Last I heard AP physics is NOT calculus based. Any serious college science student will want to repeat general physics with calculus required background. There is a world of difference utilizing the math.
I would substitute another course instead of repeating a physics course in HS. There are so many other science courses out there to explore.
Any chance of DE later, to advance in physics? Between the two related threads, OP’s daughter’s academic trajectory is starting to seem pretty complicated.
AP physics C is calculus based, but it may not necessarily be accepted for subject credit in college (particularly E&M), since colleges often want students to have a semester of calculus before starting calculus based physics, as opposed to concurrently as the AP syllabus specifies. College physics with E&M often lists multivariable calculus as at least the corequisite, while AP physics C E&M does not.
The student in question took a US history course at a college while in middle school. That is very different from a middle school US history course.
She was lucky to have that chance, which was possible because she was homeschooled then. She started brick-and-mortar high schooling this Fall and needs some adjustments.
Actually, ucb, I think some posters missed that this was taken in middle school.
Considering OP’s other thread on a similar issue with middle school DE, the question is whether the colleges will even look at the middle school record, whether or not it’s supplied, whether or not it was community college. We can’t assume.
What you sometimes see- and it’s rare- is a STEM kid who moves into a higher level math or sci class in 9th, based on previous experience. But then he/she continues with higher math-sci rigor through hs, maybe additional DE- not usually dropping down to “easier” classes, thinking that’s good enough, the minimum was done.
OP’s questions don’t have a simple answer. Yes, there is a separate place on the Common App for college courses. But we don’t know if adcoms will say, “Good” or question what a sixth grader got from it, regardless of grade. And with no further validation, no progression (as in the STEM example.)
I was suggesting that a college wouldn’t think it strange that a student who had taken a college course as a 6th grader took the ‘same’ course as a high school student because so many state require the course to be taken in high school. I really doubt a college admission officer would think “Oh, this student took it in California, and if she had gone to a California public school would have needed to take it again, but at a California private she wouldn’t have, and at a Pennsylvania private did not need this course so why did she retake it?” I think they will look at her record for what it is - she took the history courses her high school offered and required for a diploma.
There are going to be elite college AOs who will think that the course taken by a 10 year old aren’t the most rigorous, and other AOs who will think it was smart to take different courses in high school since she already took them in 6th grade. You can’t please them all and you can’t know what they will find strange and what they will find unique.
She is planning to take a physics course in progression - 2, c or an equivalent college course - one way or another during high school years, not for the further validation and progression, but for her interest. So I guess that solves the problem.
That’s my dilemma. There is no way that she can look normal. Fortunately, she needs only one acceptance. Who knows if being abnormal will help her to get one acceptances and 9 rejections, instead of 10 wait-lists.
In similar sense, college algebra-based physics usually has algebra 2 as a prereq, as opposed to concurrently as AP syllabus for Physics 1 specifies.
I gave my daughter a wrong advise of concurrently taking algebra 2 and algebra-based physics, by taking and barely passing a math placement test instead. That was a mistake and she ended up getting her first B even though she worked very hard. The course was demanding and more than half dropped with only a few getting A. Still she says she would easily ace it if she had taken it now with better algebra understanding.
^ Yes. She did not have enough prerequisite. Schools in my area recommend concurrent enrollment in Pre Calculus for AP Physics 1. Trigonometry is an important part.
When my son was registering for the AP exam in physics, I learned there are like 5 different AP physics exams! It was really confusing. It turned out that for his one year-long, calculus-based AP physics course in high school, he took two exams, AP Physics C Mechanics and AP Physics C Electricity and Magnetism. He did well, so got credit for two college courses.
OP, but for this USH issue, its been suggested AP econ and gov are “easier.”
@lookingforward,
That sounds good for academic - social balance. For colleges looking down on it, I will just have to hope for the best. Perhaps some of “harder” courses she takes will offset them.
I am for maximizing college chances with what’s best for her at each moment, sometimes making adcom conscious choices when they are otherwise compatible. But I don’t like clearly less optimal choices just for adcoms.
She can always junior transfer to UC San Diego (since UCB and UCLA are reach for everyone), if things doesn’t work out.
My 9th grader says that math and physics are her new favorite subjects. She is taking Pre-Calc and APES. She said she is considering AP Calc AB and AP Physics 1 with her best friend, next year.
I pointed out that, a community college course she took last year is equivalent to AP Physics 1. So it might not look good and there might not be much to learn. Because her school currently does not offer AP Physics 2 or C, I recommended taking AP Chem or AP Bio instead.
She has also taken Fundamentals of Chemistry and General Biology at community college. But those were non-major courses so either AP Chem or AP Bio can be a good progress.
I am guessing that she can take AP Chem, AP Bio, and AP Psychology during 10th~12th, and if wants, take another college physics, equiv to Physics 2 or C, during Summer after 10th or 11th.
Does it sound like a good advise?
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
I merged the two threads, which should have asked in one thread in the first place as they are variations of a theme. I was inclined to leave them as is, until the OP himself confused the threads by making a USH comment in the physics thread and vice versa.
I really got confused!