I’m currently an 8th grader going into my freshman year of high school this fall. I’m very interested in taking an AP science class, and I’ve done my research to find the best two options for me would be either AP Bio or AP Chem. I was wondering if you guys could give me your opinion on which is easier, and if you could help me decide which would be easier for me. If it helps, I have pretty good grades in science, english, and history. However, my grades in math aren’t as good. I’m also good at memorizing stuff, and people say that’s very useful in AP Bio.
UCs dont look at freshman year grades so I wouldn’t take an AP freshman year. Also, difficulty is different for everyone. Try taking a diagnostic to find which one is better for you.
When do they start looking at grades?
They start looking sophomore to junior year
Okay thank you! I’ll just take Bio sophomore year and Chem junior year.
Th answer is NEITHER.
You need to take honors biology and honors chemistry before you take either class.
My recommendation would be either to take both next year, AP Bio sophomore year when AP chem junior year with honors physics Senior year, or the more traditional route for highly selective universities, honors bio as a freshman, honors chem as a sophomore, and honors physics and AP Bio as a junior/ AP chem senior year or the reverse.
What else will you be taking?
At a minimum, you should have English, a social science, a foreign language, and math.
It does not matter whether the UCs look at freshman grades or not. If you like the class and the challenge then take it. There are many students taking AP classes in 9th grade in California. But make sure you can pass the exam with the score of 4 or higher, otherwise there is no point to struggle.
AP Bio requires high reading skills. AP Chem requires high math and analytic skills. If you don’t have SAT reading of at least 600 and SAT math of at least 650 (or something equivalent) then you may struggle.
By the way, the UCs don’t use 9th grade grades to calculate GPA but 9th grade classes still meet the UC a-g subject requirement.
@coolweather: except these freshmen taking AP classes take AP’s that are ‘super honors’ versions of regular 9th grade classes, (typically AP Human Geography), not classes where AP indicates the last level sequence of several classes. Both AP Bio and AP chem have pre-reqs. Just as you wouldn’t recommend someone take AP calculus without precalculus, you shouldn’t take AP Bio and AP chem without their pre-reqs.
In addition, because UCs limit how many APs a student can use toward their UC GPA, it makes strategic sense to use freshman year to take all the background classes and spread the AP classes on the years they count, either 10-11 for ucgpa or 12 for estimation of course rigor (with the AP class you dear you might get a B in saved for senior year when just course rigor, not grade, matters ) .
No. I don’t underestimate the need to have prerequisites. I am saying if the OP is not a highly strong student with some standardized test scores as evidence then don’t gamble. In my school district there are about 1-2 percent of students taking AP Bio, AP Chem, AP Physics, and AP Calc in 9th grade.
No evidence that the OP is in that top 1% based on the original post:
So for the other 99%, they should follow the science path laid out by the HS as @MYOS1634 suggests. If, indeed, the user is in that top 1%, s/he should talk to the HS GC to see what is more appropriate and available. Just because a student is eligible to take a class does not mean the class is available for him/her to take; higher level classes generally have fewer sections and space is prioritized to students in upper grades.
Last year and this year I’m getting awards for having the highest science and english grades in my middle school, however I do agree with @MYOS1634 plan. In my freshman year I’ll go ahead and take Honors Bio, Honors English 9, Algebra l, World History in the first semester & US Government in the second semester, Spanish I, a fine arts class (haven’t decided yet), a college and career pathway course (required in my state), and possibly a physical education class (required for diploma). In sophomore year I’ll take 2 AP classes for sure, AP Bio and an AP English class.
“career pathway course (required in my state)”
@userbrain, IF you are NOT a Calif resident ,I STRONGLY suggest you forget about applying to any UC’s- unless your parents have and are willing to spend over $300,000 for tuition and room and board at a giant campus with large classes ,expensive cost of living $$ and minimal academic hand holding.
OOS students are charged full rack rate tuition at all UC’s- and that $$ will no doubt continue to go up, since the UC system gets little $$ from the state of Calif.
Thank you for telling me this! I don’t have any specific college/uni I wanna go to, for now I’m just more worried about what courses and grade I get in highschool.
I would definitely hold off with AP bio and chem. Just take honors and if you want a challenge consider adding (or self studying) AP environmental science. It’s attainable for a motivated freshman and meshes well with the ecology covered in biology courses.
Chem and Bio are WAY too big of a leap in freshman year. Keep a smooth transfer and start with an AP like Human Geography or World History