My son’s GF’s schedule doesn’t allow her to take AP Phyics or Chemistry in Jr year. She is taking AP Calculus/AP Spanish/AP Eng/APUSH/AP ES/AP Art History but worried that colleges may not like that. She took Chem and Bio Honors but has to wait until senior year for AP. Is it acceptable for elite colleges. She is going as undecided major but may want to apply to a BS/MD program at our state school.
Colleges really just look at the rigor of a student’s schedule each year. Hers looks completely fine. Since she’s planning on taking the AP Sciences senior year, then I don’t think there should be any worry at all.
I did not take AP science until my senior year either and I got accepted into an elite college as well!
What about physics? She should take high school physics. Doesn’t she need it as a prerequisite for AP Physics?
What is "GF’s schedule "?
The AP exams may be rescheduled if there is a scheduling conflict. Best luck!
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Our HS doesn’t have any pre-req for AP Physics.
Agree, taking honors physics this year and AP chem senior year seems like a good track.
There is so much confusion on this site because posters keep talking about “AP Physics”. There is no such thing as “AP physics”. There is AP Physics 1, followed by AP physics 2, which are the non-calculus based substitutes for the old AP Physics B and for which no physics pre-req is recommended. Problem is, many hs students don’t have space for two years of physics in their schedule, and it doesn’t really make sense to spend 2 entire years studying physics without calculus anyhow.
Then there is the much more rigorous calculus-based AP Physics C which may or may not cover both Physics C courses-- Mechanics or Electricity and Magnetism, for which a prior physics course is probably a good idea for most students.
Personally I think a good one year honors physics class would be preferable to taking just Physics 1, which is going to omit a lot of topics and treat the ones it does cover at a very basic level.
I would suggest honors physics followed by either AP chem or AP bio. If there is no honors physics then I would suggest AP bio followed by Physics 1.
I also think it’s a very poor idea for a student who is feeling undecided to go into an early MD program.
I think the problem is likely to be with the scheduling of the AP classes rather than the exams.
I agree with mathyone, if you are going to take two years of physics ultimately take an honors or regular physics followed up by AP Physics C. Someone who is thinking pre-med should probably have some background in physics and chem before hitting college. I agree 100% if you are at all undecided you have no business in a BS/MD program. That’s an appropriate placement for someone who not only has the vocation, but who also has done enough volunteering or interning to know what they are getting into.
As for schedule conflicts they happen all the time. My son’s GC recommendation said “Mathson took regular physics because both AP physics B and honors physics conflicted with Latin.”
She is taking Physics 1 in summer school. I agree about jumping in to BS/MD without a real interest but son and GF think that instead of wasting time finding their passion, they can go for BS/MD if both got in and make a career out of it. They’ll get full rides to that program at our state school and be together. It seems highly unlikely for both to get into same top 20 college which is their first priority. It’s just one option, they are open to going separately if they have to.
Would she need AP Phys, AP Bio and AP Chem before college application process if she were to go for majors in Liberal Sciences at elite schools?
Top STEM students from our school would take all of those, or at least 2 of the 3, but it sounds like your school has only 6 classes, so that doesn’t seem possible and I don’t see how colleges could expect it.
The idea of applying to one of those BS/MD programs if not 100% committed sits very poorly with me. Not sure I’d allow it as a parent.
It is too late to scream about the scheduling of the AP classes, when you are in 11th grade. I started screaming, when my oldest D was in the 8th grade. Now, I am very relaxed about it 
My son was shut out of AP Physics C, AP Bio, Engineering, and computer programing this past year (senior) because of an unholy combination of last minute class cancelations and schedule conflicts. He was horrified but in the end he was accepted into a good number of top colleges. He studied electronics engineering on his own this year but that was mainly for fun.
He used the “What else would you like to tell us” box on the common app to talk about this.
The key thing is to make sure that her counselor marks her course load as most rigorous (or whatever’s appropriate) on the school report. This was the part that I almost missed. THANK YOU COLLEGE CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNITY.
No. She would not need them even if she were a STEM-major. Elite schools generally recommend that an applicant have a year each of bio/chem/physics, plus one year of one of those at an advanced level. Despite what some students here on CC would have your believe, very few students, even the ones at “elite” colleges, have taken all 3 AP sciences. Most have taken one, many have taken two.
On a related note, not to dissuade her if she’s generally interested in these subjects, but 6 AP’s as a junior is a bit of overkill. She should be aware that in college admissions, it is not the person with the most AP’s that wins.
My kid who got into Harvard took one AP as a freshman (only kid in the high school who ever did - it was Comp Sci). Then took one as a sophomore (AP Bio), three as a junior (AP Calc BC, AP Physics C, A PUSH) and three as a senior (AP Chem, AP Latin, AP Econ), plus one post AP course. From our school at least, that’s more than enough to be in the running for any elite college.
Whether or not elites recommend one at the AP level, you have to realize the competition for those colleges is doing more than that.
OP, what tier? If it’s the flagship (and not UVa Mich or UCB, etc,) and this is an issue with what/how her hs offers, she is likely fine. But if they think they’ll apply for a BS/MD, schools can look hard at the math-sci prep and activities.
Why APES and APAH? Is she thinking she’s maxing her APs or this is real interest?
I think you need to look at this in the context of the school. Regarding @mathmom’s comment, a kid from our school with 8 AP classes would just barely be in the top 10% (assuming straight A’s–a single B would knock them out), and would have a very good chance to be admitted to our state flagship. The few kids who are competitive to get into top private schools are doing more.
Exactly. My kid was in the top 2% of his class. He’d have been a bit higher if he hadn’t had the science conflict and had taken Spanish (which offered honors levels) instead of Latin (which didn’t.) I don’t think the number of APs had much to do with whether he got in or not - it was what he did outside class that probably really made the difference.
APES and APAH are her interests but I think she also factored in that she gets two more easy AP to boost her GPA for ranking.
Her real focus is top 10 schools, state flagship isn’t an issue. She is far more qualified then what’s required. BS/MD is fall back choice if elite school lottery failed her and she has to go to a second tier school, then she rather do BS/MD at state school for free.
“Two more easy AP” won’t necessarily help with “top 10,” not if she’s missing relevant cores or rigor in more strenuous classes (when available.) And undecided isn’t a tip. A kid can be expected to have formulated some initial ideas, convey that. Then, for top 10, they can review the actual hs choices.
As on a few other threads, getting from “qualified” to an admit is more than stats and some ECs, when it comes to elites.