Next year is my senior year of high school and I am debating between taking AP Bio or Forensics.
Some information about me:
I have taken honors bio, honors chem, and APES.
My next year class schedule will consist of 7 classes, which will include (besides AP Bio/Forensics) 3 AP classes (Lit, Span Lit, Gov’t), 1 honors class (math), and the other two being Model UN and band.
I am NOT going to go into the STEM field.
I have a 3.75 unweighted GPA.
Before senior year, I would have taken 5 AP classes.
So, should I take AP Bio or Forensics? If I do not take AP Bio, will it hurt my college admission?
People at my school either say that AP Bio is really easy or really hard, and the class goes through around two chapters a week. However, the teacher said that it is one of the easier science APs at our school. I am also not completely interested in it and I only like a few topics from the course. Furthermore, I worry that Bio will draw focus away from my other APs. Forensics on the other hand is thought to be one of the easiest classes in my school and it provides science credits for college.
Seems like the answer is physics.
Nobody can answer your question in a vacuum.We don’t know what the rest of your schedule looks like. If not taking AP Bio does not result in the GC marking your schedule as anything but most demanding, it likely won’t matter to colleges which you choose, unless you are applying to top colleges, in which case, as @ucbalumnus correctly points out, you should take physics instead of either AP Bio or forensics.
@ucbalumnus @skieurope Is physics required? Because chemistry (and I believe APES) already fills the gap for the physical science requirement. That class is also a much higher workload than the other two. Keep in mind I am not majoring in STEM either.
Again, it depends on your target colleges.If you’re targeting Ivy League, then it’s a given. If you’re targeting the state flagship, then no, it is not needed.
@skieurope Thank you for your input. I should have mentioned that I am aiming for West Coast universities (UCs, UW, etc)
It’s more than just the Ivies looking for bio, chem & physics. Recently heard that at a William & Mary Info session — reagardless of major. Not sure if that is a “state flagship” but imagine its true for many competing schools.
We are having the same discussion in our house. Worried about too many APs for a non stem student vs. wanting to show a rigorous curriculum! Good luck - it’s tricky!
What schools and programs are you considering? Ask your counselor how your courses rate with your high school–are they 1) Most Demanding 2) Next level from Most Demanding, etc. Would taking AP BIO move your from one category to another? Where are you in Forensics? Are you in competition, just starting, love it --it’s your passion, just trying it out, are you way up there in the field?
Also, how are you feeling about your courses and your last year in high school? Is stress becoming a major factor?
Yes, I oversimplified it. The colleges that ask for bio/chem/physics will generally say so, and any student should do due diligence to what the college recommendations are. Many colleges have expectations that exceed what a HS requires for graduation.
Correct: You should take Physics
You should look at what your colleges recommend.
What 5 AP “before senior year?” I only see APES. That’s not considered a core lab science to many colleges.
@bopper Just a quick question. Why should I take physics if I am not going to major in a science and I already have the science knowledge required by most colleges (the ones I am looking at say that they require two credits in bio, chem, OR physics)?
@lookingforward the other APs are non science ones so that’s why I didn’t mention them in the science list of mine
To get a more well rounded education that includes basic knowledge of physics that may be useful in real life. For example, with knowledge of physics, you may understand better why a longer wrench will let you loosen the wheel nuts/bolts on your car when you need to replace a flat tire with the spare tire. Or why braking distances from when you hit the brake pedal increase much more than linearly in relation to increasing speed.
IF the colleges you have in mind are ones that will not give preference to a heavier curriculum, then you are fine. It all comes down to your college list. If you are looking at highly selective schools, not having the most rigorous academic curriculum offered will hurt you unless you have some striking reason to not take those courses. Ask your GC how your curriculum will serve you with the schools you want on your list.
You should ask your guidance counselor. But my understanding from the UW admissions office and GCs at our In-state HS that sends lots of students to the UW is they want to see rigorous courses your senior year and Forensics would not be included. It seems that AP Bio, or even regular Physics (AP Physics would be better but more difficult) would put you in a better position. The UC’s have similar standards as UW.
Agree. There are some humanities kids who’ll get into a highly competitive without one of the sciences. But you seriously need to be on top of everything else in the app. You’ll compete with a horde of kids who found time for the right academic balance, including rigor outside their proposed majors.
What major and what other APs? I ask because skipping physics or AP bio depends on your whole picture (incl ECs.)
Which UCs?
My friend’s daughter got into Cornell without taking physics. She is not a stem major. She took honors biology, honor chemistry, honors forensics and honors pathology (both are half year classes) and 1 AP science which I think was AP chemistry. Forensics is definitely more popular than physics at our high school but stem kids take physics.
Basically you would be taking a risk not taking physics since there are schools where that can be a simple check off you didn’t meet and tons of other students did but it might not make a difference. You can talk to your guidance counselor to help determine if that is a risk to take with the schools you are thinking about.
@Oliyvan Like others mention here, taking Bio, chem, and Physics gives you the most flexibility in applying to colleges as some of them will expect that.