I’m a business person through and through which is why I don’t want to spend a full year on a high-effort class such as chemistry. I’ve already completed biology and physics and I understand that chem labs cannot be properly carried out online, but I’d like to know if taking it online would still hurt my chances of admission if I want nothing to do with the sciences in college. If I’d be making a horrible mistake taking chemistry or APES online please tell me.
Any idea what colleges you may be targeting? I am sure there are colleges that would have no problem admitting someone who opted for online chem. However. There are definitely many who would see it as a significant lack of rigor considering it is offered in person at your school and chemistry (along with physics and bio) is one of the 3 required sciences for a large group of colleges.
I’m targeting top 20s because sadly I want to go into finance. I guess I just believed it wouldn’t matter if I took hon. chem online for that reason but if T20s are going to raise their eyebrows at that then I definitely won’t. If I did take hon. chem online then I’d be taking AP Physics 1 in my junior year.
For top 20s: I will let other users comment on why them, and explain all the good non top20s.
What you are missing is that kids at the top20s took all or nearly all the hardest courses possible, even in subjects they didn’t like. Even the majority of non-science kids took honors bio/honors chem/honors physics PLUS at least one of those AP (usually physics C not 1). They enjoy challenge and intellectual stimulation. They looked for and sought it out in HS. Taking an easier path is not really in the nature of the majority of the kids at those schools. Do you really want to be surrounded by kids like this? That does not seem to fit what you are looking for. Nevermind that the vast majority of T20s require all students to meet distribution requirements (ie take some science classes as a business major) Studying business at a college where the focus is only business, the students are low -key students who do not enjoy a grind and want plenty of free time, AND no science required, is possible I am sure. But it is not possible at Top20s.
To add onto this here’s classes I’m definitely taking junior year:
APUSH
AP Pre-calc (Iblame college board for making this an AP not me)
AP Statistics
AP Spanish
Honors American Lit/Comp
My science course is tentative because right now I’m meant to take hon. chem next year, but if I take it only I have the choice of taking AP Physics 1, APES, or hon. anatomy.
These are my sophomore year courses:
AP Goverment (one semester, my school controls this)
AP Comparative Gov
AP Micro (one semester)
Pre-AP Spanish
Honors Algebra 2
AP Language/Comp
Tech and Society (had elective spot open and didn’t want to take a random AP that I wasn’t interested in)
*also taking honors biology sophomore year
I see what you mean and this definitely changed my mind, I was afraid that taking hon. chem would make my schedule seem less rigorous. Physics C requires calculus which I’m not taking until my senior year unfortunately.