<p>If I took Physics I feel like it would look better for college admissions. I’m trying to get into UC Berkeley for business. If I took Environmental I would have a fairly easy 4.8 gpa next year, but if I took Physics it would be a difficult 4.8 and possibly a 4.6. MY gpa this year as a junior is 4.7. What should I do- schedule are due tomorrow!?</p>
<p>If you’re not planning on majoring in a science field, AP Environmental would be more useful IMO. </p>
<p>Really depends on what you want to do later in life</p>
<p>I don’t have great extracurriculars, so I have to make sure my classes are top notch. So would AP Physics look better than APES though?</p>
<p>But what do you want to major in…</p>
<p>business/ finance most likely</p>
<p>A cursory understanding of environmental issues, such as resource extraction, hidden environmental costs, urbanization, etc will likely prove more useful than knowing the mathematics behind motion. </p>
<p>But I heard colleges don’t even count environmental science. and if they don’t count it it must mean they look down upon it, especially compared to ap physics?</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus Does Berkeley allow AP Environmental Science to be used to fulfill a gen ed requirement?</p>
<p>At Berkeley, neither the College of Letters and Science nor the Haas School of Business Administration allows AP credit to fulfill the “seven course breadth requirement”.</p>
<p><a href=“http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/requirement/7breadth.html”>http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/requirement/7breadth.html</a>
<a href=“Breadth Courses - Undergraduate Program - Berkeley Haas”>Breadth Courses - Undergraduate Program - Berkeley Haas;
<p>Some majors may accept specific AP courses for specific subject requirements.</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus should i take ap physics or ap environmental?</p>
<p>Have you had all three of biology, chemistry, and physics already? If you have, take whatever you are more interested in. If not, it may be preferable to ensure that you have all three (whether or not AP level).</p>
<p>Note that you do not apply to the business major for frosh admission at Berkeley; you enter in another division (usually L&S undeclared) and then apply to the business major in your second year as you are completing the prerequisites (and have a backup major plan in case you are not admitted).</p>
<p>Ok thanks. And how hard is it to get admitted into Haas?</p>
<p><a href=“Class Profile - Undergraduate Program - Berkeley Haas”>Class Profile - Undergraduate Program - Berkeley Haas;
<p>Note, however, that the admissions process is holistic and considers more than just courses and grades:</p>
<p><a href=“Application Process - Undergraduate Program - Berkeley Haas”>Application Process - Undergraduate Program - Berkeley Haas;
<p>When I was deciding which classes to take for my senior year, I was in the exact predicament as you. Physics or APES? To be honest, I would just go with what you are interested in.</p>
<p>I was thinking of taking Physics because it know it looks better on college apps, but I have zero interest in Physics. I wanted to take Environmental Science because it was something that I was actually interested in. I also know that if I took Physics, the highest grade I would be getting is a B if I’m lucky. I’m not a very science-y person, but it’s important to take 4 years of science regardless of what you want to do. </p>
<p>I ended up taking APES rather than Physics and I could say that it was one of the better decisions I made academically. Although it looked “worse”, Physics would have tanked my GPA. For once, I decided to do what I wanted to do rather than what colleges wanted to see. And I really like APES because it’s interesting and so relevant to what’s going on today - climate change, air pollution, etc. But what I would recommend is taking what YOU want to take, not what Berkeley wants you to take. </p>
<p>If you were going in as engineering, I would say take AP Physics. But business and sciences aren’t that related, so I think you could choose either and be fine. However, don’t take AP Physics because it looks better, or take APES because it’s an “easy” class that you have no interest in. </p>
<p>Bottom line is take the class that you find more interesting and don’t worry what colleges think.</p>
<p>If it’s holistic admissions, there might be some way of showing your interest in APES rather than in Physics; that is, have you done any ECs that might show your interest in the subject? If not, can you come up with something :)? Lots of kids are sincerely interested in Environmental Science, given the state of the planet, and a passion for the subject–or at least a demonstrated concern–might gainsay the perceived difference in intensity. </p>
<p>Snide remark - I’m always amazed about how many kids want to know the politics of the subject, AP ES, rather than the science behind it, Bio, Chem, and Physics. It’s kind of like becoming a doctor while only taking anatomy and physiology.</p>
<p>For the UCs, especially since there’s a “cap” on the number of APs that are weighted, and since there’s an emphasis on GPA to a certain extent, I’d say take APES unless you’re sure you can get more than a B in AP Physics (would it be Physics 1, Physics 2, or Physics C?)
^Marysidney’s advice is excellent re: an ES club/activity (possibly assearly as now) to show you didn’t take the class to take the easy way out but because it’s a genuine interest of yours.
APES is also more relevant if you want to go into business, I think. (Physics is very important if you intend on going into STEM fields though).</p>