I’m a rising senior and am struggling to fill my science requirement next year. I only have APES and APC as options. I am interested in both sciences equally and got pretty good grades in both subjects (took earth science 8th grade and physics 11th). My goal is to become a biomedical engineer so my original instinct was to go with physics, but I heard from people in the class that the teacher isn’t great, it’s hard to finish with an A, and they didn’t get a lot out of the class. This would usually dissuade me from physics since I already have a kinda rigorous course load (AP Lit, AP Macro, AP calc AB, and an engineering capstone class) but I’ve heard that colleges would prefer to see a more rigorous science class. Is it worth it to take APC or should I go with APES?
Schools won’t look at your 8th grade science class unless it counts for HS credit on your transcript. If you’ve already taken physics, I would take APES to show variety. Especially since it’s your senior year, you should enjoy your classes. Of course, APES is seen as “easier” and might not be as useful. It’s just what I would do.
For an engineering major, take physics. It will help you immensely to have an introduction to Calc based physics before you hit college.