<p>I'm taking AP Biology right now as a senior in high school and am seriously considering dropping, because the way the class is taught and the teacher who I have are horrible. She never teaches us the material at all and expects us to read usually two chapters and take a test over them at the end of the week, without ever reviewing or anything. Not to mention, we have lab reports which are done in groups, but my partners hardly do anything and I'm left to do most of the work, getting them a good grade when they did nothing to earn it, which I have a huge problem with. The tests are also really difficult and she grades them (as well as everything else in the class) very harshly. The amount of homework we get is ridiculous too, and we hardly go over that either. She usually just grades them and gives them back to us. I really don't think with the way she's teaching I'll do well on the AP test either, so I feel like there's no point to taking this class since I won't get college credit if I do bad on the AP test. It's really stressing me out in combination with work and my other classes, like AP English, but at least the teacher for that class actually teaches. I want to be a veterinarian, and I know that it's important to take biology classes, and I'm worried that if I drop this class the college I want to get in might not accept me. The college I want to go to is Iowa State, if that helps at all. I'm just wondering if it would be easier for me to just drop AP Biology (and save myself from having a nervous breakdown from all the stress) and take biology in college. Or would that hurt my chances of getting into Iowa State?</p>
<p>What makes you think AP Bio is important to Iowa State? </p>
<p>If the academic environment of the course is stressing you out, and you have a better option for similar credit (that is, dropping the class won’t delay your graduation), I think those are fine reasons for dropping it.</p>
<p>I thought it was important because when I signed up for it my counselor mentioned that the classes I was taking were really good and I would have no problem getting into Iowa State with them. At the same time, I don’t know if it was just AP Biology that was making him think that. I was planning on asking him about it soon, but I wanted to get a response here as well. I guess it’s just that I haven’t taken any other AP classes besides AP English and this class, and I thought colleges would look down on me if I dropped a class just because it was tough.</p>
<p>I know that I have more than enough credits to graduate, especially credits for science because I’ve taken so many science classes. So, should I just drop it then?</p>
<p>The decision is really up to you. I doubt having or not having this one class will impact of your potential to be accepted at a state college. (Public Us tend to be more numbers driven in admissions-- GPA & SAT/ACT score–than a private U would where the rigor of coursework is often a consideration.)</p>
<p>If you feel you already have a strong preparation in biology and are confident you will be able to compete with other pre-med when you get to Iowa State, then go ahead and drop it if you feel you aren[t gaining anything from the class.</p>
<p>I will point out that most your complaints about how the class is being taught are exactly how a college class operates. You will have lots of assigned readings that may or may not be covered during lecture. If the assigned readings aren’t discussed during lecture, you’re still expected to know and understand the material and it will be included on be exams. Homework problems will never be reviewed during lecture. (Your recitation leader might go over homework, but that’s not a given either.) You will still have [long] lab reports to write and lab partners who may or may not be willing to do their share of the work. College students are expected to be self-learners who are able to succeed in a class without any hand-holding or coddling from the instructor.</p>
<p>What WOWM said. I would stress that just because you take an AP course, that does not mean it is the equivalent of a college class. Way too many HS kids think that, skip to the next level class and end up bombing it. When GPA is extremely important to med school admissions, it is a mistake you don’t want to make.</p>
<p>although I do agree that it would not be detrimental to drop the class, i should add that i took ap bio last year, got a 4 and straight A’s throughout the class, with the same kind of learning environment/teaching style you mentioned above. it is a difficult class, i think it has to do more with the curriculum and content than your teacher, so don’t put the blame all on her! If science is what makes you passionate, then stick it through because guaranteed, it won’t be a walk in the park in college either.</p>
<p>I understand that in college I won’t be coddled by the teacher, but that’s not really the main thing I have a problem with. In college, are you often required to have lab partners or can you do it on your own? I don’t like having to spend hours working on the tough parts of lab reports while my partners just do the easy parts and get the A that I worked hard to achieve as if they got it on their own. I assumed in college it’s done more individually, but I guess that might be wrong? I mostly just mentioned the homework because we are given a lot of it, it doesn’t help me prepare for the tests, and I feel like she doesn’t even care when she grades them, so it seems like added stress for no reason. She also obviously picks favorites in class and it doesn’t seem like she cares about the rest of the students. I’m not the only one who has a problem with her teaching style either. A lot of people have agreed that she’s not a very good teacher.</p>
<p>I also want to mention that I don’t have a terrible grade in the class. The one I got last quarter was an A-. So, my GPA isn’t suffering from it, but I also heard the first quarter was supposed to be easy compared to the last two, and it was far from easy for me. It’s just the amount of stress that it’s causing me is pretty horrible. I’ve been getting sick a lot more often too, which I think is due to the stress, but I’m not sure. I do love science, and I’ve pretty much enjoyed all other science classes I took in high school, but this class has been horrible so far.</p>
<p>RE: lab reports</p>
<p>Yes, in college you will always work with one or more partners for bio (and chem, physics, comp sci,& any other science) lab. Lab reports in college are a huge time suck. (IIRC, D2 said 3-5 hours to do a write up was pretty typical.) Some are individual; many are collaborative–depends on the class and the policy of the instructor.</p>
<p>Learning how to deal with a work partner who is not pulling his own weight is a life skill. It’s something you will be doing for the rest of college and your working life. Having a teammate who slacks certainly happens in medicine just like in it does in other professions. Medicine today is very much team-oriented so it’s never just you doing doing your own thing.</p>
<p>If it’s the division of lab report work that bothering you, then you need to decide what’s the best way to handle it. You can continue to smolder with resentment or you can do something about. There is no right answer and there will be [possibly negative] consequences for any course of action–including doing nothing. </p>
<p>~~~</p>
<p>As I said above, drop the class if it’s really making you unhappy and is stressing you out, but be prepared for any consequences it may bring. </p>
<p>I see, I had no idea! I assumed it was more of a high school thing to make things easier on the students, and that I was the weird one who likes to work more individually. Though, knowing that it’s like that in college as well makes me rethink my decision, because if it’s a skill that I need, I want to get used to it sooner rather than later.</p>
<p>After hearing that and thinking it over a bit more, what I’m going to try to do is stick with the class and just try to get a different teacher for my last two quarters. I’m sure the curriculum will be the same or at least very similar, but from what I’ve heard, the other person who teaches AP Biology in my school is a better teacher in comparison to the one I have right now. Plus, it’s her first year teaching it, and he’s been teaching it for a while. I don’t know if much will change, but I have to try something at least.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the advice everyone! It really helped a lot!</p>