I am a rising junior from NYS so I have already taken Earth Science, Living Environment, and Chemistry (scored above a 97 for all three finals). For junior year, I am taking AP Bio and Regents Physics; however, there is a conflict with physics so I will have to either take AP Physics or drop physics all together and replace it with a combination of electives. Is taking a physics class in high school something I should prioritize? I have been told if you are considering a career in any science field you should take physics. Is it worth it? I am a strong science student and am looking at science majors, particularly pharmacy.
From what I’ve read on here, colleges want you to take a year of biology, physics, and chemistry.
Physics is actually the foundation of all the other sciences, in the sense that all other sciences build off of it. It will absolutely help you with your understanding of chemistry and biology, which are critical for your planned pharmacy major and career. I highly recommend you take the AP Physics with your AP Biology, and then your senior year take AP Chemistry. The AP Physics will require an understanding of a certain aspect of calculus, so if you haven’t had calculus yet and won’t be taking it at the same time, then you will want to meet with a calculus teacher ideally to explain what you need to know – my daughter’s math teacher did this for her in one meeting.
Definitely do a physics course, colleges like to see it, and some actually require it depending on major.