<p>At my PittStart session, I registered for 14 credits. 1 of the credits isn't even a real class (FP 0001), which is like a class that introduces students to Pittsburgh and the campus. Essentially, I have 13 credits of real classes. The classes are bio 2 (no lab) for 3 credits, physics 0174 for 4 credits, an arts class for 3 credits, a non-western history class for 3 credits, and the FP 0001 class. I'm most likely going to declare myself a bio major (if not microbio).</p>
<p>The thing is, I passed out of a lot of classes with AP and post-secondary credits. These classes are Bio 1 w/ lab, Bio 2 w/ lab, Physics 1 (either 0110 or 0174), Gen. Chem 1 w/ lab, Macroeconomics, Medical Terminology, English Comp, European History (Western Civ. 1), C programming, Gov. (PS 0200), Calc 1, and Calc 2. I don't know my AP Calc BC or AP Gov exam results yet, but I projected a score of either 4 or 5 on both of them, so (at least for now) I can say I'm passed out of them. I chose to take calc based Physics because I feel I didn't learn anything in my post-secondary physics class (even though it isn't in my major and I got an A). I also chose to forfeit my Bio 2 credit while keeping the Bio 1, Bio 1 lab, and Bio 2 lab credit. Taking just the Bio 2 lecture would give me a chance to refresh my memory before jumping into a higher level bio class. I wanted to take Gen. Chem. 2, but it was closed....So I ended up with 14 credits. This should be a nice, relaxed start for my first semester, but will med. schools view it as slacking off (even though I was passed out of so many courses)?</p>
<p>I don’t know much about what classes you should and should not take in terms of what medical schools are looking for for. However, if you’re worried about the amount of credits, 14 credits is an average load. The only pro to having a full course load of 17-18 credits is that you free up a lot of time in your future schedule (which is nice because your future classes tend to become more difficult and its nice to have more time to focus on them).</p>
<p>That makes sense, but I already have a lot of my gen. ed. reqs out of the way going into college. Also, is it a bad idea to forfeit my bio 2 credit? Does this look bad? My AP bio prof was amazing and I still feel that I remember much of the information from his class. Even though I got an A and a 5 on the AP exam, I think I should at least refresh my memory before jumping into higher level bio courses in my second semester or during sophomore year. </p>
<p>Quick question, does anyone know anything about professor William Coffman? I just don’t want to be waste my time taking a refresher class if the professor is mediocre.</p>
<p>I never took Biology I or II (I took Cellular Biology I and II for my major instead) so I’m not sure what they cover. You might want to ask the professor and/or look up the syllabus to see what topics they cover and see if you covered them in AP Biology already. Even if you think you did very well in AP Biology, you’re right in that it will be a nice refresher before going into higher level course (and a nice easy A ;D).</p>
<p>Though I’m “technically” pre-med by the classes I take, I don’t take the same prerquisites as the arts & sciences majors do because I am in the school of engineering. I also don’t know much about what medical schools look for in terms of classes, what is helpful, what is detrimental, etc. Hopefully there is an upperclassmen on this board who can give a little insight on that.</p>
<p>Why wouldn’t you want to retake some of those classes to boost your GPA especially if you plan to go to med school? At the very least, it will be a refresher for the upper level courses. GPA plays a very important role when it comes to med school admissions.</p>
<p>I would read this thread from CC as it provides lots of information regarding courses to take:</p>
<p>Well, I did a bit of thinking after reading that, and I’m not exactly sure what to do as far as AP credits go. I was ready to apply all of my AP credit, but then I thought I should take it easy and not jump into higher-level bio courses right away. At that point, retaking bio 2 and applying bio 1, bio 1 lab, and bio 2 lab credits seemed to be the best course of action. Having read that article, I’m rethinking this decision…While it is true that Bio 1 <em>could</em> be an easy A, I would feel like I wasted my time taking the AP test if I forfeit my AP credit.</p>
<p>For schools that require supplemented AP credit, would I have to supplement courses like Calc or Euro if I received AP credit for them? I really hope this isn’t the case because those classes aren’t in my major. That is, I wouldn’t have to take them if I received AP credit for them.</p>
<p>Is it possible for med schools to, within the course of my undergraduate career (4 years), suddenly change their position from accepting AP credit to not accepting AP credit?</p>
<p>On another note, would medical schools accept post-secondary credit received during high school? I took classes at a university during my senior year in high school, two of which are English and Gen. Chem 1. I plan on transferring this credit (or rather, I’ve already transferred it) and skipping both of the courses. How important is English on the MCAT? I’m fairly confident in my writing ability and I REALLY don’t want to retake everything I received credit for.</p>
<p>Do you have an idea of which med school you want to go to??? If not, I would retake the science classes with labs. Each med school has their own rules and it would be a disappointment if they did not accept the AP credit. Perhaps you should take the honors bio instead of the regular bio – although I would not turn my nose down at the regular bio class. I would take the AP credit for the english/humanities. Remember it is extremely competitive for those spots – MCAT and GPA – you need those two to be as high as you can get :)</p>
<p>Also you need to do some hours shadowing/volunteering in clinics/hospitals – some schools let you know how many hours they want to see but 150-200 hours is normal. And if you want to go to a “research” med school, then you should have hours doing research too. The research schools are normally your top 20 med schools: Harvard, John Hopkins, Duke etc. </p>
<p>A few reasons to retake your AP classes: you should get an easy “A” (good for GPA) and you would have time to begin volunteering (plenty of hospitals around Pitt) since you won’t have to work as hard in those classes. </p>
<p>Med schools won’t view 14 credits as “slacking off” because as long as you take a full-time credit load every semester you’re fine. People who take 20 credits a semester won’t get extra points.</p>
<p>Thanks! I’m considering retaking bio from the beginning now. However, I don’t think I’m going to take honors bio 1, I don’t think med schools care about the difficulty of your classes or major. Also, I haven’t taken AP bio since junior year of high school, so, regardless of how good my bio teacher was, I don’t know how prepared I would be starting at bio 2 right away.</p>
<p>Regarding English and Gen. Chem 1, I took those at a university during my senior year in high school as part of a post-secondary program. Would med. schools view these transferred credits as AP credits or would they allow me to use them as pre-reqs?</p>
<p>I have an idea about which med. schools I would like to go to, and a few accept AP credits, a few want them supplemented (not sure if this means ALL AP credit), and a few are unclear about what they accept or if they even accept them. As far as post-secondary/dual enrollment credits, I have no idea what anyone’s policy is.</p>
<p>Supplemented usually means they want you to take the next higher level course thus showing them that you have mastered the stuff you took AP credit for. If you took the courses at a university, there should be no reason why they won’t accept the credits – the Chem 1 had a lab component?? </p>
<p>Yup, they don’t care about honors versus regular bio – just get the highest grade you can in the course :)</p>
<p>Earlier today, I called a few medical schools and they generally don’t care about dual enrollment credits as long as your university gives you credit for them. Regarding AP bio credit, many top medical schools either want it supplemented or simply don’t accept it. I’ve already dropped Bio 2 and signed up for Bio 1 with lab. The way I see it, there is no reason for me to rush into higher level bio, for it can only hurt my GPA (especially since I haven’t taken AP Bio since junior year). It would be a gamble to jump ahead with the mere assumption that I remember much of the material. It should be a nice refresher to start over again. If I’m right and I actually do remember much of the material, it should be an easy A.</p>