I’m a junior and in the IB program but not going for the diploma. I took chemistry sophmore year, currently taking AP bio, and I have no idea what to take next year.
I can take AP environmental science, AP physics, AP chemistry, or honors anatomy & physiology. I don’t want to take physics however since I don’t think I’d do well at all. So far I only have 2 IB-HLs and 1 AP from junior year, and so far I’m planning on taking 2 IB-HLs and 2 AP classes senior year (not counting science). Can you help me with what class I should take that won’t look bad on my transcript?
If you don’t want to take a challenging class I would also rule out AP Chem. I took that senior year and it’s a class that is possible to do well in but you have to put in a lot of effort. APES however is a fairly easy class. It carries over many topics from AP Bio and the test is mainly memorization of information. Honors anatomy was also an interesting class that I really enjoyed taking junior year
Should I take AP chem as it most likely looks the best out of the 3? Thanks
@jj0221 If you don’t want a difficult class, I don’t recommend AP Chem because it is SUPER difficult. Maybe you should takes APES? What are you trying to study in college?
That depends on a couple of things. AP Chem is going to be a class you have to put a lot of effort in senior year. Like I said it is possible to do well in the class but it was the hardest AP I took in highschool ( and I took 13 APs so I would like to think I got a good comparison). If you’re looking for an easy A where you can get away with not studying then this is not the class for you. But if you’re willing to study every week for a couple of hours then go for it. APES in my opinion was a very easy class, where you just needed to memorize information. AP chem is about understanding it and being able to analyze and apply what you have learned. From my personal experience of taking honors chem sophomore year it does NOT compare at all to AP Chem. The first week of AP we did a review of everything in honors chem and then we went on to cover completely new material.But again if you don’t mind putting a lot of work into that class then take it.
Given that you are deciding between two APs and an Honors none of them will look “bad” or like you’re slacking. You have to make the judgment call of what you think you can handle and want to take on.
@Candyblossom1245 I’m not necessarily down for taking a difficult class. I don’t want to take AP physics because I’m in regular math right now and I flat out feel that I won’t be prepared at all. I want to major in a science for sure, maybe chemistry. Do you know how much colleges care about how rigorous the science I take senior year is?
@itsintheprocess thank you. And to clarify, I took regular chem during sophmore year. As it was your hardest class, why was AP chem the most difficult for you?
If you don’t want a difficult class don’t take AP Chem. Colleges do like to see rigor in your senior year, but APES is still an AP so they will consider that as taking a challenging course. The main thing with senior year is colleges don’t want to get the vibe that you’re slacking off (ie if you took X amount of Aps/Ibs junior year you should take around the same number of APs/IBs senior year).
@jj0221 sorry I didn’t see your comment before I posted above. It was my most difficult AP class because 1) it was all new material. I expected my background in honors chem to help me out ( I received A’s both semesters), but in my opinion it didn’t help one bit. 2) The material itself can be very confusing, and it just takes time for you to understand. AP chem is the type of class you have to go home and really think about your notes and what they mean. You will NOT get a good grade by memorizing. My teacher only used questions from the AP exam on our tests and a majority of them require you to be able to analyze and apply multiple topics to solve one question.
AP Chem is just one of those classes that everyone knows is difficult and if you decide to take it you just have to be dedicated to it. Again not saying it’s impossible just challenging
@itsintheprocess your input is really helpful, thank you. Going a bit off topic, but I feel bad for only taking 3 difficult classes junior year while many of my classmates have schedules stuffed with APs and/or IBs (and you took 13 APs throughout hs!). Is 3 a horrible amount for the most important year of high school? Could I possibly try to self-study for one or two AP exams this year to make my transcript a little better?
@jj0221 I know it’s hard but it will serve you a lot better to try to not compare yourself to others. If 3 APs is all you took then that’s great! As long as you are succeeding in all of them the quantity doesn’t matter. From my experience in highschool there will always be a group of people that are taking more APs than you, but you have to also remind yourself that there is also a group of people who are taking less APs as well. You need to make a judgement call on what you can handle. There’s no point in doubling your AP load if it means you’re going to do poorly in them. 3 is not a horrible amount to take junior year, in my highschool that normal load. If you want to get college credit you could self study, but I don’t think you should put too much pressure on your self. It’s also important to remember that GPA is only one aspect that colleges look at.
@itsintheprocess I’ll try my best!
Can I ask why you took 13 APs (and some honors) throughout high school? And would self-studying for an exam such as psychology be worthless if I’m not taking it for college credit?
@jj0221 I took 13 APs throughout highschool for many reasons, so of which included getting college credit. I also wanted to attend an OOS school that was selective and I figured the only way I would be able to afford one would be to take a decent number of APs so I could get a scholarship and also get out of prereqs. And finally looking back at it I likes the challenge and I knew what I could handle. My highschool was also very competitive taking 6-8 APs in highschool was kind of the norm, so that definitely fueled m competitive side. However many of my friends also took less than or no APs, so don’t think you have to do as many as I did.
@itsintheprocess I really admire your drive! I personally wouldn’t be happy at a competitive school but it’s great that you excelled in that atmosphere.
I’m currently leaning towards going for APES or Honors Anatomy at the moment, but more so honors anatomy because I want to sort of balance out the 2 APs and 2 IBs I will take next year (unless APES has around the same difficulty in your opinion?). Do you think there is a big difference in terms of how rigorous they are from the perspective of colleges? I’m really interested in anatomy and physiology but I’m scared that it will look, to an extent, worse than APES. Am I just worrying too much?
@jj0221 first of all it’s okay and normal to worry. Trust me I was just as worried as you were in highschool, and I think since there is such a high pressure put on college admissions these days, more and more people are becoming worried so don’t feel like you’re alone. 2APs and 2IBs is still a rigorous schedule and will probably not make a huge difference between APES and anatomy. if anatomy is more interesting to you then take it. In my opinion APES was a very easy class. One of the easiest APs I took. My teacher was not good at all. She just read straight off a power point and gave us busy work. But the material was easy enough for me to self study and do well in the class as well as the exam. But again if you want to do anatomy then go for it.
APES is seen as one of the easiest AP classes there are - I’ve never taken it, so I don’t know much about it, but I think it has a reputation as a “joke” AP. If you like anatomy more, you’ll want to study for it, and you’ll do better. I honestly think anatomy might even look better than APES, depending on the college and your major - obviously I’m not 100% sure though, you might want to listen to someone with more experience.
If you do decide to major in Chem though, AP Chemistry is almost a prerequisite. However, you should only take it if you enjoy chemistry, know you could be successful, and want to go into a field that heavily uses chemistry. It’s not worth the extra stress for someone who won’t directly use it in their field, especially because you seem to not want a harder science (I don’t blame you at all.) Also, it really does depend on what types of colleges you’re looking to apply to, and your past science performance. SAT II in chemistry might be a decent substitute depending on the program - but again, don’t just take my advice, talk it over with a guidance counselor or someone else more experienced. I’m only a sophomore haha.
Good luck! IB looks very impressive to colleges anyway, if you decide not to go for an AP science, you should be fine - you seem really smart!
If you want to major in a science, take physics while in high school. Otherwise, the required physics in college will be more difficult.
Most colleges want the three basic sciences - bio, chem and physics. Maybe you can take regular physics instead of AP?
I would take Physics at a lower level. Colleges like to see Bio, Chem and Physics.