I’m currently in the process of creating my junior year schedule. Here’s what I’ve got so far:
AP Lang
APUSH
Independent Project: self-study AP Art History
Honors Precalc
French 2 (I completed AP Spanish as a freshman- this is my second foreign language)
I’m torn between taking AP Environmental Science or Regular Physics next year. If I go with APES, which I’m more interested in, I get the extra GPA point. However, I’ve heard that selective colleges want to see all three major sciences (bio, chem, and physics) on students’ transcripts. I’m not particularly passionate about science, so if I went with physics, it would be at the regular level. Please help me make this decision!
It depends on a few factors, but my suggestion is APES.
Firstly, your major. If you aren’t excited by science and definitely are not going to pursue it in college as your major, it will not matter (minimally at most) whether you take the Big 3 science classes. If you plan on doing a non-science major, they pretty much won’t look for those 3 classes any longer or weight it anymore than they would any other class.
Secondly, the extra point is definitely helpful, and if you can manage to take it, I would take it if it guarantees you that extra point. Be sure you can get an A!
Thirdly, if you enjoy it, just take it. After experiencing college applications and researching, your high school curriculum and life should not revolve around what colleges want to see at all. It’s all about you. They want to see what you love, what you’re passionate about. Definitely do not take Physics if you dislike it and are not passionate about it (still assuming you won’t major in science).
HOWEVER! If you are majoring in science, or may decide to later on, keep your options open and perhaps take physics or double up like I did.
I want to reiterate this because this is probably the most important thing I learned during the application process. DO NOT JUST DO THINGS THAT YOU THINK COLLEGES WANT TO SEE. Of course challenge yourself, do your best, stay active in your community, and get into activities. But these things should all be things that are meaningful to you and you are passionate about doing. On a college application, these activities and classes will somewhat provide colleges a base of who you are without essays. They’ll be able to tell what type of person you (sort of, sounds bad i know but bear with me) are.
Good luck! Hope this helps; I went through a similar dilemma except I chose wrongly and took 3 years of Orchestra.
You could take regular physics next year and APES senior year, or APES junior year and Physics regular senior year. You probably maximize benefits and minimize disadvantages by doing the latter (you get the benefits of the physics class showing the strongest science foreign yet get the GPA bump from APES).
In my state (NC) we require Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Science. MANY kids never take Physics. My D18 knows about 20 people going to UNC and only a handful took Physics. Likes others have said you can take both- maybe go with APES junior since that is the class you are interested. Once your list of school is narrowed you can decide if you need Physics.