Hey CC! Signup for classes next year happens pretty soon. I’m in the HS class of 2020 and was wondering if I should take AP chem or Honors Genetics next year. I’ve heard that Genetics is more of an interesting class and isn’t commonly offered at high schools. Both courses are taught by the same teacher. For reference, next year I will be taking: APUSH, AP American lit, AP/College in the schools Calc AB, AP bio, AP/CIS/Honors Latin VII, and AP English Language and Comp (or AP Seminar in its place). I’ve heard from people taking it this year that AP chem is terrible and almost impossible to get an A in… and I reeeeally want to get into an Ivy. It’s possible that AP chem will jeopardize my chances. I probably will go into medicine, so do I need to take it anyways? Thanks 
If you want to go to medical school and an ivy, I would recommend just taking the Honors Genetics course, as most medical schools do not accept AP credit unless you take more advanced courses in those subjects. Plus, the unique course would give you exposure to the field and some background knowledge. If you want some examples, last year I passed on taking AP Bio for a biotech class to make sure that it was a fit for me, and I loved it.
I disagree…take AP chem and then take Chem again in college. Take genetics as an elective if you want.
But make sure you have taken Bio, CHem, and Physics in HS.
You have a list of 6 APs already, although why both AP Lit and AP Lang for junior year - pick one of the two, probably AP Lang. That leaves 5, which is still quite a bit.
If you are taking AP bio during junior year, consider saving AP Chem for senior year. Make sure you have taken a physics course at some point during high school. If the genetics class interests you, make it one of your electives.
Take the solid AP science. You want all three sciences. If you have space for a fun elective the genetics is fine.
=> take AP English lang OR AP Lit, not both. Save one for next year.
Don’t take AP Bio and AP Chem the same year. Save one for next year.
You and the 400,000 top students in the country. Odds are, you won’t. Because 95% highly qualified applicants don’t. Piling up Ap’s isn’t the way to do it - top 40 universities and LACs expect 6-8 TOTAL, but carefully chosen to reflect a progression as well as academic interests.It’s much better to spend time on personal pursuits and succeed (research, creation, etc). Read Cal newport’s how to be a HS superstar.
Also, realize that there are lots of colleges that aren’t Ivy or “little ivies” yet are just as elite (Carleton, Swarthmore, UChicago, Duke, MIT, UMichigan, HarveyMudd…). Start researching.
Finally, where you attend college will also be determined by how much your parents can afford to pay.
So, before you start having a dream college, you MUST do the following
- Get yourself a Fiske Guide or Princeton review’s best colleges Guide. Find ten to twelve colleges in your region (across state lines) that you’ve never heard of and read about them. Add your state’s flagship(s). DO NOT include any Ivy/little ivy.
- Run the NPC for each of them, even if you don’t like a couple much. Print out the results. You may need your parents to fill out the NPC, but even if you could fill it out without them, bring them each NPC result and start talking with them about the cost of college. How much can they afford from current income? How much have they saved (if they haven’t, they can start setting aside whatever they think they can pay each month off income - three benefits: it’ll help the whole family “practice”’ frugality for when you’re in college, you’ll see what a sacrifice it is, and you’ll have a small college fund)?
If your parents can"t afford their EFC, run the NPC on one of HYPSM just to see,since they’re way more generous than most, but if they’re not affordable, forget them. They don’t offer merit aid at all, so if your parents can’t afford their EFC, you’re out of luck.
On the other hand, if your parents can afford their EFC and make less than 65K or less than 125k or less than 200K, in each case theyre likely tol have a better deal than at your state flagship.
Realize that out of the HS seniors who want to be premeds, as many as 75% never make it to the end, and out of these, on average, only 40% get into even one med school.
That being said, premed pre-reqs are the following;
2 semesters each of biology, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, English (including composition, literature, communication) + 1 semester each of biochemistry, psychology, sociology, biostatistcs (or statistics), calculus, a diversity-focused class, and, as much as possible, bioethics, neuroscience/cognitive science/neurobiology, and a language spoken by an immigrant group (eg., Hmong, French Creole, Ukrainian, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Urdu… which can be learned through interning, community education, or formally in a college classroom).
You may notice that for 2 semester in bio, you have 5 related to chemistry.
@MYOS1634 @evergreen5 Sorry—I forgot to mention that my school requires both English courses junior year (either AP or non-AP). I am also currently taking Honors Chemistry @Sybylla @bopper and plan on taking AP Physics C senior year. I probably should have clarified. Senior year, I will be taking Honors Anatomy and Physiology and AP Physics C for my science courses. Thank you all for your helpful responses! I think I will go with Genetics. (I also took Honors Bio freshman year, if that affects anything).
How can they require 2 English classes junior year? Check that you understood properly as this doesn’t make sense.
Does your school use block scheduling?
Have you taken honors physics or AP Physics1 already? AP physics C is the second level in the sequence. In addition, a pre-med would be better served with AP physics 1-2 which matches the pre-med college courses they’d have to take.