<p>Hi,
I am new here.
I wonder if anyone can give me any thoughts about taking AP Chem and AP Physics at the same time. My D is raising senior, this month is the deadline that she can still modify her registration for her senior. She is also thinking to take AP English and AP Stats. (She is done with AP Calc) I am worried about her course load and her EC next year.</p>
<p>My son just took AP Physics and AP Biology. He took AP Chem his junior year. I think AP Chem was more work for him than biology, so that could make the combo of physics and chem harder. He took 3 other AP courses with physics and bio this year and did fine. It can be done, but it is such an individual thing. I thought he was crazy when he signed up for his classes last year. If she thinks she can handle it and her advisor agrees, I guess you’ve got to trust that she’s right.</p>
<p>Which AP Physics is it? Oh, I just noticed she already has Calc. That will make Physics a lot easier for her. It’s the Chem that is a tough go for most kids at my son’s school. Many kids double up with the AP Chem and AP Bio sophomore year, however, and seem to do fine. That is more the usual double up.</p>
<p>It really depends on the school and your kid. My friend’s kids all tripled in the sciences Jr year (AP Bio, Physics and Chem) at a competitive school – don’t ask why. But other kids struggle with one AP science course.</p>
<p>The advanced kids at our HS (not my child though!) take AP Chem, Physics, Eng Lang, US Hist, and Stat junior year. The motivated students seem to do fine with this schedule. My D took Chem, which she didn’t think was terribly difficult at our school, but not physics, which has a tough reputation here.</p>
<p>Has your daughter completed good honors-level high school level courses in chemistry and physics?</p>
<p>Some schools require that students complete these courses before taking the APs; others let students take the APs with no prior background in the subject. It would be a lot more challenging to take these courses without any background.</p>
<p>I’m doing it next year!</p>
<p>I think it depends on the rigor of those courses at your high school and your daughters interests/abilities.</p>
<p>S took AP Chem (after Honors Chem) and AP Physics B (with no prior physics) junior year, and then AP Physics C (along with AP Calc BC) and AP Stats senior year, and he was not the only one in his class with this schedule. He has always been very strong in science and math and his HS advisor wanted to see him maximize “strength of schedule” to improve his chances during the college admission process.</p>
<p>Like many said before - it will depend on the school and the teacher. I would suggest your kid checks with other students that took those subjects.</p>
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<p>Not necessarily. Taking AP Physics B after AP Calc is not fun at all ;)</p>
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<p>Same sentiment here when I saw my son’s selection. Promptly scheduled a meeting with his GC.</p>
<p>S took AP Calc (combined AB and BC at our school), AP Chem (prior honors chem), AP Physics (no prior physics), AP Spanish, and AP French Lit senior year, as well as our school’s AP English equivalent courses, plus some required electives (oxymoron, huh?). Had no problem at all, other than the fact that the Physics teacher was an incompetent jerk who has since been replaced. Got 5s on all exams except Physics and Calc, where he got 4s. I didn’t see any signs of working terribly hard. Was able to maintain varsity sports plus time-consuming music EC and still have plenty of time for computer gaming. 
I think it will really depend on the kid and the specific teachers.</p>
<p>My S took AP Calc AB this (junior) year. She did fine. The AP Physics is AP Physics B in her school, I think it is score 85% will get A (because it is hard). Will Calc AB help AP Physics? Her school does not offer honor physics at all.</p>
<p>Calc AB will help if the AP Physics is Physics C (infact, it’s pretty much a necessity), but not Physics B.</p>
<p>I took Physics C Mech and Bio at the same time. It’s quite manageable.</p>
<p>My son found that AP Physics C was a breeze since he had a good handle on calc. He was taking BC Calc/Calc3 along wth Physics C. Physics B is not a difficult course from what I was told. My non math kid took it and had no problems with it and it is a course that does not have gate keepers on it at any of the 4 high schools I know. Getting into some AP courses is difficult, but not Physics B for some reason. </p>
<p>The AP Chem is the course that gets a lot of intake of breath at my son’s schools.</p>
<p>My daughter’s senior schedule includes AP Physics (B & C) and AP Chem. AP Sciences at her school are 2 credit classes each. She’s also taking MV Calc, AP Gov and AP Eng, it was a lot of work but she handled it well along with varsity sports. She loves math/science though which helps, I don’t think I’d recommend it unless you have a passion for sciences because the interest will get you through the piles of work. She had taken both honors chem and physics prior as well.</p>
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<p>Same here.</p>
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<p>Haha, I found physics to be kind of hard :p, though still manageable.</p>
<p>OP: How did your student do on the math AP test ?
Bad idea to pile on if less than a 4, think twice if less than a 5.</p>
<p>Again, it all depends on a teacher.
You do not need calc for physics B.
My kid who was past calc AB and taking BC along with physics B found it really annoying - he wanted to use calc, the teacher wanted to use calc, but they could not.
If your kid is past Calc AB I would suggest Physics C if it is a possibility.</p>
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They probably won’t know till later in the summer…</p>
<p>Thanks for the thoughts, everyone!</p>
<p>As a parent, let me try to answer that question.</p>
<p>There is always a balance between the grades your child can get and the rigor of the coursework. Colleges obviously like to see rigorous programs, but they also like to see a high unweighted GPA. </p>
<p>I don’t know your daughter, obviously, or what schools or what field of study she is targeting. However, the rigor of her program is already proven. I would think she should relax on one of these science AP’s, whichever one may be the higher risk to her GPA. </p>
<p>Remember, she is also going to be very busy next fall writing essays, meeting with college reps at school, visiting more colleges, and finalizing her applications. That in and of itself is going to be a big challenge, and not only requires physical time, but “psychological energy.”</p>