Is high school physics necessary for college admissions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Taking Geosystems instead of physics will absolutely knock you off track for a top college. You may not care, but that’s the way it is.

See, OP? Typical DCUM: What top college? Who defines top in whatever field the OP's son wants to study? Should he apply to a prestigious school that doesn't necessarily have programs that are the best for his major and interests, or which is in a location where he will be miserable for four years, or which offers a social and day to day living experience that isn't right for him, but as long as it's "top" in someone's rankings....

OP, this forum ramps up anxieties. Go talk to the counselor or engage help focused just on your son and his potential major interests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At my son's private high school, physics is a requirement that must be taken either in junior or senior year. You cannot graduate without physics.

Which private? My kid is at GDS. Just checked and physics is not required. Lots of insanely advanced math and science available, but physics isn't required. And for all independents in DC, no more APs in any subject after this year.

Maret requires Physics (one year each of bio, chem, physics), but there are different levels of Physics

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Take Dual Enrollment instead of AP if that is an option.

This only works for in state colleges. In FCPS,
Dual enrollment classes aren’t actually college classes and are 100% high school kids. My daughters college only accepts credits from classes that are a majority undergrad students and taught by a professor.

[Anonymous]

If you cop out of basic physics, then it looks like you are scared of hard work and probably obsessed with getting As

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, what do the kids who take AP Physics Jr year take as seniors? All the kids I know who took AP Physics took it as seniors.

My senior Is taking Geospatial Analysis as a DE course. He did IB Physics as a junior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thanks for all the thoughtful and informative replies. Lots of food for thought!

OP - the people saying that Physics is required by elite schools are wrong. Top schools expect four years of rigorous science. My DS took Biology, AP Chem, AP Bio and APES and got admitted to Rice last year. Have your DS follow his interests and be able to articulate them.

And even not necessarily the most rigorous science. My son got into UChicago with no APs in science, just regular Bio, Chemistry, Physics. He is not planning to do anything science related, so chose to concentrate his efforts elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Op, it really depends on the type of college your dc is interested in. My dc took a foreign language in middle school and then freshman and sophomore year. Sophomore year was a real struggle and dc didn't want to take another year in high school. DC went to high school counselor and he said there were plenty of schools that would accept dc with only 2 years of foreign language. We (and counselor) also said that if a school wouldn't accept dc with only 2 years, it wasn't the right school anyway so dc shouldn't worry about college when making the course decisions. FF to senior year. DC was accepted ED to a slac in the midwest. A safety on most lists per DCUM but the perfect fit for dc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taking Geosystems instead of physics will absolutely knock you off track for a top college. You may not care, but that’s the way it is.

See, OP? Typical DCUM: What top college? Who defines top in whatever field the OP's son wants to study? Should he apply to a prestigious school that doesn't necessarily have programs that are the best for his major and interests, or which is in a location where he will be miserable for four years, or which offers a social and day to day living experience that isn't right for him, but as long as it's "top" in someone's rankings....

OP, this forum ramps up anxieties. Go talk to the counselor or engage help focused just on your son and his potential major interests.

No need to shoot the messenger. As I said, you may not care. I sure don’t. Doesn’t make it less true. Nobody I know who went the geosystems route went to a top college. The top schools are simply too competitive in admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op, it really depends on the type of college your dc is interested in. My dc took a foreign language in middle school and then freshman and sophomore year. Sophomore year was a real struggle and dc didn't want to take another year in high school. DC went to high school counselor and he said there were plenty of schools that would accept dc with only 2 years of foreign language. We (and counselor) also said that if a school wouldn't accept dc with only 2 years, it wasn't the right school anyway so dc shouldn't worry about college when making the course decisions. FF to senior year. DC was accepted ED to a slac in the midwest. A safety on most lists per DCUM but the perfect fit for dc.

A “safety on most lists” is not a top college. You’ve proven my point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Physics is required in order to be an educated person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taking Geosystems instead of physics will absolutely knock you off track for a top college. You may not care, but that’s the way it is.

See, OP? Typical DCUM: What top college? Who defines top in whatever field the OP's son wants to study? Should he apply to a prestigious school that doesn't necessarily have programs that are the best for his major and interests, or which is in a location where he will be miserable for four years, or which offers a social and day to day living experience that isn't right for him, but as long as it's "top" in someone's rankings....

OP, this forum ramps up anxieties. Go talk to the counselor or engage help focused just on your son and his potential major interests.

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Physics is required in order to be an educated person.

I survived a year of brutal weedout physics classes at a top 20 university before changing majors.

Reading “Surely You Must Be Joking, Mr. Feynman,” and a few articles about Albert Einstein, the Manhattan Project and Stephen Hawking is great for giving regular people a sense of how physics has shaped our society and how the scientific method works.

High school physics exists mainly to prepare us to fire artillery shells. If students aren’t planning to use cannons to shell their enemies, maybe learning a little about hurricanes, droughts and earthquakes would do more to increase their survivability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Physics is required in order to be an educated person.

I survived a year of brutal weedout physics classes at a top 20 university before changing majors.

Reading “Surely You Must Be Joking, Mr. Feynman,” and a few articles about Albert Einstein, the Manhattan Project and Stephen Hawking is great for giving regular people a sense of how physics has shaped our society and how the scientific method works.

High school physics exists mainly to prepare us to fire artillery shells. If students aren’t planning to use cannons to shell their enemies, maybe learning a little about hurricanes, droughts and earthquakes would do more to increase their survivability.

This is one of the most ignorant posts about physics. Understanding trajectories is more than firing artillery shells. It is showing students that you can use math and physical rules to predict actions. On my first projectile, I will undershoot because I ignored air resistance. accounting for it, and I get much closer. It shows predictability based on models. A key point in Physics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It looks good to take physics even for a humanities kid. Doesn’t have to be AP physics. If the kid is capable of getting a B in physics which is not that hard in HS, then take it. I know a few kids at top universities in the humanities who took AP Physics, used a tutor to get a high grade in the class and then cancelled their AP score or didn’t submit it because they knew they wouldn’t get a 4 or 5. If kid is interested in top 30 colleges, I would take the physics.

This. More than for colleges or whatever, all educated Americans should have some understanding of physics. It is the basis for so much in our modern world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Physics is required in order to be an educated person.

I think required is a little strong but I know I really want mine to have exposure to physics before they get out of HS. IB can make it difficult as you have to choose between 2 years of bio or 2 years of physics.

I have one that went with physics and one that went with bio. The physics is challenging...only course mine ever requested to have a tutor. At $80 an hour, we did that for difficult units..not every unit. Managed to maintain getting a As but it does require a lot of work. Mine went from significant frustration to mastering most of the units but the work load is high.

Physics is not the popular choice at our IB HS. Mist of the IB candidate choose bio

I don't think so. Physics is what makes the world work, quite literally. One cannot be educated without a fundamental understanding of elementary physics. It is like saying that one can be an educated person without studying math, or literature or history.

It’s nuts, isn’t it? Somehow we think it’s ok not to have our kids understanding the basis of semiconductors, electronics, energy technologies, our understanding of the universe, all of engineering etc.