Is taking both AP physics 1 and Ap bio too much? In addition to these subjects, I am also taking AP CSP, AP Euro, AP English lang.
How many APs do the top 10-20 percent of your class take on average in sophomore year?
You don’t give enough info to answer the question, we don’t know what kind of student you are. In our competitive school, most high achieving sophomores take 1 or 2 APs and 3-6 Junior year, so what you are describing sounds like too much.
Rigor not a race … plan what you would take junior and senior year with all those APs completed sophomore year. It’s a 4 year academic strategic plan, not who takes the most APs the quickest wins (lol)!
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Physics 1 doesn’t use any calculus or require any calculus concepts. That would be Physics C.
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How does your school handle extra lab time? Both of those are on courses that typically take extra time for labs. Many schools only allow one lab course a year for this reason, because the schedule isn’t structured to handle multiple labs. Clearly yours doesn’t have this issue but curious how they handle it.
Everyone is different. And every school/teacher is too. Impossible to answer for you personally without more info. Some kids take 6 AP’s in a year and do great. Others regret it. Do you have an instinct on yourself? Have you general found all your classwork easy or do you have to work hard for it? Are you generally very strong in math and science?
AP bio is a lot of work. I wouldn’t recommend doubling up.
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As @momofboiler1 said, AP Bio has a high volume of work. AP Lit & (usually) AP Euro have heavy reading loads- again, time intensive. You also have math, a FL and your ECs to manage time-wise.
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That is a lot of APs to balance in 10th grade, or any grade. Assuming you completed honors Chem in 9th with As if you are contemplating this - you have plenty of time in 11th and 12th grade. Just knock out Bio AP while HS bio from 8th grade (or 9th) is fresh.
What are your interests? If it is the sciences, then hold off on one of the humanities APs this year. You do not need to overload to get into top colleges. You need to do well in what you take with reasonable rigor and develop your interests in a few ECs that go beyond the walls of school.
Remember to make time for some fun and friends. Colleges want to admit humans, not AP Test Taking Robots.
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emmm, actually they take a lot of APs, I think the top percentile will be taking two science APs next year. the average amount of AP taken in our school for graduates (over 4 years) is around 12. I am trying not to overload myself though
I have taken 3 aps in my freshman year, AP micro(5), AP macro(4) and AP World(5), I think it was a lot and was spending wayy too much time on APs. so maybe I won’t take two science AP then. Considering I am not particularly strong in sciences. Thanks for your advice!
thanks!
I am actually interested in sciences but only biology related, so I am considering not to take AP physics then. Thanks for your advice!
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You go to a very competitive high school if the “average” is 12 APs. You clearly are very intelligent and can handle a very rigorous course load. I agree with your conclusion to take 1 AP science this year.
My advice then is begin with the end in mind. Map out the next 3 years of courses and definitely put the focus more on intellectual curiosity rather than take every AP available. Make sure you leave time to develop your ECs in depth and have some fun too in high school.
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I will keep your advice in mind, thanks!
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