9th grade earth science honors or biology honors

[goru1]

I know a young girl. She has to decide between 9th grade earth science honors or biology honors. Do you have a suggestion? This is her current selection.

earth science honors or biology honors
english honors
social studies honors
math honors
world language honors

These are the risks in taking 9th grade biology honors.

- you will be in a class that is predominantly sophomores

- if you get overwhelmed with the honors biology, you can drop to honors earth science. However, your current grade in honors biology will follow you to earth science and you will be behind in the course. Students cannot drop to next level biology

[JoeRetire]

Biology.

[Pajamas]

Whichever she is most interested in studying. If she has zero preference, biology.

Something to look at might be the teacher. Presumably both are excellent but one may be excellent or make classes more fun.

Learning should be enjoyable, especially at that age.

[InvisibleAerobar]

depends on goals and ambitions

if she wants to take SAT-II (or AP classes) to prepare for application to the more elite institutions, bio honors; otherwise earth science.

I personally did the following (with a change of school after 10th grade):

9th: Earth Science honors
10th: Bio Honors, Chem Honors
11th: AP Chem, AP Physics Mechanics
12th: AP Physics E&M, AP Bio

My old school recommended the earth science honors route to most (finish honors physics and AP Chem in senior year). However, I wanted to take a few SAT-II subject tests and AP courses before the end of junior year, and this would not have been possible on the normal track (taken in senior year at the old school). So I doubled up in sophomore year. The young lady you know would face a similar situation if her goal is to take SAT-II and AP courses.

Taking a class with people older than you didn't end up being an issue.

[goodlifer]

I enjoyed Bio more than Earth Sciences. She might get more insight talking to her current science teachers, especially if they know who will be teaching her next courses.

[psteinx]

It makes sense, IMO, to take a tour of all the main areas of HS level science in that time frame.

i.e. Geology/Earth Science, Bio, Chem, Physics.

What did she take in 6/7/8th grade? If she's already had a strong taste of Earth Science (a semester or more, roughly), then she's been reasonably exposed and can, to a large extent, make the current decision based on her tastes. If she hasn't had any kind of Earth Science-like exposure in the last few years, I'd think it would be a good idea to do so now. She'll still have time for Bio, Chem, and Physics in grades 10-12.

OTOH, there may be some question of whether she'll be targeting any APs (or IB, perhaps), and if so, that may need some planning years ahead (i.e. now), and could make it hard to fit the Earth Science in. That said, I wouldn't let the tail (AP credits) wag the dog (good, well-rounded science curriculum at a level that's reasonably well suited for her...)

[chevca]

Is this a consumer issue? When did the site become a, help others take high school classes forum?

[jfn111]

Is this a consumer issue? When did the site become a, help others take high school classes forum?

Advice on education leads to better jobs and more to invest.

[Gronnie]

In the grand scheme of things it likely won't make one bit of difference.

[Easy Rhino]

If she might be on a highly competitive college admissions track then the Biology class will probably be more useful?

[chevca]

Is this a consumer issue? When did the site become a, help others take high school classes forum?

Advice on education leads to better jobs and more to invest.

Then, should it be in the Personal Investments section?

[SimonJester]

Both my children had taken some form of earth sciences in middle school, and then also took earth sciences in high school. They said it was a waste of their time, nothing new was learned.

My senior is also fining out much to his dismay many colleges and scholarship applications are now asking for unweighted GPA, ie does not take into account the Honors or AP classes. So its probably better to get an A in non honors class then C in honors class.

She needs to watch out for burnout and overloading the school workload.

[SGM]

I took earth science instead of honors biology in the 9th grade over 50 years ago. I still became a chemist and later a physician so nothing lost by taking earth science. Earth science was very enjoyable and more so than biology in my estimation. Where else would I have learned about the Kennelly-Heavyside E layer but in earth science?

[Gronnie]

Both my children had taken some form of earth sciences in middle school, and then also took earth sciences in high school. They said it was a waste of their time, nothing new was learned.

My senior is also fining out much to his dismay many colleges and scholarship applications are now asking for unweighted GPA, ie does not take into account the Honors or AP classes. So its probably better to get an A in non honors class then C in honors class.

She needs to watch out for burnout and overloading the school workload.

If there's even a remote chance you will get a C, the honors class probably isn't for you.

[unstartable]

As a high school science teacher, I would recommend the parents have a discussion with the student's current science teacher.

[barnaclebob]

Its 9th grade. Don't think about it too much. I didn't have the grades to make it into calculus in high school. Still got an engineering degree in 4 years from a nationally known school with math up to Diff Equations 3.

