It’s physics - more never hurts. Some of us have been through it lots of times.
In California it’s a grad requirement and must be taken in high school.
In NYS, 1 year of US history, 1 semester of Economics and 1 semester of Government are graduation requirements
While true, OP’s kid does not go to school in NY or CA. The state in question does not mandate specific social studies courses for private schools.
California doesn’t mandate it either, for private schools.
I think this is more about taking class X with the best friend than it is about Physics. The logical step after Physics 1 at the CC is Physics 2 at the CC. You should encourage your daughter to think through which items are important for her academically, which are important for her socially, and which are cases when those two overlap in favorable or unfavorable ways.
@happymomof1, Taking a class with best friend is really important, I agree. Fortunately they are already planning to take Calc AB together next year, and possibly one more course other than physics 1.
I always thought that AP physics relied heavily on calculus? How did she manage to complete physics without the calculus foundation?
(My S is a double major in math and physics and took all those APs in HS but felt the calculus was essential to understanding AP physics)
AP Physics 1 and 2 in HS don’t require calculus. They only require algebra 2. They are new AP classes starting 2 years ago. Only AP Physics C requires calculus.
Since many states do require both US history and a government class taken while in high school, I don’t think the elite schools will look twice at it being on the transcript.
So it is up to you if you think she’ll benefit from taking it again as a high school student.
Ah that’s new I guess. My S graduated HS in 2013 and he took both parts of AP physics. I definitely remember the teacher saying he would use calculus in the class
Kinda, sorta, not really. AP Physics 1 and 2 are new. But when they were introduced, AP Physics B, which was also algebra-based, was discontinued.
AP physics 1 and 2 encourage a high school to spread the content of the old AP physics B over two years. There may be a few high schools that teach AP physics 1 and 2 in one year like the old AP physics B, although they may also offer AP physics 1 and 2 in a slower paced format over two years. Note that if the high school does offer AP physics 1 and 2 over two years, a student taking the SAT subject test in physics should aim to complete the sequence by 11th grade, if s/he has not had a high school level physics course covering the full range of topics.
What does seem odd in @SculptorDad 's situation is that what is supposed to be a high end private prep school offers no physics beyond AP physics 1 (no AP physics 2 or either of the AP physics C courses). Since the student in this situation has already completed a similar course at a community college, there is no offering at the high school to continue her interests in physics.
@ucbalumnus, Daughter’s high school is good, but not academically top. Combined with it being a very small girls only school (~290 students total for 7-12th grades) with strong focus on dance and horse riding team which takes horse science, maybe it can’t find enough students wanting to take it for now. It might still offer Physics 2 in coming years, although not this or next year. She would be fine with AP Chemistry next year though, and AP Bio and Psychology following years with Physics 2 or C in Summer.
after “elite schools will look twice”, then wouldn’t they find the AP level U.S. history on her attached college transcripts and be satisfied, understanding why she took U.S. Gov instead, along with world and European history courses?
She also took college courses sequence on western art history, is taking AP Micro, and plans to take AP Macro next year. I think she won’t be rejected for lack of history courses.
I am sure she will benefit by repeating U.S. history in high school, but I now believe that she will benefit even more by taking other history courses.
Based on your daughter’s experience with Spanish, she might want to be very careful about assuming her CC course was the equivalent of what her school offers, particularly if this is something she expects to use as a foundation. Is there any possibility that she could take the final exam and/or a practice AP exam to confirm she’s mastered all the material at that level? Her situation is unique, so you will have to think outside the box but she does run a risk of falling into a crack based on what she’s been exposed to. I know kids who have encountered similar issues as a result of a relocation and have been rather seriously “derailed” as a result.
Thanks for your thoughtful analysis. Her U.S. History II (post Civil War) was an intense research course on comparing conservatism and progress over the decades. It made her highly conscious on history and politics, and I personally believe that that’s all she really needed to achieve from studying U.S. history. Of course she can learn a lot more, but I don’t care much about names and dates. Since she probably won’t take an upper level U.S. history for duration of her academic career, and doesn’t need SATII or AP test for the subject, she doesn’t need any academic foundation for future U.S. history courses, hence the cracks and gaps won’t matter.
Spanish is a different matter. She can’t get around it except keep working on it, perhaps on a regular level, for following three more years, lv 3, 4, then AP I think.
I would not worry about us history. Was thinking more about physics - it’s so arbitrary as to what is included in one course vs. another.
@SculptorDad - AP teacher here… apush is much more related to ap euro and ap world (I teach all three classes) than ap gov. As of this year, the essay formats on us, euro, and world are all identical. You may want to check with your kid’s school to find out if it would be assumed in 11/12th grade that she already knew correct format from apush. My strongest recommendation for push would be that it would set her up for the other classes. On the other hand, ap Gov is the easiest of the “core” social studies APs (based on score distributions) so if you are looking for a lighter load, that could work
What colleges seriously look at a 6th and an 8th grade class?