AP Environ is HARD??

Umm well from what I know APES is easier than AP physics.
However, simple statistics aren't REALLY going to help. They might give you an idea overall, but around 33% of people did really well, and more than half passed. You'd want to look at your future teacher-do they teach students well and have high pass rates? Even if it's the easiest AP exam, if you've got a bad teacher, you wouldn't be able to pass it. (well, that's not fully true, but it's much easier with a good teacher).

P.S.-Good luck choosing your classes! I did it last week and it was so stressful for me :) Glad it's over with now.

Well, having a new teacher is going to be hard, but it's possible that he/she has taught APES before.
By the way, everyone wants to try to get a 5, but it doesn't happen. Grades and AP scores aren't all that matter.
The whole 'pass rate' thing that covers all of the people that take the AP exam might give you a relative level of difficulty of the exam, but it doesn't necessarily apply to YOU, 108thpenguin. Take what you want, but know that if you take APES it might be more of a challenge because of the unknown teacher. However, APES can be learned without a teacher, if worse comes to worse. I don't think it's like AP calc or physics or computer science where it's MUCH more beneficial and less confusing to have a teacher. With physics, you have calculations and there are formulas to know and things like that.

As for review books, read the book reviews that they have on websites like Amazon.com and ask around.

Oh I'm not saying that it's impossible for people to get 5s. I'm just saying that everybody wants a five, but they don't always get it. Whole idealism thing and what really is a 'good grade,' but I digress.

Well, I wouldn't say it's up to the students with a new teacher. It's the teacher's job to make sure (in an AP class) that you pass that test. It's the whole point of taking an AP.

What I'm saying is, in both sciences it'll be difficult, but in their own ways. Just choose the SUBJECT that you like more, and you're more likely to like the teacher and the rest of the class. There's little to no point in taking a class that you don't enjoy (unless it's like a high school requirement or something...but that isn't the point either. Whole bunch of tangents today)

All right, I've been out for this week and missed a lot, so this is going to be a long post, so bear with me.

108thpenguin;75524 wrote:I guess on the positive side.. you would say that more than half passed.. but I have to try to get a 4.
3 doesn't look very good to competitive colleges...
And the passing rate for AP Physics B is higher, which is surprising. Could it be just the teachers..? It seems so contradict. I know that AP Physics is harder since it involves calc. Why would it have higher passing?
I'm afraid the new teacher won't be experienced enough. :\

1) The fact that you took AP classes is impressive - I got accepted into MIT with a 2 in APUSH

2) The difficulty of a class is highly dependent on the person. From what I understand APES is more facts and interpreting and predicting and such whereas I know physics is mostly concepts and applying equations

3) AP Physics B does not, I repeat, does NOT involve calculus. Physics C is calculus based, but everything you need for Physics B you learn in trigonometry. Granted, calculus will certainly help, but most people don't even take AP calc until the year after they take Physics B or sometimes during depending on the school.

4) You can't rely solely on statistics, and you can never rely on wikipedia for complete and entirely accurate information. Get your information from www.collegeboard.com when it comes to AP testing.

5) The percentages change every year because the test changes every year and the raw score to pass changes every year. you never know how many you need to get a certain score.

6) Like megs500 said, you'll make what you make. Don't worry about everyone else, just do the best you can do.

7) Don't be fooled by the contrasting rates. More people take physics I believe so it's my reasoning that there are more chances for the percentages to be better as a few outliers like those who don't study or don't understand the subject will have less of an effect on the overall scores.

108thpenguin;75536 wrote:My teacher's AP bio class last year actually had 45% of her around 80(?) students get a 5 on the test and 98% passed. She's really good.
I think I'd like APES better... but I guess with a new teacher the pressure is on the student. If I do take AP Physics (taught by old teacher) I might feel safer? But it's a lot harder ..

1) Bio and Physics are very different subjects. Physics is more math related and if your teacher doesn't teach the concepts and equations well, unless you can study it well on your own, you WILL struggle with the course. I'm not saying that she'll be terrible, she may be a great physics teacher, but you never know - well, I don't know. You know her better.

2) Yes, you may be taking a risk with the new teacher, but again like megs500 said, she may have taught or studied the subject before. Or she may take it up well. Or she may tank and you'll have to study hard by yourself.

3) You should take into account which you think you'd be better at, and which you should enjoy more. Do you think you'd do better with equations or with more facts? Which do you think you'd like more?

megs500;75533 wrote:As for review books, read the book reviews that they have on websites like Amazon.com and ask around.

In general the Barron's and Princeton review guides are some of the best out there for the majority of the subjects.

108thpenguin;75621 wrote:
I forgot to ask a very important question. Do you happen to know if the UCs prefer to see physics on student transcripts? I've taken regular bio and chem. This year is AP Biology. Next year will be my last chance to take a physics class. A lot of people say that UCs want to see biology, chemistry, and physics .. but UCs only require 2 years of lab science. I'm not sure if they prefer one class over another though. For the SAT subject tests, there is no environmental science. That makes it seem that environmental science may not be considered as important to colleges?
I emailed the admissions office with this question tonight.. but hoping I might get some answers here as well. Thank you.

Alright, I'm going to risk something here and assume UC is university of something (most likely California). Personally I believe that it's best to have all three of the basic sciences, but hey, that's me. And I think it's best to leave the which they prefer question to them. As to the SAT subject test, Environmental Science is a relatively new science (as compared to chemistry and physics that have been around hundreds of years), so that's probably why they don't have a subject test for it.

I think though that if you're going to major (or thinking you're going to major in something) related to science, you should take science courses, and if you're going to major in history, you should take more history courses, etc. If you don't know what you want to do, take a variety of courses to find something you really like.

If you wanna talk with me I always accept PM's, e-mail, and instant messages, or you can always just continue the thread. I wish you the best of luck with whatever you choose.

Yes, well, physics C is just plain hard. I highly recommend taking regular/honors physics or physics B before taking physics C. The easier physics courses will give you a good grasp of the concepts, then physics C will give you the higher math.