AP Physics C self-study vs AP Physics 2 in school?

LuvsLabs
Thu, 05 Apr 2018 16:09:17 +0000

Hi. Mom of a junior who is taking Physics 1H this year, AP Calc AB and who is planning to apply to engineering schools. Is that also your intention re: college major? If so, your desire to have a lot of AP math & science classes on your transcript makes more sense.

Anyway, to answer your specific question, you might want to discuss this with your school college counselor. (Although perhaps you are here because they are too busy (or not very good in your opinion.))

You probably should wait to see what your score is on the AP Physics 1 exam, since you’re already going to take it. These tests are graded on a curve, and if you search this website you’ll see posts by students who thought they did terribly on a physics AP test, skipping sections and not finishing others, and were surprised by a decent score.

After you see how you do on this year’s test, then you will have good information to decide whether to do AP Physics C on your own next year. The AP exams are all given in May, so you won’t know your score until well after you are already admitted to a college. No need to make your senior year of high school harder than it has to be by overloading your already rigorouso schedule.

Meanwhile, I assume you are doing as much as you possibly can to maximize your chances of doing well on the AP Physics test you ARE going to take in May. Don’t write if off when you have over 4 full weeks to prepare!

https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/apcourse/ap-physics-1/exam-practice

Good luck to you!!