<p>Hey guys, I hope I can get a 5 on the AP Bio exam especially as I plan on doing premed. I assume, as in most colleges, the 5 on AP bio allows me to skip the General Bio year and take an upper level course. Is it worth repeating Gen Bio or is it best to skip it?</p>
<p>Thanks
.</p>
<p>it's up to you</p>
<p>I like padding my GPA with stupid classes so I took it</p>
<p>Of course, you can also challenge yourself and take a more advanced course</p>
<p>Depends on the school. At my school intro bio is apparently unnecessarily hard, so most people take their AP credit and run...BUT if, like impactangel said, you want that GPA padding and know you can do well it's a personal choice.</p>
<p>im with impact....you got the foundation, just solidify it now and grab that high grade...do wut you have to do for that GPA!</p>
<p>i know from the cornell message boards that it is in everyones best interest TO use ap credit, as intro bio is far far from a grade booster</p>
<p>message boards....who put that info up? Do you have a link for me?</p>
<p>Cause idk why any college would promote the use of AP credits. This would ultimately mean one less class YOU are paying for which ='s less $$ for them. They arent gonna lean you one way or the other. </p>
<p>As for it being in their best interest, i dont think i agree. There are plent of kids who dont even have the APs at their schools that you may have at yours, they can just as easily succeed as you can. </p>
<p>Intro bio is weighted just as every other class is weighted also. Its a science pre-med class...the grade you get there will go into your GPA. Would you rather take an A in intro or a C-B in an advanced bio course? I know what im choosing.</p>
<p>Whether you take intro to bio or advanced bio, your ability to succeed in medical school wont be touched. Dont believe me? ask art history majors in medical school what kinda bio they took...or better yet ask a nationally recoginzed surgeon at Columbia that i am good friends with what kinda bio he took at his undergrad when he majored in the classics....</p>
<p>intro classes have the harshest curve thats why, B-/C+ at top schools</p>
<p>even if youve mastered the material and absoluetely have a thoroguh understanding of the subject, YOU STILL wont necesarily get an A.... 50 % of cornell intro bio students no matter how smart they are HAVE to get Cs and Ds...upper level courses may have harder material, but the grading is much more reasonable as the curve is much higher...essentially my theory is that although for the MCAT or medical school intro bio is all that is needed, sometimes (ironically) taking an upper-level course could be the best thing for GPA (def not at state schools but at schools with B-/C+ intro curves)</p>
<p>the above is the impression i get from reading bball87 and other posts about intro biology
"bball87 says: u got to be kidding, if u think that intro bio is a grade booster, see for yourself.....
shizz says: Intro bio in college is worthless. If you are a premed, you will have to take advanced bio courses and you end up relearning that material in the process anyway. Unless you have a photographic memory and the willingness to devote your life to memorizing the textbook, I recommend skipping out of Intro Bio otherwise you'll take a hit on your GPA. The class is pretty worthless and IMO represents the worst of Cornell."</p>
<p>ive seen arguments going either way on this... does someone who IS a cornell undergrad or a college with ridiculous B-/C+ INTRO curves (not people who have researched the schools) comment on this</p>
<p>why on earth would u go to a school with such a curve anyway....idc if its cornell or harvard, thats screwed up</p>
<p>I see they've scared ya already. haha</p>
<p>If you've mastered the material, you WILL get at least an A- in intro bio at Cornell. And even if you haven't, you can still get an A- (like me freshman year).</p>
<p>Yes, around 50% get B-/C's but those are typically the dumbest/laziest freshman. I've found freshman in general to be immature, stupid, and unprepared (as opposed to upperclassman). Anyone coming to college who isn't those things will have a leg up. I salivate whenever I see freshmen in my classes. Don't overestimate the abilities of freshmen.</p>
<p>if you're going to med school, take general bio</p>
<p>I'm using my AP credit for biology, and I will be attending Cornell next year as well, stonecold23.</p>
<p>No matter what I receive on AP Chem in May, however, I'm going to retake GenChem 1 and 2. My teacher this year is ridiculous.</p>
<p>Oh, Norcalguy, about Cornell's chart of applied/accepted pre-meds that you posted previously... with each particular GPA/MCAT interval (wish I had a link)... Is the GPA slot the science GPA or overall GPA?</p>
<p>I'm sure it's the overall GPA.</p>
<p>Outside of CORNELL, science/premed cutthroat deflating hell, pardon my characterization. in general, is it best to retake or skip the 1st year? I mean mitosis, cell respiration does not change. If I get a 5 on the exam, if I know all those cycles and information, if I know Cambell/Reece thoroughly, how would a student such as myself get a C in Gen Bio?</p>
<p>Take general bio. You high school DOES NOT cover the level of material a college course covers. Even if you get a 5 you still will not have covered every time little detail that you need to know for the MCATs, so it really is in your best interest to take it. Some people may insist their high school was super good, in that case just go sit in on the class and realize that you didn't learn half of the detail you are expected to know in college.</p>
<p>I actaully talked to an adcom from the WWAMI program last summer when i was doing a premed program for highschoolers. I asked this very question and he told me that medical schools frown upon taking A.P credits from biology because they feel that A.P bio leaves out many of the fundamentals. I dont know if this changes any of your minds but it is proably best to take the calss.</p>
<p>thats what i read too</p>
<p>At U of I the intro bio course isn't too bad. Actually if you skip it, it gets harder. But again the curves are crazy for every course. Depends on how confident you feel and what kind of program you're getting yourself into and what other classes you're taking.</p>
<p>i got a 5 on ap bio and am taking general bio this year. i'm learning (many) things that i'd never even heard of in ap bio. </p>
<p>like i said before, if you're going to med school, take gen bio in college. med schools like it way more, and it'll be more in depth and fresher for the mcat.</p>
<p>At my son's school, if you qualified for AP credit, they do not allow you to take course for credit. For instance, your 5 on bio would pass you out of one semester of Gen bio and if you retook, it would not be for a grade.</p>