<p>@lovingasiandad : It depends on what the student wants to do. Many top schools offer accelerated general chemistry courses, and also allow freshman to take analytical, and in rare cases, physical chemistry. If a student is tough and actually likes chemistry enough to take and do solidly in organic, these are follow up options. You need not take gen. chem so much as another “inorganic” chemistry course with lab. This could literally be an intermediate inorganic chemistry course with a lab, analytical with a lab, It’s really up to the student and if they are willing to take one advanced course with lab in chemistry. For example, I know a friend (who started with freshman ochem) who said he called Vanderbilt Med. who said that they would take both his analytical w/lab and his organometallic course (no lab) to fulfill the requirement (he got interviews everywhere, “top” schools, mid ones, and less highly ranked ones). This person was a neuroscience major, so it wasn’t like they were simply making accommodations for a chemistry major on an advanced track. Another friend (frosh ochem as well) who only took analytical w/lab to sub for AP credit, got interviews from everywhere he applied (including places where he applied MDPhD) and was also a neuroscience major. I can go on with many more examples. Gen. chem will suffice if the student is really anti-intermediate or advanced chem. course compensation. And even in that case, they can just start with organic and go back and take gen. chem at a much later time that way they get to start off with a more provocative/stimulating course as opposed to gen. chem which is pretty “meh” everywhere, no matter how engaging the instructor is (content is just so dull and lacking after you’ve seen it once through AP or IB). If you are a very standard biology/neuroscience type of pre-med and basically want to play cool and stick to a standard track/requirements for med. school (no advanced stuff in areas outside of major regardless of AP credit), then start over with gen. chem if you please. </p>
<p>I just feel that many who do that who were strong students could be missing out on intellectual development and advancement that comes from starting with more advanced courses in other depts, but then again, the OP is pre-med (however, some very top med. schools seem to like students who did very well on a more rigorous than normal track and indeed display favor toward them. This certainly appears to be the case with Harvard and Stanford. I imagine they take plenty of more standard pre-healthswith amazing ECs though, but even their “requirements” website suggests that they like more rigor when possible)…so that doesn’t really matter as much more so than grades. However they must take ochem anyway and starting with gen. chem as opposed to it will make hardly no difference in the outcome because two are approached very differently).</p>
<p>Many top schools advise based upon what I just said.
See the following excerpt from Princeton pre-health Q and A about this issue:<br>
“Question: Hey HPA, I’m a freshman who doesn’t fit into any of the plans in the handout you gave us. I’ve looked on your website too but don’t see any information about what I should take. I have AP credit in biology, chemistry, physics, math, English, and some others. What should I be taking now?What should I be taking now?”</p>
<p>Answer: While one might think that your situation is rare, we are meeting more and more freshmen who arrive at Princeton with an abundance of AP credit. To break it down: For Biology, take MOL 214 (or 215) + an upper-level biology class later on; for Chemistry, take CHM 303-304 plus at least one upper-level chemistry class later on; for Physics, take one upper-level physics class (suggestions for which one are noted in the “preparing” handout); for Math, we would recommend a statistics class. If you are from Texas and plan to apply to Texas state med schools, you will need a second year of biology coursework. Additional science classes beyond what is outlined above, particularly in biology, are always recommended. Lastly, a basic rule of thumb: your AP credits “count” for all U.S. medical schools as long as they are supplemented by advanced coursework; when you look online, a few medical schools say that they do not accept AP, but what they mean by this with few exceptions is that they do not accept AP by itself, with no supplementary advanced coursework done in college. 
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<p>Many other top schools and Ivies advise similarly. Move on, and take a supplementary intermediate or advanced course to make up. The only exception/dicey area is the California Schools where they flat out advise students to call the institutions to ensure that the intermediate/advanced courses can substitute or supplement.</p>
<p>I found this from here: <a href=“https://www.princeton.edu/hpa/faq/coursework/#comp0000511931080000000865295f”>https://www.princeton.edu/hpa/faq/coursework/#comp0000511931080000000865295f</a></p>