<p><em>Please read background information first please</em>
I am a junior.
I have taken honors classes (since AP wasnt available until junior year) and I am now number 1 in my class out of about 400.
As a junior, I am taking two AP classes-- History and English (when I was taking AP physics as well, I was the only junior taking 3 AP classes.)
Next year I plan to take 4 AP classes.
I have won various inter-school awards for my writing and english.
In addition to academics, I play varsity soccer. I am the Rep to Student Board. I am the county director of a political organization. And I volunteer. I also took a college course at a community college.
I am trying to be editor of the school newspaper and start a debate club.
My SATs need improvement but they will be improved.</p>
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<p>well I decided to drop AP Physics because, I was just deeply confused. No real teaching was going on, and I, along with many of my fellows peers, was just lost. I had a 78...I dont remember the last I ever had a C on my report card. And it would devastate my perfect gpa. So I dropped the course and many are disappointed in me be/c they feel like i quit.</p>
<p>But did I make a wise decision? Staying in AP Physics would have deeply wounded my transcript. Yet many say colleges want students to take the highest level courses...</p>
<p>I want to get into NYU or UChicago or Georgetown or UPenn.</p>
<p>I AM STILL TAKING PHYSICS THOUGH, but regular not AP. (Honors is not offered)</p>
<p>You dropped the class because you didn’t want a C on your transcript? Wow…that’s…ridiculous. Universities will notice that you dropped the class and considering that you went pretty deep into the year with the class I’m surprised the school let you drop it anyway. Good luck with whatever you do, but next time be mentally stronger and study to get through the material. Try to understand the stuff and don’t just give up…</p>
<p>dude, the only i received a 78 was be/c of my labs.
I received 20s and 10s on tests (and yes that was out of 100).
i did not understand the material at all.</p>
<p>The only thing that might hurt is if you have no science this year. Did you drop a level or drop out completely? If you are going to end up with 3 instead of 4 years of science top schools most likely will not like this. If this is the case I would recommend you make it up at a community college.</p>
<p>Say goodbye to college then. Without AP Physics, you’ll be lucky to get into community college. </p>
<p>Haha j/k. Nonetheless, Adcom’s will see that ap was offered but you didn’t take it, but other than that I don’t think it will be a huge deal. What worries me more are your comments. </p>
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<p>It’s not “like i quit.” You did quit. Why did you keep getting 10/20s on your exams? This is an issue that you need to address with yourself. If you can’t go beyond the classroom material and learn to prepare by yourself, you will not grow as a student. I think it’s better to get a B and challenge yourself then to get an A and maintain your GPA.</p>
<p>In terms of college, I think you made the right choice. For personal growth, however, it wasn’t the best. It’s OK if you don’t think you can handle it, but you need to think about how you could have improved and done better. Learn from this and tackle challenges head on in the future! </p>
<p>thank you for your very well thought out answer.
Yes i know it was not a good decision in terms of personal growth.
And unfortunately it was not about getting a B and challenging myself–my 78 was slowly going down.
And I studied. Since she didnt teach very well, I relied on problems from the book and this professor on youtube…shhh. However, I had much trouble with the way the problems were on the tests.
I would learn and understand how to use a certain equation or concept, and then on the test, it would have that concept but with a twist that I was just surprised by.</p>
<p>And thank you. I need all the luck I can get.</p>
<p>At my daughter’s school, everyone who wanted to take AP physics took honors physics junior year and AP senior year. There are so many options available as what to take that I can’t imagine that this is an issue.</p>
<p>This is why you should not rush into taking APs for the sake of having APs. You dodged a bullet, OP, but let this be a lesson that you should not take on more than you can handle. From the looks of it, you were taking AP Physics without a basic physics or, if I may assume, calculus background.</p>
<p>I have NUMEROUS stories where GPA has been SO important in my D’s life, and small changes really brought it down. So her GPA does NOT match her “potential” (SAT / ACT) and … well … You did the right thing. Do not sweat it.</p>
<p>i wouldnt be surprised if you were confused, considering the fact that you took the AP class without taking a regular/honors class beforehand. AP core sciences like chemistry bio and physics require that you have some fundamental understanding of the subject before you take AP. Considering that, it was best that you did drop the class for the sake of getting a fundamental knowledge of physics first, especially since that is what u want to major in.</p>