<p>1-2 hours? That's a LOT. I probably get that much homework for all my classes combined this year :-o</p>
<p>Just try the APs and switch out the first couple weeks if its too hard because it's harder to get in then out. Yeah and like what all the people above me said, try to take the hardest courses if you want a decent shot at Stanford</p>
<p>If you are a half-decent student, trust your friends. Physics H and chem ap are bs at lynbrook. Never trust the administrators and guidance counselors. They are paid to recommend you to take as few ap classes as possible. "2 ap classes in junior year is very rigorous and competitive" Yeah right. I am taking calc bc and ap bio this year. I have under 1 hour of hw a day and I have a 4.0 unweighted. No apush unfortunately (should have taken it since a few of my less intellectual friends got As with very little difficulty). If I didn't have comp sci in sophomore year backing up my academics, I don't know how I'd get into college. </p>
<p>Challenge yourself! Take rigorous courses. btw, haywood's ap chem is infinitely easy. class average is around an A- or B+. Very little work, but you may have to supplement this with some self-study a month before the ap test.</p>
<p>Hey, fellow lynbrook student... haha. I wonder if we know each other.</p>
<p>How much homework per night did you get with haywood? And is he actually a good teacher-- does he explain stuff (unlike Moilanen)?</p>
<p>I heard moilanen is a terrible teacher. Not much knowledge and very strict. Haywood is kind of the opposite. He is quite knowledgeable, but somewhat lazy. Very little hw. 1 hw packet every 3 weeks. Takes around 4 hours to do. He teaches very well when he is in the mood. Very clear concise teaching.</p>
<p>Awesome, thanks. I definitely try to get him next year... don't know how though haha :p</p>
<p>How do kids in his class generally do on the SAT II and/or AP test?</p>
<p>not exactly sure how well his students do generally. I know two seniors that got 5s on teh ap chem test adn they said it was easy, but then again they are pretty good students. ultimately, it isn't really the teacher that will be the determining factor in getting a good score, but I would rather have haywood over moilanen any day. At least haywood knows his stuff front and back, even though he is a little lazy.</p>
<p>ok... I think I can handle a lazy teacher. I'll go in every tutorial and ask questions until I get it! XD. Something that almost NEVER helps with Moilanen's class...</p>
<p>just a heads up, since you're looking to stand out - doubling up is not uncommon or special at all... especially at top schools. At my school, about 3 out of the 5 top students of each class double up on science and/or math. This is because they want to exhaust the core hs curriculum by graduation. I, personally, would never double up on science or math. I need to keep my acting and elective classes/study to keep me sane and show I've got some personality other than hard core study-addict.
Also, AP chem is a hard class with lots of work and memorization... or at least it is if you have a good teacher who will well prepare you for the test. Also, NEVER EVER underestimate AP French, it is one of the hardest APs mainly because it's a foreign language, and native speakers will affect the scale in a way that won't favor you. My french teacher tells me her AP class has 2 -3 hours of hw each night, and no one has gotten a 5 in the past 3 or 4 years.</p>
<p>WOW... I know my school's AP french class is easier than that. I'm in French 4 this year, and the teacher insists that French AP is no worse than french 4. So I think I'll be fine in the class, if not on the AP test... god, I'm kinda nervous about that :-/</p>
<p>And since it's so common to double up on science, that makes it seem even more important that I do it-- it won't be a question of standing out or not, but a question of being worse than most, or not. But at least at my school, it's pretty rare to double up on science...</p>
<p>hmm... I see...
well, essentially, it all comes down to interest. The kids who double up are the ones who will be majoring in science and math in college, and have a great interest in those subject areas. Therefore, because there are more science and math classes offered than there are number of years in high school, students double up to ensure they get to take all of them. For me, I've never needed to double up on math (even though, I'm not particularly interested in it) because I took honors freshmen geometry in 8th grade, therefore, by graduation, I will have completed geometry, Algebra II, pre-calc, AP Stats, and AP Calc. As for science, I might take a class over the summer because I'd really like to take AP environmental next year, but it's very important to have some background in physics before graduating hs, so I might do that.
If you are not particularly interested in math or science, I think a better bet would be just to take classes you're interested in... for example, if you like business, take AP Econ, or psychology or something instead of that extra science/math.
Doubling up doesn't have too much of an impact on college admissions.</p>
<p>I am interested in science... I want to go into medicine. So that's why I want AP Bio and chem. I would just skip physics, but my GC realllllllly thinks it's important to have. And I'm also interested in French, that's why I'm going on to AP.</p>
<p>And even if it doesn't necessarily make a huge difference on my app, having already taken high school AP bio or honors physics or whatever should help me in my college classes in those subjects.</p>
<p>If your school's strict about not letting you double up on sciences or whatever, don't count on it. At all. Happened to me.</p>
<p>Another Lynbrook student. Nice! Heywood is definalty the better teacher.</p>
<p>"If your school's strict about not letting you double up on sciences or whatever, don't count on it. At all. Happened to me."</p>
<p>I'm not at all sure I'll get in... we aren't allowed to sign up for two science classes, but in the first week of school, there are "lottery" things where you can try to get in classes that have empty seats.</p>
<p>XD, I wonder how many of us Lynbrook people are on here... probably half the school :p</p>