So this year I am in Honors Chemistry and I got a B- first semester of the class because the tests in the class are so hard. In freshman year I took normal physics and I got an A in it both semester so I moved up this year. Last year’s physics class was easy but this year’s Chem class is hard so I’m not sure if I should stay in honors or move down to a normal class for Bio next year. I currently have a 3.81 weighted GPA and I am trying to get into a good college like UMass Amherst. I want to take as many challenging classes as possible but don’t want to overwhelm myself. I am getting a lot of homework this year but I can still manage it. I like Chem and Physics better than Bio since those subjects are more math based while Bio is more reading and writing based. I heard that there are not much writing involved in Biology and reading and writing are a weakness for me so I think Biology will be hard. I am more of a math person since math comes much easier to me than reading and writing. I don’t mind the amount of work though but it’s just that sometimes, I might struggle with the homework and will cause me to not do well on the tests. Next year I am taking Honors Algebra 2, Honors Mandarin 4, Honors Symphonic Band, CP English, Modern American History (semester),Intro to Economics (semester), Health (semester), and Recreational Activities for Life for gym (semester). I am not sure If I want to do honors bio or not or just stay at the normal level. I don’t know if this is competitive enough for UMass Amherst because I really do want to get into the college. I get A’s and B’s in school and do some extracurricular activities. I am wondering next year if I should do honors bio or regular bio. I did get recommended for Honors Bio.
Biology is more memorization based than it is reading and writing based. It kind of depends on the difficulty of the class at your school, so I can’t really give you a perfect opinion; however, if you think that you are willing to put a bit more work into the class, I would say go for it — it will certainly help you with Amherst! Given that you were recommended for the class, you can probably do well in Honors.
Once again, I don’t know the difficulty of the class at your school, so take my advice with a grain of salt. Perhaps talk with your counselor about this? I’m sure that he or she will know what’s best for you next year.
I am okay at memorization but when it get’s too much. I start forgetting what I am suppose to memorize. I heard that is was pretty hard and we’d have to write a huge essay from November to May.