Hey guys. I am currently a sophomore in high school and I am scheduling my next year’s classes here in about 2 weeks. I want to have every thing planned so I don’t have to worry about it. I am wanting to take AP Environmental (a chemistry credit), because I love it and it’s a class only for seniors and I got opted into it. I thought this would look interesting, because a minimal amount of juniors are able to take the class (you need two teacher recommendations). I have been lurking on the chance me threads and I have been told not having chemistry on my schedule for next year may appear as an issue on my transcript when applying to college. I could take AP Chemistry in senior year, but that is not preferable. If anyone knows, would that be an issue for these schools:
You’re really asking 2 questions:
• Should I take Chemistry?
• Should I take APES?
Many top colleges recommend at a minimum a year each of bio, chem, and physics before delving into AP Sciences (except AP Physics 1). So yes, you should take chem.
As for APES, chem is usually a prerequisite, and I see that it is at your school as well. So you might struggle with the class without some background in chem. Regardless of whether your school counts it as a chem credit, colleges will count it as a science elective.
Again, your school requires chem before AP Chem, and wisely so.
Don’t you think I will be missing out on the opportunity though? I mean I am not taking Honors Chem, period. I literally can’t stand chemistry. Chemistry is actually not a prereq at my school, it goes physical science, biology, environmental science and then APES. Also, don’t you think that taking CP all throughout high school in science comes off as lazy? My current science teacher is the APES teacher and recommended me for it, so if I take chemistry next year, I feel like she’s going to be hesistant to recommend me. That would mean I am only taking 2 APs and a CC class along with one honors (not that impressive).
So basically, I am not going to able to take a single AP science class my entire 4 years of high school, other than AP Physics? I checked for most of these schools and none that I looked at had a requirement for physics for a Political Science major…
Taking AP science classes without taking the high school prerequisites puts the cart before the horse. Are you feeling pressure to rack up numbers of APs? From your other thread:
Suppose you take regular, non-honors chem and regular physics (or AP Physics 1) junior year, in place of AP Stats (elective) and APES (elective)? Then take APES senior year and, if you don’t have room for stats, put that off until college.
The only thing holding me back from doing that is that I have credits I need to achieve in order to graduate and I don’t know if I don’t do some of those this year, if I will be able to finish them.
Do you think AP Microeconomics would be a good replacement for AP Stats? I am feeling the pressure. Other top students at my school are taking like 5 APs next year and I have got to make the top 10%, so it is a race at this point. I’m fearful of taking AP Physics, because I am not sure I could succeed in the class, but maybe Honors Physics.
AP Calc AB
AP Lit and Comp
AP U.S. Govt. and Pol.
AP Statistics (replaced Econ.)
Can’t say the name, too specific, but it’s a “class” where we have to do a huge project that basically had an impact on our lives (I’ll probably do an internship – mother is a VP at Nationwide, so I have the hookups).
Stress Management (stupid P.E. credit)
Honors Physics if not taken junior year
I don’t think that’s a very productive mentality. I would just take the most competitive classes you feel as though you can handle. Every school has different offerings in terms of course selection, so there’s no black-and-white answer.
There is some distinction on the topic of subject tests, though. You need to make sure you’re selecting at least 2 (though I would recommend 3) classes you feel comfortable enough with to test as an SAT II. I see you were considering AP Environmental Science, but that wouldn’t set you up for success with an SAT II, unless you;ve already tested for science your sophomore or freshman year or if you are seeking out your second SAT II in the humanities.
In terms of which subjects your test selection should revolve around is unclear. If your plan is to apply to a college specializing in math and science, MIT/Caltech/etc, you’ll need at least one math and one science SAT II. With that said, it seems an obvious choice to take Math Level 2, as you’ll be enrolled in Precalculus. Beyond that though, the second possibility really depends on where your interests are. US History could be a viable option, but so could chemistry.
Hey guys, I switched my schedule because apparently I am not getting into a good school unless I take chem as a class and shouldn’t take APES (even though it is a chem credit). Is this good for top tier schools (top 50):
AP Microeconomics
AP English and Comp
AP U.S. History
Honors Precalculus
Chemistry (maybe AP Env, still don’t know)
Photography (have to get an art credit)
Not at the expense of a core subject. If you want to take APES, go ahead, but it should be in addition to, not in lieu of, a core class.
Since that science progression is atypical, I think you would be well served to have the conversation with your GC. S/he can advise you based upon your stats/schedule what has worked for past applicants from your school.
For no college is HS an arms race, where whoever has the most AP’s wins. Take only as many as you can handle.
Six of one; one half dozen of the other. Both are useful for a prospective poli sci major.
Yeah, I agree, I will set up an appointment with my guidance counselor. I thought AP Econ would be a better replacement because on my PSAT report, it stated that it would be related to my major. I had 100% potential to do well in both courses, so I guess it’s just a matter of taste.
