ED Senior Quarter Grades and AP Physics 1

anhydrite
Thu, 05 Feb 2015 06:04:15 +0000

Your post is funny to me, and not because I’m laughing at you. Many years ago, I actually took AP Physics my senior year (took AP Chem junior), but dropped out of AP Physics precisely due to a teacher whom I thought incompetent, and the resulting grades were a blemish on my record. And the year previous, I had an outstanding teacher for regular physics, got all A’s, and really loved physics. I still managed some excellent admissions results; not perfect, though close. But I simply could not have foreseen how things would play out.

I cannot advise you whether to drop, or to stay in. Physics isn’t easy, but it can be very rewarding. What I can say is that, with your grades and scores, I too would think twice about ED to NU – it has become quite difficult recently. Another thread posted this year’s number of applicants, and those admitted ED to NU. Looked to be roughly one third, and likely many applicants with stats above yours. You may be competitive, yet I’d think about ED to a school where your chances are a bit better, and you’d still be happy.

But the most important thing is to get excellent grades, and also raise your test scores if possible. Clearly the best thing would be to stay in AP Physics and get top grades, but you have to decide whether this will be realistic for you.