AP Chem vs Gen Chem I/II for pre-meds

<p>I heard the BME chairman said something to the effect that pre-med students who took the AP Chem class and got a 5 on the test could safely skip Gen Chem I and II. The WashU pre-med advisor was in the room when he made that suggestion and did not contradict him. In earlier posts in this forum it was recommended that pre-med students who got a 5 on the AP Chem test still take Gen Chem I and II because "there are med schools that don't count AP chem as part of the required full year of chemistry". I think one of the chariman's points was that med schools are more interested in how you do in Organic Chem. Does anyone have more details on what the BME chairman said? Does anyone have additional comments supporting one recommendation or the other?</p>

<p>FYI- Someone posted this on an earlier thread:
You should remember that even if the engineering school allows you to skip general chemistry by using your AP score, the chemistry department will not allow you to skip general chemistry and take organic chemistry without passing their placement test (which is quite difficult). Because of this, many people end up taking organic chemistry at another university over the summer, so as to circumvent WashU's chemistry department (however, you should keep in mind that taking organic chemistry during the summer will reflect negatively on your medical school application).</p>

<p>I just ran across this from a WashU Chem Dept website (<a href=“http://beta.chemistry.wustl.edu/files/majors_handbook.pdf[/url]”>http://beta.chemistry.wustl.edu/files/majors_handbook.pdf&lt;/a&gt;)</p>

<p>Advanced Placement by AP Scores
Entering students who receive a score of 5 on the CEEB Advanced Placement Test in chemistry receive 10 units of credit for Chem 111A, 112A, 151, and 152. They have the opportunity to enroll in Chem 251 (Organic Chemistry) in the Freshman fall semester. They may alternatively choose to take Chem 111A (fall) and Chem 112A (spring) for additional credit and grades, or wait until Sophomore year and enroll in Chem 251. The lab courses track the lecture courses. Therefore, students with a 5 on the AP exam who choose to take the lecture courses, Chem 111A and Chem 112A, should also enroll in the laboratory courses, Chem 151 and Chem 152.
Entering students who receive a score of 4 on the Advanced Placement Test in chemistry receive 6 elective units of chemistry credit. These elective units do not replace Chem 111A and 112A and a student who receives a 4 must complete Chem 111A and 112A before enrolling in Chem 251. As with all students who have taken a challenging high school chemistry course and wish to do so, these students may take the chemistry placement exam during Orientation Week.</p>

<p>Department Exam
The placement examination for Chem 111A, 112A, 151, and 152 will be given by the Department of Chemistry during Orientation Week. Students who pass the Chem 111A/112A placement exams will receive 3 units of credit each for Chem 111A and Chem 112A and 2 units each for Chem 151 and Chem 152.Students must inform the departmental secretary in McMillen 525 of their plans to take the placement test (5-6530).</p>

<p>What did you end up doing?</p>

<p>From the wustl Pre-Health handbook:</p>

<p>Advanced Placement
For most medical schools, Advanced Placement (AP) tests in biology, chemistry, and physics do not fulfil the premedical requirements in these areas. Our advice is NOT to skip any required core courses, even if you could receive AP credit for them. Please see the section on ―Math Requirements‖ for discussion of Advanced Placement in math. Be sure to consult the individual programs you are interested in.</p>

<p>[Washington</a> University Pre-Health Handbook for Students](<a href=“http://prehealth.wustl.edu/Documents/Handbook2010.pdf]Washington”>http://prehealth.wustl.edu/Documents/Handbook2010.pdf)
Page 7</p>

<p>This thread was made over a year ago. Don’t bump old topics.</p>