Would it look bad to colleges if I dropped AP Biology?

Applying to College
1

<p>I'm a junior right now and I'm currently taking AP Biology, AP US History, Survey of American Literature (Honors), and Computer Info Systems. It's only been three weeks and I'm already drowning in biology work. I've failed a test and a quiz because biology has never been my strong subject, and we don't have a lot of time to learn each chapter. My school does AP courses by semester because class periods are an hour and a half long each day. This means that we have to squeeze 20 chapters into 20 weeks. But we're already behind. We "went over" three chapters this past week and are testing on them on Monday. The test is basically on chemistry, but I don't have chemistry until next semester, and she expects us to know everything about it. The teacher doesn't actually teach, she just expects us to read the book and automatically understand what is going on.</p>

<p>I don't want to drop it because I think it would look bad on college applications, and I would seem like a quitter. I'm normally a good student (second in my class), but my teacher has me completely lost right now. I stay up all night doing homework because it's the soccer season, and I'm currently doing driving lessons as well. I have no time during the day, so I don't start it till around 6/6:30 at night. I'm literally averaging four hours of sleep per night, and I can't handle it. Also, I plan on doing indoor track this winter. I'm considering not doing it because I'm so busy right now. I really don't want to, though, because I won't have a chance to do sports once I'm out of high school.</p>

<p>I don't plan on majoring in anything that has to do with biology. Anything biology related is out of the question, so I don't really need this class for the majors I'm considering. I want to do something with engineering or business. I've never taken anything less than honors or AP, and I have an extra high school credit from when I was in eighth grade. I also plan on taking three AP classes next year, and they're all in subjects that I'm good at (AP Calculus, AP English, AP Psychology). So should I drop the class or stick it out until the end of the semester? I know I could pass it; I just don't want to lose my sanity in the process.</p>

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<p>It sounds like AP biology is not an especially useful course for your goals, while being a lot of work with a not that good teacher and an unstated chemistry prerequisite that you have not had.</p>

<p>Colleges typically like to see all of biology, chemistry, and physics in your high school record, but they do not necessarily have to be AP. How it ends up looking for college admissions depends on the context of the rest of your high school record. If you are interested in engineering, choosing the most rigorous options in English, math, physics, and chemistry is likely more important.</p>

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<p>That’s what I was thinking. I’ve already taken Biology I (Honors) and Biology II (Honors). I got A’s in both classes, I just didn’t retain enough information for me to be comfortable taking this class since the teacher tests us on things so in-depth.</p>

<p>I’m already stacked with math classes (I’ve taken four already), and I’m going to take four more before I graduate. I also plan on taking three more honors science classes before I graduate (chemistry I and II, and physics). I’ve taken four English courses, and I’ll have AP English next year.</p>

<p>Thanks for your input!</p>