I am currently a freshman in high school and am thinking about my sophomore schedule. Here’s what it could be:
Spanish 300
AP Calc BC
APUSH
American Lit 1600
AP Bio
AP Chem
I’m not really sure if I should take AP Bio and AP Chem, or just one of them. I currently have a 4.0 and an A+ in Honors Pre-Calc, so I think I will be fine with AP Calc BC. What do you think?
Any advice would be great! Thanks!
What are you going to take in junior and senior year?
I would take either AP Bio or AP chem, not both.
Sophomore and junior year will be very important as far as overall GPA for college applications, I would not load up on so many AP in sophomore year.
Find some electives or an EC activity to pursue that provides some diversion from academics.
Also you could take AP calc AB in 10th grade, AP Calc BC in 11th and AP Stats in 12th, and maybe Calc 2 through dual enrollment.
Don’t take AP Bio and AP chem together. They’re not only hard, bit also very time intensive (labs, then lab reports).
Have you taken chemistry yet? Physics?
Thanks for all your advice? Which course do you think would be better to take next year? AP Bio, or AP Chem?
For a student three grades ahead in math and earning an A+ in honors precalculus, taking calculus the slow way and then repeating part of it is a waste of schedule space.
The only math concern is if more advanced math is available at a local college in 11th and 12th grades.
Agree that it is usually not advisable to take both AP biology and AP chemistry together due to high lab workload.
Which to take depends on the context of the rest of your schedule. You should try to ensure that you have all three of biology, chemistry, and physics by the time you graduate, although they do not necessarily all have to be at AP level. Also, what would you take instead if you do not take both?
Go test out different types of assignments for the classes to see your aptitude. Then and only then will you truly tell. For example, go to the library and try the second chapter of an AP Calc BC textbook.
Don’t take AP Bio and Chem at the same time. Also, don’t take AP Chemistry at all without any prior chemistry first. Even if your school allows someone to do so, just…don’t. Honestly, something like AP Physics 1 (if you haven’t taken it already) is more suitable for a sophomore, but I have heard of sophomores taking Bio and doing fine. Your schedule is very rigorous and you may experience a reasonable drop in grades if you aren’t experienced with concurrent enrollment in multiple APs.
I also think Waterborne’s advice to look up the material for your prospective courses is very helpful.
Of you’ve not taken chemistry yet, take it (honors). If you have, take AP Physics1. If you’ve taken both AP Physics1 and chemistry honors then take AP Bio.
But your priority should be to take chistry if you haven’t yet. In addition, it’s a good idea to have had that class before you take AP Bio.
I wouldn’t recommend AP chem and AP bio in the same year unless you are VERY confident in your science skills because they are both very difficult classes.
What English class are you taking?
Just take AP Biology soph year then chem junior. Keep AP us history and ap calc.
Yes agree - take AP bio and save AP Chem for jr year. And consider taking AB calc first. My S abd D had highest marks in Honors pre calc annd both went right to BC. For one kid that was fi e and for the other it was nearly a disaster and AB would have been a far better choice. All your classes are time intensive and you get same weighting for gpa for AB and BC so pace yourself. If you do BC do lots of prep or even tutorial class on BC the summer befire ae pacr ia quick
Wow crazy typos but you get the idea