<p>Hello everyone</p>
<p>I am going to be studying at JHU this fall majoring in BME and Cognitive Science. I plan on receiving credit for a few AP classes I took in high school but I'm worried about Medical school admittance. </p>
<p>The class I'm the most worried about is chemistry. I could place out of general chem 1 and 2 and their respective labs and go straight into orgo 1 my first semester. My question is whether or not this would hurt my chances for medical school admittance. I know general chemistry is a requirement for most med schools but how much harm does using AP credit really do?</p>
<p>Also, is it common for people to go into organic chemistry their first semester? I'm not really worried about the course material because I have a great interest in the subject but I'm wondering if the university is going to give me any trouble.</p>
<p>Any response is appreciated.
Thanks</p>
<p>Have you seen the Pre-Med planning guide? It talks about AP credits for various courses.</p>
<p>[JHU</a> Pre-Professional Advising](<a href=“Pre-Professional Advising | Student Affairs”>Pre-Professional Advising | Student Affairs)</p>
<p>It says “Students are strongly advised against enrolling in Organic Chemistry during the first year of college. Students who do so should verify this decision with an academic advisor.”</p>
<p>Using AP credit does no harm. In fact, JHU recommends that you use the AP credit to waive the class requirements of that subject. I would say that since you got a 4/5 in the AP Chemistry exam, you should be in a pretty good shape. If you nevertheless feel that you need to brush up on Chemistry, then feel free to retake the classes. In any case, that won’t hurt your chances for med school.</p>
<p>Organic Chemistry in the first semester is very common. However, students also get a lot of work and it sometimes becomes difficult to manage. Only if you have a strong knowledge on the subject matter, you are advised to take it. Students who are double or triple majoring have lifelong, unforgiveable lessons that they learn from taking Orgo.</p>
<p>I came in with AP credit for chemistry and took Orgo I and II freshman year. It was definitely not an easy class, but I’m glad I took it because it freed up my schedule and allowed me to end up with a double major. That said… I wouldn’t advise going into Orgo as a freshmen unless you’ve tackled significantly challenging courseloads in high school (I’m talking multiple AP science/math classes at once) because odds are that you’ll be taking a pretty decent course load in addition to Orgo. I would really discuss it with your academic advisor. I know it might sound like they’re trying to keep freshmen out of the class, but they’ve been doing this for years and know which students tend to succeed at Orgo as freshmen and which done, so I would at least solicit their advice since I don’t know your background.</p>
<p>As for medical school, I didn’t have any med schools have any issue with my AP Chem credit. Hopkins advises that you take an additional upper level Chem class (most likely Biochemistry unless you’re BME), which will satisfy your med school prereqs</p>