Hello, I am a sophomore interested in Vocal Performance. We are supposed to be planning out our junior and senior schedules. I was wondering if I need to take AP Physics my senior year. I am a straight A student, but science is my worst subject, particularly in biology. The issue is I only have the option to take AP or regular physics. I know it’s early but I really wanted to get some advice on this. I am afraid of taking 5 AP’s my senior year with all the college auditions I will be busy with (obviously I don’t know where I’ll be auditioning yet.) Although I am interested in NYU Steinhardt as a possibility, and I know they place a big emphasis on academics. Can anyone give me advice on this?
Thanks!
I would not overload yourself senior year. Four AP’s is plenty.
You don’t need AP Physics.The only advantage to having an AP science course on your record would be to fulfill your gen ed science requirement in college. That assumes that you would attend a school that allows that and that you would get a sore of 4 or 5 on the exam.
What should I take instead then? Regular physics? Or should I take AP Music Theory? I was just wondering about all this because I’ve heard so many times that you need biology, chemistry, and physics for college.
It all depends upon what type of school you will be looking at in the future. AP Music Theory is fine if you want some background in it, but you’ll have to take if all again any way because the good schools are going to want you to follow their track ( if you are a total phenom, you MIGHT be able to test up a semester…!). If you have an AP science, that will fulfill your gen ed science requirement if you are a music major IF you get a 4 or a 5 in the AP exam- so do you have Biology or Chem? If not, take the AP Physics, it’s really not that hard if you are decent at math.
Check your PM box!
Also, keep in mind. Musicians have to usually complete the school application and the music supplemental application and that usually means up to 2 to 3 essays per school depending if they use the common app or not. It was very time consuming and I was grateful my son had a light fall semester Senior year otherwise it would have been a struggle getting all the applications, essays and prescreens done.
I would make sure that you have had Bio, Chem and Physics in HS at some point.
From our experience, AP Music Theory would be helpful in preparing you for schools that make you do sight singing and music theory placement exams as part of the audition process. As far as AP Physics goes, as well as other AP classes, look at the school you are interested in and see what, if any, AP credits they will grant. A lot of AP classes getting credit would be helpful for knocking classes out a liberal arts colleges that have music programs, but not so much for dedicated Schools of Music which have fewer general studies requirements.
You don’t need AP physics unless you are pursuing a science or engineering degree. Unless you are good at math and just want the challenge, skip it and focus on giving yourself more time to prepare for auditions. Feel free to PM me. I teach college science and have a D who is VP. She is smart and did AP and Dual Enrollment. As mezzo mom said, unless you think you can get a 4 or 5 on the exam, it is not worth the effort. If you go to a conservatory, there is no science requirement. If you choose a college, you can usually take a semester of biology and fulfill the requirement.
Not necessarily so @ Scubachick! My D attended a conservatory and there were gen eds with a science, math, and all of the other requirements. She had all of those covered by APs and Dual Enrollment thankfully, but you can’t always anticipate those things in advance. As a potential VP major, if you have the ability to take the course, go ahead and give it a try!
At IU Jacobs School of Music there are gen eds; same with Esther Boyer School ,and probably most conservatories and schools of music attached to a university.
Only 2 schools D was accepted to had a science req. However, D had a high AP science score so it was a moot point.