[DarthSage]

What does the young lady think? As others have said, this choice is not life-altering. Earth science would probably be easier--does she want to ease into HS a little more, or is she ripe for a challenge?

My third child started HS last fall. I've been letting her determine her own schedule, within reason. She's jsut a couple short years from larger, more life-altering decisions--you know, like colleges and majors and all that.

[SimonJester]

If there's even a remote chance you will get a C, the honors class probably isn't for you.

Who learns more in life, the straight A student who was never challenged, or the C student that took a more challenging class.

As humans we learn more when we fail at something and try again then when we succeed and lever look back...

Here is another one DW likes to say; What do they call a MD that got straight As through school? Doctor What do they call a MD that got Cs through school? Doctor

And my youngest favorite... Cs get degrees

[dknightd]

Whichever she is most interested in studying. If she has zero preference, biology.

Something to look at might be the teacher. Presumably both are excellent but one may be excellent or make classes more fun.

Learning should be enjoyable, especially at that age.

This. Except Earth Science

[Khanmots]

If there's even a remote chance you will get a C, the honors class probably isn't for you.

I strongly disagree with this. I earned Cs in most all of my high school honors english/lit classes. However I came out of it, even having earned Cs, with an ability to write that exceeded anything asked from any uni course I took. Never did get good at analyzing poetry though...

I did get a chance to see what the standard level classes consisted of when one of my english/lit teachers was out having a baby for a few weeks. My class was taken over by a teacher for the standard classes who fit us into her normal curriculum. We were bored witless, learned nothing, and confused the hell outta the teacher (she set expectations far below what we set for ourselves...) Never been so glad to go back to earning Cs instead of As as I was when our honors teacher returned!

[climber2020]

What do they call a MD that got Cs through school?

Not dermatologist.

[ccieemeritus]

I'm under the impression that biology is more important than earth science for college applications (mediocre source: https://www.thoughtco.com/science-neede ... ege-788862).

Honors biology is also a prerequisite for AP biology.

My children's public school only allows 1 science course per year. Both my children took (or will take) the following:

Biology
Honors Chemistry
Honors Physics
AP Chemistry (DD) or AP Physics (DS)

If school only allows one science class per year, then taking 1 each of bio / chem / physics will get you the "science trifecta" leaving 1 year for an AP in one of those 3. Using 1 of those years for earth science would eliminate the ability to get both the trifecta and an AP.

My old high school (decades ago) allowed more than one science class per year, giving more options. But even then I'd suggest honors bio in 9th grade, giving a choice between AP bio or a chemistry course in 10th. Physics is best to wait for 11th or 12th because calculus BC is a co-requisite for AP Physics.

I'll note that I got my post-college career started thanks to what I learned in AP Chemistry in high school. AP chemistry is sufficient to work as a media making aide in a research lab, which eventually morphed into research assistant and eventually IT. Most useful class ever. Thank you Mrs Bonn!

[GCD]

My senior is also fining out much to his dismay many colleges and scholarship applications are now asking for unweighted GPA, ie does not take into account the Honors or AP classes. So its probably better to get an A in non honors class then C in honors class.

What????

When did this start? It's not on the Common App. Are you experiencing this widely or is it a regional thing or what?

Sounds irrational.

[h8(N)++]

I'm a biologist. My wife is a biologist. Our daughter is a biologist.

The HS course my daughter enjoyed most of all? Earth Science.

She's taught us a few things she learned in that class, too. Most often when we're out camping or hiking.

[finite_difference]

What is Earth Science? They didn’t teach that when I went to High School and that wasn’t very long ago.

Depending on what it is, I’d argue that it could be very important or that Biology is worth taking.

For example, learning about weather vs climate or why we have seasons, tides and some basic astronomy.

Biology has changed a lot too so taking that might be interesting. Unfortunately my teacher was not that great and the book was not very good, plus quite old and outdated.

[FraggleRock]

Both.
High school is a cake walk.

[dixdak]

Five honors classes yet can’t make this decision?
Ok. Take one over the summer.

[Gronnie]

If there's even a remote chance you will get a C, the honors class probably isn't for you.

Who learns more in life, the straight A student who was never challenged, or the C student that took a more challenging class.

As humans we learn more when we fail at something and try again then when we succeed and lever look back...

Here is another one DW likes to say; What do they call a MD that got straight As through school? Doctor What do they call a MD that got Cs through school? Doctor

And my youngest favorite... Cs get degrees

I'm not even allowed to interview someone if they didn't get at least a 3.5 GPA in college. Cs may get degrees, but unless there is nepotism involved they certainly don't get you a high paying job straight out of school.

[LadyGeek]

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