Hi, my sophomore daughter’s school offers AP Chemistry. The prerequisite for AP Chemistry is Chemistry or honor’s chemistry, and she did not take it in her sophomore year. She is due for her junior year course selection. We are debating between the 2 options. 1. Taking honors chemistry that her school offers and self-study for AP chemistry in junior year 2. Taking AP chemistry online. We found a good online class that does not require chemistry as a prerequisite. Her school accepts outside AP course credits. My concern is how the college admission office will see taking an AP course outside when a student’s high school offers the same course.
Would it be a red flag? Should we choose honor’s chem and self-study for the AP chemistry exam?
I wonder if you could do an online Chem class over the summer and use that to enroll in AP Chem class in your high school. AP Chem has a lot of lab work and I don’t think that could be replicated well online.
I was thinking something like Byu independent study online Chem. It’s way easier to do regular chem than self study AP Chem or do online AP Chemistry. Just my two cents
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Thank you for the great suggestions. My daughter will in three different residential summer programs, so taking an online class will be hard 
I would recommend just honors Chem at her high school in junior year. If for some reason she really wants to take AP chem, she can take it senior year at her high school. While many students are able to take and succeed in AP Chem without having had high school chem, colleges won’t hold it against her for having been compelled to follow the high school’s rules for requirements to get into AP classes.
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My kid too an online AP US history outside of school because the teacher at the high school didn’t really teach (seriously). The school accepted the class and my kid got into an Ivy, so no problem with admissions. https://www.vhslearning.org/
Same kid took AP environmental science online but labs were weak. Check with the online provider about the quality of the lab experience, but I think taking it as dual enrollment at a community college might be another way to go.
Or just follow the school protocol and take AP Chem as a senior. Is there a conflict with physics? What exactly is the problem?
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Her school offers AP chemistry every other year in most cases, so it probably won’t be offered in senior year (offered in junior year). Thank you.
Great. Thank you for sharing your kid’s story and a dual enrollment option at a community college. We will look into both online AP classes and local community college chem classes.
Her school offers AP chem every other year. It will be offered in her junior year but not in her senior year.
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Why do you feel that it is so important for her to take AP Chem in junior year? What is the “normal” science sequence at her school for advanced students? What science classes did she take freshman and sophomore year?
9th grade-Biology
10th grade-AP Physics 1 at school. AP Physics C Mechanics online (not offered at her school)
11th grade - considering Ap bio, AP environmental science (intended major in college), either honors chem at school or outside AP chem, college chem course
We believe chem is important for her intended college major, environmental science. Thank you.
Don’t self study AP and she will not need AP Chem for an Env Science major. She should, imho, take Stats.
What level of school are you thinking ??
She was planning to take AP Stat in her senior year. She is aiming for the top 10.
Define top 10 - because top 10 is not necessarily top 10 in a major.
What’s the outcome - career or grad school?
Can you afford any school or will you qualify for need?
I would not self study - and I would work within the schools’ framework. The colleges will know this.
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She wants to go for a dual degree in music performance and environmental science. Eventually wants to go to a med school
Top 10 - Harvard NEC, Columbia+Julliard, Yale+Yale School of Music, Stanford, Northwestern, CMU, Rice
We won’t qualify for aid or need-based scholarships. We are working hard to afford her dream school.
OK - you do know though for med school, your GPA and MCAT far outweigh where you go. Plus clinical opportunities, etc.
I wish her luck - and hope you have a full list of targets and safeties too.
We’ve seen some crazy things in the past few days.
Today, we learned of a student in at MIT but not at BU.
And this week we learned of a student in at Berkeley but not SDSU.
She’ll want Calc BC too (at least AB) but stats is very good for the sciences.
Best of luck to your daughter
Yes. She took Calculus BC at school and multivariable calculus at a local community college. Yes, I’ve seen crazy outcomes, like one student who got into Harvard, Yale, and Stanford but was rejected from UCSD.
Sophomore and took BC. Wow. Impressive. Best of luck. Hope you get more perspectives on your initial question.
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