Hello everyone. How are you all today? I hope you guys are all enjoying a wonderful holiday break with your friends and family.
At my school, we’re going to be picking our next year courses after the break, and I just wanted to make sure of this before I decided to make this decision. I’m very sorry for a huge wall of text, but I just want to provide some background and information.
I’m a junior in Virginia that attends a very competitive public school, and while it isn’t a STEM magnet nor is it a STEM school, a lot of kids are interested into going into the STEM fields, and we offer every AP except for Research, Seminar, Italian, and Chinese. However, I am vastly interested in pursuing a career in English. I loved to write ever since I learned how to do it, and besides a period in eighth grade to early ninth grade in which I was invested in majoring in political science, I’ve always wanted to pick a writer, and to this day am interested in majoring in something related to English, preferably the creative writing field.
Technically, I wasn’t supposed to be in AP Physics 1. I was hoping to sign up for the new Honors Physics course, but my counselor did not let me, because she claimed Honors to be as difficult as AP, but with more projects, homework, and a lower GPA boost, and because of my high A in Chem and high A in Algebra 2 Honors, she advised me to take AP Physics. I questioned why Honors was created if the difficulty levels were the same, but I do understand it was my fault I didn’t try to take Honors, and no else can be blamed for my struggle except me. (I later did find out that Honors is vastly easier than AP 1, but that’s another story.) My teacher is very supportive, kind, and welcoming. I ask him questions all the time, and he is always fine with it. He’s very passionate about the subject and does his best to help not only me but other students and gives interesting lectures and labs, but my dilemma is that I am not good at Science. I do pretty well in Math and enjoy it, but Science seems to always destroy me. I took Biology Honors in ninth grade, Honors Chemistry in tenth grade, and, likewise, am currently in AP Physics 1. I did very well in Chem and ended with a high A, but I finished Biology Honors with a B+. With AP Physics 1, I got a B- first quarter and currently have a C in second quarter. I am working to improve Physics and have found a tutor a few weeks ago, and he has been helping me a lot, and thankfully, I’ve been improving. (I actually had a D, but I did much better on the recent test, thanks to the tutor and my teacher, which is why I have a C for the quarter.)
On the other hand, I’ve always loved astronomy. Even though I never enjoyed Science as a whole too much and struggle, I’ve found my Physics class’s material to be quite fascinating, and I have always loved astronomy. I love learning about the solar system, galaxies, etc. and one of my favorite hobbies is to stargaze at night. My school offers a regular astronomy class. I have become really interested in the course because of my fascination with the material and because I have a great relationship with the teacher. I have known him since freshman year and still work with him because he is the sponsor of an organization I am part of at school. I think the best part of this class is that it puts my favorite type of math, algebraic equations into play, while also teaching me about the Science that I love, and having tons of outdoor night labs! I almost never get to fulfill my hobby of stargazing, and am excited by the idea of the night labs. My Physics teacher also thinks this class will be good for me, because he believes that seniors should be taking APs that match what they wish to do in college, and he also thinks I will be happier in this class compared to something like AP Biology or AP Physics C. From what I’ve heard of the class, it is far harder than most regular courses, but much easier than an AP course, which seems like the proper difficulty for me too.
At the same time, though, my school offers a lot of lab sciences. We have regular and Honors Geosystems, AP Environmental Science, regular courses on Human Anatomy and Genetics, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics 2, and both AP Physics C courses.
Kids at my school have remarked about how AP Environmental is a very relaxed class with a very high class average (the average is always an A- or A) and how the teacher is very supportive and friendly. I’ve been beginning to wonder if AP Environmental Science could be better for me with the padding of the GPA and because of my interest in social sciences, I’ve been hearing that climate change and pollution material in the course helps build a better understanding of not only the world but politics, in general.
Geosystems Honors is another option I’ve been considering as it is a traditional honors course, like Bio and Chem Honors, even more so because a quarter of the class teaches astronomy material, but from the few who do take the course, I’ve heard a lot of negative things about the course because the astronomy covered is very basic and not in depth like the astronomy class. I’m also not interested in the portion in which we study rock science, and I feel like this could make it a tedious chore for me compared to a class like Astronomy.
AP Chemistry is also a course I’ve been considering, but because of my lack of ability in Science, I have become scared of pursuing any AP science course for that matter, and while I once considered taking AP Chemistry in senior year, hearing about how much more challenging it is compared to other APs makes me feel very unconfident. I am good friends with my Chemistry teacher, and she thinks I can handle it because I ended with a 98, but I still feel unprepared. I do like chemistry, but I can’t help but feel like I may be making the same mistake I did by signing up for the course.
Overall, Astronomy is my go to class, and I know for certain that I would be happiest in Astronomy. But with people saying that course rigor is very important and that dropping levels drastically looks poorly, I can’t help but worry that this could be a very bad decision on my part, especially for my dream school, as my dream school is an Ivy League. What do you guys think? I wouldn’t mind taking AP Environmental Science, but I think I would always regret not taking Astronomy later on in life.
Again, sorry for the huge wall of text, and also sorry if I sounded rude when I spoke about my counselor and the Physics situation. If I came across smug or irresponsible, it was not my intent. I do realize that this situation is my fault, and I must accept the consequences I created for not enrolling in regular or Honors Physics. Sorry!
Thank you for reading and have a nice day!
