Will I be OK in AP Physics without ever taking Physics before?

Question

I know it sounds insane but at our school we're allowed to take AP Physics without taking regular or honors physics before. About 1/2 the people in my class took honors physics last year (they're all seniors) and I'm currently a Junior.

I hope to major in the medical field, and I tried to take AP Bio and AP Chem this year but neither of those classes fit in with my schedule. So I chose AP Physics because 1) It'll look better to colleges if I take an AP science my junior year since I'm planning on becoming a doctor; and 2) I hope to get a 4 on the AP exam which will hopefully exempt me from many courses in college and give me room for more medical-based classes.

I know physics is heavy on math, and I think I'm going to be okay with that since I enjoy math and I think I'm above average in it. I'm currently in Precalc.

The thing that worries me though is that 1/2 the class already knows everything and they say everything is soo easy after taking physics honors! Now I'm worried that this class will ruin my gpa but I need to stay in it.

So can people who took this class without previous physics experience, tell me how you did and what advice you'd give me?

Thanks in advance! =]

Answer 1

Depends on how good an overall student you are, I wouldn't recommend it, though, take regular physics first, or else you might be biting off more than you can chew..

Answer 2

Personally I briezed through my normal physics class, I am a math wizz too.  Idk about AP Physics, technically anything is possible if you study hard enough so I think you should be ok.  If you suck at math though then I doubt you'll do as good as you'd like.

Answer 3

lol i'm doing the same thing.  i'm also a junior but i'm going to be in calculus.  the summer homework is extremely hard, but i think you just have to work hard

Answer 4

if you're good at math, then you'll be fine. if you suck at it, then you're pretty much screwed. have common sense, and you won't (hopefully) blow up the class with experiments.

Answer 5

Depends on how legit you are.

If you've never taken it, Idk i think that AP classes often s***w people over because they get in over there head, get a b, and then s***w up there GPA forever more.  I would just take plain 'ole Physics personally.

Best of Luck,

-Robot #1

Answer 6

My whole family are doctors, (on my dads side) and im planing on being a doctor too, and i think if you have enough discipline and work ethic to do it. (which you will need if you want to be a doctor) then yes i think it is appropriate.

Answer 7

I took physics AP without any previous physics experience. I did well - but I knew my math (algebra and precalc and calc very well). I suggest doing a lot of math problems till it becomes second hand. This prevents the most common reason for getting an answer wrong - math errors. But to do well you just study the textbook really well and do a lot of problems to get practise. Like anything else.

I went on to do BS in physics and go on to medical school.

I can say 3 things from my experience:

1) To do well in AP physics - read and *understand* the textbook. That's it! (of course know your math well first)

2) Medical schools don't really care about AP classes (just do well) - they care about the *college* level pre-med classes.

In college:

  1 yr of physics

  1 yr of gen chem

  1 yr of org chem

   2yr or more of biology (take anatomy, physiology, mircobiology, genetic, behavioral science and biochemistry - why? these are the exact course of your first two semesters of med school)

   humanites and writing to show you are well rounded

  Start working/volunteering at hospitals - now! Also in college try to get internship doing a bit of reserach for a summer. These extracurricular activities are important! Do it for as long as possible; consistency is important. They want to see you how you do when you are overloaded over a long period of time - do you suceed or burn out? Medical school is 15 weeks of constant overloaded schedules every semester. They want to see if you thrive in that enviroment. It's not for everyone.

3) Knock the MCAT out of the park, start studying bit by bit. Now, if possible. This score is very very important. Ofcourse focus on the SAT first, but right afterwords focus on the MCAT. Cannot overemphasize the importance of this. Why? So many people are applying thats it's basically becomes a numbers game.

extra: if you have a public med school in mind and it's in a different state - do your undergraduate college study in that state and become a resident in that state. state residents get very high priority in public med school - so you have a better chance of getting in that school.

last: once you get into med school, get your med books quick and start studying - college workload is like kindergarten compared to how much work they give you in med school. You are expected to know every single detail. Start asap. The more you do now, the easier and more free time you have in med school.

well, back to studying for me :) ...

Hope that helps.

Answer 8

Hmm. You will be okay, as long as you are fairly good at math. =]. My sister took AP Physics like that too, and she did pretty well because she was ahead one class in math.

She says the majority of it is just like memorizing formulas and such, so just work hard and you'll be fine. And hopefully you'll get a nice teacher who understands.

Good luck!

Answer 9

No. I was overwhelmed with work I didn't even understand, and I took regular physics class before it.

Answer 10

At my school, for AP Physics, normal Physics would be prerequisite, but then again, I thought Physics was hard I couldn't imagine AP Physics. I took several AP classes during my high school career. I would think you might want to take AP Biology instead of AP Physics, you might need it instead of Physics,

No matter, it's going to take lots and lots and LOTS of studying to get good grades in that class. At my high school, you were lucky to get a high 70, it takes a lot of commitment.

Whatever you choose, go for it and try your best!

Answer 11

I took AP physics-- you need no previous introduction to it, and AP tests in general aren't bad provided that you study well for them. Are you taking Physics B or C?  B is algebra based while C  focuses on electricity and magnetism and requires knowledge of calculus. You can easily jump into B because the math is algebra and trig. The concepts can get confusing if you don't take the time to thoroughly understand them though.

By the way, medical schools will not accept AP credit for anything except calculus AB or BC. If you take AP physics and get a 4, giving yourself college credit, you'll end up taking physics again anyway.