<p>the question is. do i need to take physics?
i plan on applying to elite schools but i dont have any interest or space in my schedule for physics?
is it looked upon as "bad" if i dont take it in high school? thanks btw its not mandatory at my school</p>
<p>It is not necessary; however, a lot of studies show that students who take an introductory physics course in high school outperform their peers without a physics background by a grand margin.</p>
<p>in the admissions process will they be.."why didnt he take physics"? or "he should have taken physics" etc</p>
<p>If you have no interest, don't waste your time. Take classes in the subject you're interested in. Though, if you're going for science or math, you might want to take physics. Otherwise, it's definitely not necessary.</p>
<p>if you dont take physics you will never get into harvurd</p>
<p>thanks man. i prob wont take it</p>
<p>I don't think it's absolutely necessary. I took Integrated Science for 3 years so I got some background, but I think I'd probably be fine if I'd never taken it at all. Plus, it depends on what you want to do...if it's science related you'll probably want to take at least some physics just to get a background in it.</p>
<p>Several people at my school have been accepted to great schools without physics, but they did take other HL IB sciences.</p>
<p>No, physics is not necessary if you do not plan on applying to MIT, RPI, CALTECH, etc. I was at a session held at Dartmouth by their admissions staff, and it was clearly stated that a student with no interest in physics need not take such a (or similar) course if their interests were clearly in a different direction. My children never took any physics and never took AP chemistry, for example (which was available at their school) because their interests were elsewhere (and this was reflected in the courses they did choose, the ECs in which they were involved--and none were talented or recruited athletes) and had acceptances to Dartmouth, Williams, Carleton, Bowdoin, Wesleyan, etc. I think adcoms look for interesting, hard working kids, but don't have a simple laundry list of needed classes. It is true, however, that you should still be taking challenging classes in what interests you. Earnest activity outside the standard curriculum is not just OK, but probably of interest to adcoms, but slacking is not.</p>
<p>Do you want to be a biologist? Chemist? Astronomer? Physicist? Mathematician? Doctor?</p>
<p>Take physics. At least, that's what my AP Chem teacher was telling us. He said, basically, if you don't take at least a year of physics, you'll be screwing yourself over. I have to say, I agree. Physics IS everything that ever existed. It provides a good foundation for other sciences.</p>
<p>Physics is necessary if you want to major in some sort of science. You're better off learning the basics in a structured high school class then being royally screwed in a physics lecture because you have no idea what the professor's talking about. :-P</p>
<p>you should take it.</p>
<p>Don't take it if all your other courses are more relevant to your interests and it's still a respectable schedule (AP/IB/honors).</p>