AP Biology decison help please?

The AP Science classes are designed to follow a regular/honors version of the course. The usual sequence is regular/honors Bio in 8th or 9th grade; Regular/Honors Chemistry in 9th or 10th grade; Regular/Honors Physics in 10th or11th grade; Ap Chem/Physics/Bio in 11th or 12th grade. Those students who took Bio in 8th grade can complete 2 AP Science classes. The most useful is Chem followed by Physics and then Bio.

AP Chem is close to the College Chem class taken by Scientists and Engineers. College Physics for Scientists and Engineers has Calculus as a prerequisite. College Bio for Scientists and Engineers usually has Chemistry and Organic Chemistry as prerequisites.

If you have not yet taken a regular/honors Physics class that is a far more important class than AP Bio. Follow that with AP Chem Senior year assuming you have already taken a regular/honors Chem class.

Harvard's advice on courses to take to prep for college:

http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/pr...

http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/pr...

Brown admission facts, 16% of applicants with a perfect 800 Sat Math admitted, 24% of Valedictorian applicants admitted:

http://www.brown.edu/admission/undergraduate/about...

Ivy League Academic Index:

http://www.collegeconfidential.com/academic_index3...

http://www.collegeconfidential.com/academic_index....

UC admissions are essentially based on GPA and Test scores with a sliding scale depending on the API of the high school. The rest of the application- personal statement, extracurriculars etc- gives the two readers information of the proper context to consider the Gpa and test scores of applicants from non homogeneous high schools when scoring the application 1-5, or really 1-4 since 5 means the applicant did not meet minimum stated UC admission standards. 1 is the best score. As long as the two readers scores do not differ by more than +1, the scores are averaged. If there is more than a +1 difference, a senior reader who is a full time employee scores the application. There are no set standards for scoring an application 1-4. It is totally subjective. Relatively uncompetitive low API High Schools, with API ranks of 1-4, require a lower Gpa and much lower Sat/Act scores for the application to receive a 1 or 2, which usually means admission, than applications from students at more competitive, higher API Schools. After the applications are scored, admission is by tiers and the tiers are either college wide regardless of major as for L&S or by major for other colleges like Engineering. In other words, if L&S has 10,000 slots and 1,000 applicants are scored a 1, all 1's are admitted, regardless of major. So are all 2,000 1.5's and 3,000 2's. There are not enough slots for the 6,000 2.5's so there is further scoring of the 2.5's and the L&S class is filled. All 3's, 3.5's and 4's are rejected. For Engineering and other colleges, the same takes place for each major.

At "School Reports" tab, find California high school to view academic profile of students enrolled at UCLA and other UC's.

http://statfinder.ucop.edu/

Good Luck!

I was in the same boat as you last year. I was 18 of 414 and on my first AP Bio test, I got a 63. Boy, was I disappointed.

Simultaneously, I was taking Honors Pre-Calc, Honors English II, Honors Spanish II, APUSH, and Honors Geometry (gym as well).

For the first couple weeks, I felt completely overwhelmed by the work. I had to juggle being in marching, jazz, and pit band for clarinet and piano, as well as tennis during the spring and various year-round clubs.

However, with much studying and effort, you can do it. The workload is possible, you just need to budget your time correctly and know what to study. Ask your teacher for help. Study with friends. Most likely, they're not doing any better than you are. My friend, valedictorian for the sophomore class this year, just got a 67 on her first AP Bio test.

Honestly, don't worry about AP Bio and APUSH. They will be the easiest AP classes yet to come.

Just try to put in some extra effort.

Do NOT drop this class. You will find that by taking physics you will be more behind than others for the years to come.

GOOD LUCK! I hope you do well this year.