At our school the honors physics and AP physics 1 are said to be very similar (not exactly the same). Similar coursework. AP is a little faster.
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that i can understand, but regular and ap, with no other choice, makes no sense. What about the kids who want to take physics but dont want that high a level?
My kids attend a highly competitive ranked public school also where there are at least 40% of kids who go to T50 schools. That i absolutely not the case at our school. No AP until 11th grade except for rare exceptions, must take honors science before AP, APUSH in 11th grade, etc
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Looks like thatâs what her Bio teacher told her today. She said if they attend regular Physics class but want to take AP Physics 1 test, they can easily do.
Unfortunately even our schools doesnât provide much Honors courses. They directly jump to AP. Thatâs where my D24 is struggling with AP BIO. If she had a chance, she would have taken Honors Bio.
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It is the same where I live - no APs until junior year (except for a few kids who take AP computer science in 10th) and most AP sciences have a pre-requisite (strangely, AP Physics isnât one of those).
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Agreed. Iâm shocked so many kids here on CC jump into so many AP courses right off the bat. Especially when I read that the school pass rates arenât great in some cases. I guess some schools use AP in lieu of having honors sections in 9th & 10th grade.
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Basically the same at my Dâs HS. Top kids are allowed to take AP Euro in 10th but nothing else offered until junior year and all AP science require honors first, including physics.
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Yeah, our HS doesnât have honors Sci or US/World/Gov. They just go from reg to AP. My S21 felt AP wasnât a big deal other than AP Chem was killer (and itâs really the FRQs). He took AP Bio and Phy 1 his senior year and thought they were easy (heâs strong in math). He did reco to D24 to do AP Bio junior year and AP physics 1 senior year knowing that we would reco she doesnât take any AP math, science exams senior year.
Iâll be interested to hear what you all think about Austin College. I think the location is great with and easy drive to Dallas or anywhere in Collin County or DFW airport and Sherman is a growing city too. Tons to do in that area. I know alums from AC and they seem to stay really tight with their college friends.
I have UNM on the list to discuss with D24. It doesnât really have the program that she wants, but I think sheâd love the weather and ABQ.
I know you said you were avoiding the Midwest, but Iâve heard good things from two separate college counselors about Iowa and Iowa City being a cool town. One told me she puts it on the list for anyone whoâs looking for a LAC.
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Also in this regard, if she decides to go for AP Physics 1 (algebra based) next year, here is her schedule for both junior and senior year. Need some input
Junior Year :
AP Stats
AP Language and Composition
AP Government
ASL
AP Physics 1/2
Blended Honors Financial Accounting
Senior Year:
AP European History
AP Calculus AB
AP Psychology
Some Art course
Eng 4/AP Lit
AP Macro/Micro
She is most probably planning to major in Economics/Pol. Science/IR. Is AP Lit must for these majors? I know itâs lot of essays in addition to their college essays. I was wondering if she will have enough time work on college essays when course load is heavy. For now, she is planning to apply to few colleges that are competitive. I do understand the following colleges are competitive and also requires ECs etc. For now, my question is only related to the course load not about the other factors. This is just small list of dream colleges.
Any recommendations on how to plan these courses? Weâre flexible moving few to senior/junior year.
GWU
BC
BU
NYU
Univ. Maryland
Texas - Austin
Columbia - high reach
OSU
USC
UCLA
UCSD
All these schools are very competitive for admissions. On paper some of the state schools are easier admitsâbut not if you are out of state. Youâll need to add some safeties. That being said, the course work is certainly rigorous enough for any of these schools - the trick is excelling in them.
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Thanks! I agree those are all competitive colleges. As I mentioned in post, these are dream colleges not safeties. We have to still figure out safeties.
Thanks for the tip about Iowa!
The weather is pretty great in Albuquerque in my opinion. Gets a little colder than we do here in AZ in the winter and in the summer, itâs not quite as intensely hot as the Phoenix area. To be honest, I love New Mexico. The vibe in that state is just very different than anywhere else.
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With this list, I really think she needs the AP physics. Of course your school will know better. But I would strongly recommend it it based on the list .
Every school is a little different, but in general APPhysics1 aligns well with the first year of HS physics, albeit at a faster and more challenging pace. I agree with others it would make sense to have a regular physics be easier than AP1, so that is surprising the teacher said it is essentially same. But it may be close! it may just have added challenge problems and a faster pace but uses the same book.
AP Physics C is the next yearâthe one that gets you credit for college physics at many top50 places. AP Phys1 does not correspond and does not earn credit at many top colleges because it is not really college level given that it is algebra based.
APChem and APBio are usually but not always taught after a full year of HS Bio or chem, and get you credit for college bio and chem at many top colleges, so they are more comparable to APPhysC in that way.
She should not get herself in a position to be overwhelmed and risk a C in the class, but she should challenge herself and try the APPhys (assuming her science teacher agrees with that placement). Maybe check if she can drop back if the first month is too hard?
For the rest of this year she needs to dig in to APBio and put in the hours she needs to keep the grade up if she is serious about that college list.
Thanks for the input! She is not planning to major in STEM so doesnât care much about Physics/Bio credit. She is taking these courses just to keep the rigor.
My school doesnât really care. They tried to restrict but no one is following their recommendation so they donât care anymore but there is no mandatory pre-requisite for most of these APs except that they have to do all HS social and science before taking any AP.
I think may be we should try this option.
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Looking at those classes, first thought: You have AP Calc AB both Jr and Sr year? Since I have a D23 currently going through it, my advice is try to get the course load in the sweet spot for YOUR kid. Where they are challenged but can succeed. I might look into switching AP Psych for AP Government Junior year just because itâs slightly easier for most kids so it wonât kill them but still help their GPA w/ an AP weight.
Thanks for your input! Sorry, I edited the post. AP stats in junior and calc in senior year.
I like your suggestion of ap psych in junior but wondering she has ap euro in senior year. Do you still advise her the same? Sheâs bit confused if she should do ap micro/macro senior year but donât want to overload senior year as she will have applications too.
NE schools and GWU are medium reach. I donât know the term. Columbia and UCLA are reaches. UCSD might be a high target if youâre in CA. Sheâs not STEM so has a great shot at UCSD (pick 6th College 
The dorm is amazing with a view!). UCs really care about a-g 10th-11th although fully weighted matters. I feel that the magic min is a 3.9 UW for UCLA.
I donât think she needs AP Lit. Itâs useless for UCs if you have AP Lang. My son didnât take it and he did fine. Itâs a lot of college app essays with your list so please consider burn out with AP Lang added to it. Look up UCLA and UCSD and see what credit she gets. For most of the UCSD colleges, if she gets 3-5âs, she could start our sophomore standing. UCLA maybe but she would still have to take GEs since APs really donât matter other than Physics C. She would need to test out of ASL/Spanish or AP Spanish passing score to waive foreign language at ucla.
Also with the APs sheâs go thru junior year, she honestly would be okay with 3 AP/Honors. AP Psych doesnât have as much weight in the AP world as the core AP classes. So, beyond the core, the impact really tapers our. Stat and Econ are good because she will be prepared for Econ major and UCSD gives her Econ credit.
@s318830 Congrats on CPP!!!
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