Hi, I took regents level chemistry sophomore year and I am going into junior year. My school just rolled in ap Chem, and it will be the only ap science. I want to know if colleges won’t think I’m taking an easy route since I already took a Chem class. I also want to know how much harder is ap Chem compared to regenrs level. My other choice is non ap environmental science, which is said to be way too easy. I wanted ap bio but we had no say in which ap is added. Thanks
In my school district, also in NY, kids don’t generally take an AP science unless they have already taken the regular science, usually at honors level. The only exception is AP Environmental Science. I can’t compare the 2 classes but I don’t think that colleges would think you are taking the easy way out by doing AP Chem, especially if it’s the only AP your school offers.
Yah, if you take AP Chem, colleges definitely won’t think that you are taking the easy way out. I would say it would be difficult to survive AP Chem without taking regents (regular) chemistry. You need basic chem knowledge to start.
As for difficulty of AP Chem vs. regents chem, I have not taken the AP Exam, but after taking the regents exam, in which I got a 100, I got a 690 on the SAT Chem test. I thought the SAT Chem was pretty difficult, and AP is harder than SAT subject tests. That being said, if you took the AP class, you would be prepared for the AP exam.
At my school in NY, the only prerequisite for AP Chemistry is Algebra 1 and regents Chemistry (we do not even have honors chemistry). That being said, take what appeals to you, and try something else if you hated regents chemistry.
My school doesn’t have honors either, I did like regents Chem however. (Other than 1200 mins of lab)
At my D’s HS, they were expected to take Regents Chem before AP Chem (it was a prerequisite) so I think in NY it’s pretty common for that to be the sequence. There will be some review at the beginning of the year probably, but then AP Chem launches off into material not covered by Regents Chem. My kid did Regents Chem in 10th grade and AP Chem in 11th also.
Ok thanks, looking forward to going on the same path lol
Thanks @risubu I was also interested in knowing if subject tests are harder than ap but now I don’t have to ask lol, I was going to take it this year but I’ll wait for next year
@acceptmyname Absolutely wait to take the subject test until after AP Chem (do it in June of this year after the AP exam), but also be warned that there will be material on the subject test that’s not covered in either regents or AP Chem (ugh, my D just found this out this past year - she still managed a 730 but would have gotten study materials earlier if she had realized that the Chem SAT 2 test is really its own thing and not connected to any particular curriculum.)
Thanks for telling me, no one in my school ever takes sat 2 so I’m trying to figure out online lol. I wanted to take a history one since that class is very easy for me, but I also noticed a lot of things weren’t covered in my class when I took a practice online. The next available date is December, so I’m going to have to study global + us 
I never heard of subject tests untill this June
Not that many schools require SAT 2’s anymore - so don’t make yourself too crazy about them until you’ve researched the latest info from colleges you’re particularly interested in. If they’re required or strongly recommended, then you probably should, but otherwise, I wouldn’t worry too much. Talk to your GC, maybe. My D found that the AP US History course prepared her pretty well for the US History SAT2. Do they offer that at your school?
For fairly good students, the "normal " thing is to take Bio, Chem, Physics, and then a AP version of one ot those.
It is perfectly normal to take the AP Chem after taking Chem…it is like taking the college version after you have taken teh HS version.