Should I take AP Physics C, AP Chem, or AP Environmental Science?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

Hi everyone,

I’m currently a Junior in high school taking AP Physics 1. I managed to get an A first semester and have gotten off to a good start this semester but am not sure if I could do well in Physics C. I would be taking Calc BC while taking Physics C so I wouldn’t have prior calculus knowledge. Plus, even though I got an A in Physics 1, it was a real struggle for me to do so. Physics doesn’t come super naturally to me. This is why I’m considering taking AP Chem. I heard that AP Chem is hard as well but feel like it would be easier for me as it doesn’t require calculus. But I want to major in mechanical engineering, so maybe this wouldn’t be as good as taking physics would be? I’m also tempted to take the easy way out with APES but have heard that that doesn’t look as impressive to colleges. Is this true? Thank you for responding.

2

I’m pretty similar to you. I barely passed AP Physics I with an A this semester but I easily got an A (almost A+) in AP Chem this semester.
If you are more into math then you should probably take AP Physics C, unless you really liked Chemistry then I’d definitely take Chemistry. Both are AP sciences and both look very impressive.
You are correct, APES doesn’t look as good to a lot of colleges especially if you are applying to extremely competitive schools.