mulberrypie

AP Chem
APUSH
AP Physics
AP Calculus
Honors English III (may possibly become AP English Lang)
French III

I will be taking Pre-Calc and Trig over an 8-week period during this summer. Oh, and should I take AP Bio instead of AP Chem? Or stick with this schedule and take AP Bio senior year?

Thank you!!

ThisCouldBeHeavn

2 AP sciences in a year could be difficult.

mulberrypie

It would either be (APChem+Bio) double, (APChem+Physics) double, or (APBio+Physics) double, with the other science to be taken senior year... what do you recommend?

sleepingbeauty

depends on what you want to study in college

ThisCouldBeHeavn

In my experience Bio is a lot more work. There's a lot more raw memorization of facts. Chem is about learning concepts and processes. Physics requires intuition and knowledge of formulas.

Tilgaham

Assuming you have competent teachers in both classes I would say BIO is a much easier class. I took Honors Chem my sophomore year and had the option to take Bio or Chem AP. I chose Bio but a few of my friends chose Chem. I have an A and feel prepared for the AP test. My friends are Struggling with an intense course and are nervous.

Not saying that would be the case for you since you seem very driven but that is what I can tell you based on our school.

The AP BIO test is generally considered one of the easier AP Tests (with PSYCH/ECON/ENVIR) overall while Chemistry ranks in the upper tier of "difficulty" (with APUSH/CALC/PHYSICS etc).

If these factors are insignificant to you, make the decision based on which subject you are more drawn towards.

ThisCouldBeHeavn

I agree Tilgaham on difficulty, but it's not necessarily true that the more difficult class will be more work. When you're taking a bunch of AP's it's the workload that can really be an issue.

Tilgaham

A good idea is to get ideas of what both (or all 3) teachers will be like before deciding on schedule from an upperclassman you may know.

Having a (4/5) AP schedule may sound enticing now, but when you haven't slept more than 7 hours on a weekday since Christmas break it begins to wear on you. That being said you will learn a great deal of interesting stuff and should do fantastic as long as you can manage your time wisely.

mulberrypie

APChem= one bad teacher/difficult at my school, but some say it's manageable
APBio= one great teacher or... one horrible horrible teacher (in which case you should drop)
APPhysics= difficult, but ok teacher

tomjonesistheman

Well I'm taking college physics and ap biology, so i'd say it's entirely doable. i think ap biology is easier than ap chem, and should be taken junior year, since you just have to read a lot and know the processes. chem seems much harder.

Position69

Wow. This looks like my sophomore schedule. except apush is apwh.

very doable.
sure uve heard this before.

asong

The schedule is reasonable. I did something similar, but I wished I didn't take APUSH. The rather constant and dreary workload (in my opinion) wasn't worth the reward in the end.

That being, said, it really depends on how the teacher structures the class. If a teacher assigns a lot of busy work, it <i>might</i> not be a good idea to take the class.

joshcasto

mulberrypie, I can't give you the best answer because I don't go to your school. Each school treats each course differently -- APUSH at one school may have twice the workload of another school.

I would recommend AP Eng. Lang. At my school, it's completely reading books and writing papers, which I prefer over the grammar rules and vocab (all of which I already know) in Eng. 3 H.

Doubling on science is going to be difficult, especially with APUSH. This year, I've gone to bed past midnight every school day -- usually between 1 and 3 AM. It wears on you. If you feel up to the challenge, though, go for it.