should i take AP Bio?

Question

hi, im a freshman in honors biology, and i want to take AP bio my junior year but im really struggling in honors bio..its really tough for me to memorize the stuff but i still an 87%. i want to go into the medical field so i wanna take AP bio but now im rethinking cuz im not doing that great in honors and AP bio might just kill me..should i take it or not??

Answer 1

Well if you're still considering, let me lend you a few caveats:



1. Honors Biology covers everything that will be on the AP Bio test. However, an actual AP Bio class will review more extensively the test material. Either buy/borrow a AP review book or textbook. I'm sure you can pass the test easily.



2. Take an AP test if and only if you are ready. If you're taking AP Bio in Sopho/Junior year and currently aren't ready yet, hold it off another year. Getting lower than a 3 looks really bad on the transcript. Otherwise if you finish it by this year, that's one less test to worry about in the next 3 years. Also, college admissions will be impressed.



3. In the case you do fail, you can always retake the test next year. Just gotta pay more $$ =/

Answer 2

1) My AP Biology teacher is infamous for giving tests that are so hard that class averages are usually in the 40's or 50's... but she's famous for making the AP exam look easy. In other words, if you have a good teacher, it will NOT be an easy class, and it will be NOTHING like Honors Biology. I can confirm this, since I'm taking AP Bio as a sophomore this year.

2) If you want to do well, it will require at least 1-2 hours a night of reading the textbook (which you could have done without in Honors), massive essay writing, large packets, and extensive review stuff.

3) If you want to go into the medical field, you should definitely take AP Biology, but if you only have an 87 in Honors, you're right... you should wait for junior year, because it's not an easy class. Most of the kids in my class right now that have A's (or even B's) in AP Bio got mid-high A's in Honors.

4) I paid attention in class, studied 4 hours a night, did extra credit, and did all my work, and I have a 106 in there, so it's possible... it just requires A LOT of work.

Answer 3

well, if you're considering going into the medical field, i would definitely take AP Bio b/c colleges would want to know what you got on AP Bio (and they want to see you challenge yourself).



My teacher's also infamous in giving ridiculously difficult tests and most of us do not have good grades (I have a C+ and I'm normally a straight A/B student), but then from what I heard from previous students, the AP test was a lot easier. She has a 97% passing rate with many 5's



Don't expect it to be a cakewalk. it's a TON of work you have to do daily. The AP Bio book is 1000+ long and my teacher personally gives a lot of homework and projects and labs. I have to dedicate 4-5 hours daily or every other day (AT LEAST!) to maintain a better grade. My teacher doesn't give out extra credit, making the class more difficult.



My school doesn't have a thing called honors biology, but i did take biology my freshman year and passed it with flying colors (96%), and it was difficult back then, but i think it'll be worth it if you pass b/c you'll save a lot of money for college later on

Answer 4

YES. my school doesnt offer ap bio, but i took our bio 2 class which was essentially all ap bio material, had the book too. i thought bio was easy, and my honors class was even more accelerated. the whole concept with biology is that you learn the same subjects but in more depth. so if your not that good at it now, probably because you don't understand it, you will learn it more in depth and essentially have a better understanding of it.



if you are worried about class rank and gpa, it will help both of those things as long as you do well.



do not take the class if the teacher sucks. ask about the teacher who teaches and how they grade.



becoming more familiar will the material will only help you in college. especially because teachers in high school have more time to designate to you than in college.



i sya take it as long as the teacher doesnt suck because it will only benefit you.

Answer 5

well first off are you sure you mean your junior year, cause if you do that's two years away and who knows you might be ready for it for then. If you do mean junior than i say go for it. You'll get prepared you sophmore year, and im sure you can handle it.



However, if you did mean your sophmore year i would say no. If your already struggling in bio, any AP course is much much harder. Give yourself a break and take it a a junior or senior.



Either way good luck :)

Answer 6

I think you should take AP Bio if you really want to. You still have next year to decide, but if you are interested enough in the class I bet you'll do fine. Hope this helps!