Hello all! Okay, so I’m looking to become a doctor in the future. I’m currently a high school junior, and I’m starting to consider my senior year schedule. This year I’m taking AP Composition, AP Chemistry, AP Calculus BC, AP US History, Orchestra, and Spanish 3. Next year I will be taking AP Spanish, AP Statistics, AP Government/Econ, and Orchestra.
My issue is what to do with my remaining two periods. I can either fill the space with AP Literature and AP Physics or Bio, which would give my GPA an extra boost, or I can sign up for an off-campus research program that my district offers to juniors and seniors. I would take the biomedical program, in which they study anatomy and do science-y stuff like dissect sheep brains, and the program would count as Anatomy/Physiology and English 12 by incorporating elements from those classes into the program. The students research diseases and come up with a diagnosis for mock illnesses, perform dissections often, and learn in-depth about the human body, among other things. They even get to wear scrubs!
Considering I would be satisfied with either option, it’s kind of come down to which one would look better on a college application. Would admissions officers look more favorably on a full schedule of AP classes or a unique medical program?
Thanks in advance! Let me know if you have any questions.
Unless it means missing physics entirely (not a good idea if you are pre-med), then I’d go with the medical program as a way of testing your interests, expanding your boundaries beyond the school, and differentiating yourself from the many students who are potentially pre-med. It’s not that Anatomy per se is going to be very helpful - you’ll be doing it intensively in your first year of medical school, assuming you get in, and it’s always an option in college too - but as a way of testing an interest, this program could be a good idea. One more or less AP class isn’t going to make any difference on your chances of admission, by the way.
Have you talked to anyone currently in the program or who graduated from the program? What did they think of the quality of the instruction and the value for time spent?
Oh my, it’s been a while! I apologize for the delayed reply, but I’ve been preoccupied with semester finals!
I could potentially drop AP Spanish and take AP Physics instead. I spoke to some of my friends, and they highly recommend the program. I recently met with my counselor as well, and she recommends the program as a way to possibly set my application apart from others during admissions.
If it came down to it, I would drop the AP Spanish and do AP Physics and the pre-med program. However, it would be beneficial to keep it all if possible.
However, it is good to take AP Physics and AP Bio, because you will need both for undergrad coursework. I think that taking the pre-med program will show your passion to the ad officers. In addition, it gives you a hands-on learning in the medical field that most high school textbooks/AP courses cannot provide. Although I had to sacrifice class rank and a few APs by taking a 4 year STEM program, it helped me truly decide my career in the future which benefited me in the long-run.
Did you already have Spanish up to level 4 though? 4 years foreign language is recommended at competitive schools. I think AP foreign language is more valuable than more elective material like govt/econ or even stats. It is best to have one each bio, physics, chem in whatever level honors or AP your schedule can manage.
I’d take AP Spanish (which often means reaching level 5 in a language) over AP Statistics (which is a lower-level AP) since 4 years of a foreign language would be preferred by the most competitive colleges I assume you’d be applying to. The Medical research program sounds like an amazing opportunity and would certainly set you apart from the myriad applicants with the same sets of AP classes.
Hello again! Unfortunately, my school requires gov/econ, or I would have dropped that right away. I asked my counselor if I could drop AP Stats in favor of AP Spanish, but she would prefer I didn’t. It’s up to me in the end though I suppose, so I’ll give it some hard thought. Thank you guys, I’ve been getting some great answers!
Personally I would make sure to take AP Bio. Most of the other pre-meds will have had it before they
take college Bio. I would drop AP Govt and take AP Bio and then if you want to do the Biomed thing that is cool too.
Do you know if most Medical Schools take AP Statistics as far as meeting their Statistics Requirement? You might have to retake College Statistics or take an advance College Level Statistics Course to meet “some” Medical School Requirement (so I have been told).
no. Most college statistics classes would require more advanced math than AP stats. In any case premeds are advised to retake everything that relates to the science core classes.
@MYO S1634: So why do students who have the option, continue to do AP Courses over doing Dual Enrollment at a local Community College or local 4-year University? To me, Dual Enrollment is the best option over AP.
Because AP is at their school, so they can stay with their friends or dont have to deal with transportation issues. Also, not all community colleges offer classes similar to APs, let alone more advanced. Some CCs do offer a pretty wide array of choices so they may offer more possibilities. They’re college-paced - an AP class is a college class stretched to 9 months (vs. 4 months for the college pace). Dual Enrollment does allow you to accelerate, especially for sequential classes (math, foreign language).
Hello again friends! I recently discovered a new concern of mine- the exclusivity, for lack of a better word, of the program. The program is decided by a lottery, and you only have to have a C-average to qualify. If I were to make it in, I have a pretty fair chance of being placed in groups where the students may not have quite the same work ethic as myself. Would it perhaps be better to take 5 APs and volunteer at one of my local hospitals for the year instead?
Talk to people who have been in the program to see if your concern is justified. How much of your experience would depend on the people in your group vs. your own efforts? How good is the instruction?
If the answers don’t satisfy you that this is a good use of your time, and you have other medical volunteering opportunities that would be of better quality, then by all means do that instead. Just check out what you do in the hospital: If you are simply working for free in the gift shop or directing visitors, you might wish you’d done something else. If you can be placed in a medical setting where you are learning, it could be worthwhile alternative to the program you are considering.
IMO, take the AP classes. You will need them as a foundation, not just as a substitute for college classes. There have been many students who think they =an place out of intro stem classes with ap credit and they fail! College Bio or Chem is not your AP class. JMO, mom of a med school student.
I think it is important to establish that this alternative is not the kind of vocational pathway that won’t be the optimal rote to 4 yr college. Locally this is career and technical education for kids not aimed at 4 yr college let alone med school. Really though, that should be crystal clear at any kind of pathway planning your local education system provides.