much about APES, so I can’t really speak about it… however, I ended Bio Honors with a B+ and am currently in Honors Chemistry with a high A, and both Honors Biology and Honors Chemistry are considered very hard at my school. I feel that if someone like me can do well in Honors Chemistry, despite being bad at biology and a lot of science, in general, you have a lot of potential. However, Chemistry requires a lot of math, and hearing that math is your weakest subject, it may be something to consider. I don’t know what it’s like for you guys, but at my school, you have to be enrolled in or have taken Algebra 2 in order to sign up for Honors Chemistry. There’s also a lot of math compared to Biology, especially in the Gas Laws and stoichiometry units. Even though math is your weakest subject, how did you do in Algebra 1? While you will learn the math you need for Chemistry in the class, you have a good chance of doing well with the math in Chemistry if you did well in Algebra.

I’d advise talking to the Honors Chemistry teacher at school and try to see if he/she has a syllabus available for you. Also feel free to ask him/her questions and ask him/her about the workload, class averages, etc. whatever questions you may have. He/she probably knows really well what type of student would do well, especially if they are experienced. Your school counselor is also a good person to ask.

Feel free to ask me any questions about my experiences in Honors Chemistry if you have any. Best of luck and have a good day!

3
  1. Ask your current science teacher what they recommend
  2. Talk to your GC and see if you started in Honors CHem, would it be possible to move down to CP Chem if necessary