Will taking regular Chemistry as a sophomore screw me over at a top school?

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>I'm a freshman and my school is currently scheduling for next year. I know that I want to go to a top-tier school (Stanford is a dream of mine, though I hear it's almost impossible to get in) and that I need to take advanced classes, but I'm slightly worried about Advanced Chemistry.</p>

<p>Here's my unique situation: I took Advanced Biology at a high school in 8th grade (grades: B+ and A-) and was going to take Advanced Physical Science this year. Then, I switch schools. Here, they teach Physical Science (8th grade) BEFORE Biology (9th grade). Because I didn't have the math (Algebra II) for chemistry, I couldn't take Chemistry at my high school as a freshman. Now I'm slightly worried that Advanced Chemistry would be too hard for me, since I know Advanced science is very rigorous at my new high school, but I don't know what colleges would think of me picking a "normal" class instead.</p>

<p>Next year I'm taking AP European History, Advanced Algebra II, Composition (required semester English course for sophomores; no advanced sect)/Advanced Literary Analysis, Spanish 4 (no advanced class), Chemistry OR Advanced Chemistry, plus Personal Finance/PE/Creative Cooking/Drawing 2. (Although that last group is unimpressive, the first 3 electives I need for credit; I'd be taking an AP elective but they only offer AP Music Theory to freshman and sophomores and I'm in that.)</p>

<p>Now I know some people will be scoffing at how small of a workload that appears, but the homework aspect isn't my issue (I have a block schedule so anywhere from an hour and a half to 3 hours nightly). It's more Chemistry that I'm freaking about, because accelerated math does not come easily to me - I got a B+ in Advanced Geometry - and I'm slow on picking up on new concepts. I've heard that Chemistry is VERY mathy and I want to know if it is worth taking Advanced Chemistry, with the risk that I will be swept away and perhaps not get an A in the class. Will choosing regular Chemistry over Adv. Chemistry hurt my chances at a top school?</p>

<p>(Also, for the record, from sophomore year on I will have to take either Advanced classes or AP classes. I'm planning Advanced Physics as a junior and AP Environmental Science as a senior.)</p>

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<p>Colleges often get a list of what classes you can take at your high school. If you can convey to them what the problem was, i’m sure they can understand. and lol i think rotating schedules are much worse then block schedules :P. Good luck though ^-^ i’m sure you’ll do fine.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/846668-chance-me-plz.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/846668-chance-me-plz.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>“Colleges often get a list of what classes you can take at your high school. If you can convey to them what the problem was, i’m sure they can understand. and lol i think rotating schedules are much worse then block schedules :P. Good luck though ^-^ i’m sure you’ll do fine.”</p>

<p>Block schedules>>>>>>rotating schedules lol.</p>

<p>What I was mostly getting at, though, was whether colleges actually care if I chose regular Chem over Adv. Chem as a sophomore. This is taking into consideration that I would probably get a B+ one semester, quite honestly, and that science and math are my weakest subjects by far.</p>

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<p>hmmm getting a B+ in an AP class is better then breezing thru an honors class with an A+.</p>

<p>oh and lol six/eight classes per day for a rotating schedule is more painful then 4 fixed semester classes. ;P</p>

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<p>Well it’s not an issue of AP Chemistry or Honors Chemistry, it’s Honors Chemistry or regular Chemistry. I’m not that ambitious lol.</p>

<p>“oh and lol six/eight classes per day for a rotating schedule is more painful then 4 fixed semester classes. ;P”</p>

<p>Yeah, I agree. That’s why I don’t consider workload to be an issue, at least until senior year, when I want to take 5 AP classes. (THAT should be interesting lol.)</p>

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<p>ahhh…in that case…hmm…i think you should go with honors chem then, but what are the aPs you are thinking of taking?</p>

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<p>You have to realize that the majority of “top school” candidates enjoy the challenge of a difficult class, and saying AP is out of question and shying away from an honors class may not be the best way to convey your willingness to challenge yourself.</p>

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<p>“ahhh…in that case…hmm…i think you should go with honors chem then, but what are the aPs you are thinking of taking?”</p>

<p>Freshman - AP Music Theory
Sophomore - AP European History
Junior - AP English Language, AP Government and Politics, AP Spanish
Senior - AP English Literature, AP US History, AP Psychology, AP Environmental Science, Calculus BC</p>

<p>Also, so far I have taken as many Honors classes as possible. The only question is whether it’s logically smart for me to take Chemistry, because as I said, science/math isn’t my strong suit and I don’t want to ruin myself by getting a B in an Honors course, which matters at my school because grades are totally unweighted. A B is a B, whether it’s in PE or in AP Biology.</p>

<p>“You have to realize that the majority of “top school” candidates enjoy the challenge of a difficult class, and saying AP is out of question and shying away from an honors class may not be the best way to convey your willingness to challenge yourself.”</p>

<p>AP Chemistry is out of the question as a sophomore because Chemistry is a pre-requisite for that class at my school. Also, I’d be taking as many honors classes as I could, plus AP Euro, so it would just be Chemistry that would not be an honors course, and only for this year (as a junior I’m taking Advanced Physics for sure, just not AP).</p>

<p>And I do enjoy challenges. =) I’m incredibly excited about enrolling in AP European History next year because I so adore history. I also love to challenge myself in Spanish and in English, and somewhat so in math. But science I do not have a ton of natural inborn talent in, nor do I enjoy it as much, which is why I’m planning to focus on the former two in my high school course schedule, though not by a lot.</p>