<p>My daughter graduated from HS a year early and is enrolled at a local university as a Pre-Pharm major. She earned many AP credits in high school. We are still awaiting her score on the AP Chemistry exam, but she is expecting a 5 (or at bare minimum, a 4). Her college advisor is suggesting that she should take both semesters of freshman chemistry, regardless of her AP score. The advisor states that most Pharmacy schools will frown on her application if she has AP Chem credit instead of actually taking the courses at the college. </p>
<p>It seems to me that her credit for freshman chemistry shouldn't matter, as long as she does well in the upper-level chem classes. </p>
<p>Can anybody offer any advice on this situation?</p>
<p>Applicants were warned at every pharmacy school open house that we attended, that chem, bio/organic chem, physics and calculus prepharm requirements (including chem 101 and 102) needed to be met with acceptable college courses instead of AP credits. My kid got some credit for his AP classes to meet general ed requirements, but not for any of his prepharm courses. </p>
<p>I’d suggest that applicants also be cautious about assuming that every 101-102 class is going to be acceptable. We met a kid who had taken chemistry at a community college at one open house, who was freaking out because he had learned that his chem classes were not deemed to have met their curiculum requirements. I also talked to another kid whose physics class was rejected as not meeting a prepharm requirement because it wasn’t the right kind of physics (don’t ask me…I was an English major). As you research pharmacy school requirements, this is probably going to make a lot more sense. </p>
<p>You can confirm with some pharmacy schools whether the required college chem prepharm requirements can be replaced by the successful completion of higher level chem classes. It’s a gamble though, and every school may not make the same decision.</p>
<p>The advisor’s advice makes sense to me. </p>
<p>You might also consider that earning great grades in the entry level chem classes in college can only benefit your daughter’s GPA when it comes to applications to the PharmD level program.</p>
<p>My daughter begins pharmacy school next month. I hadn’t heard that Pharm.D. programs ‘frown’ on AP credit. She had AP Chem credit from high school. Her college offers an accelerated chemistry course that covers the first two semesters of college chemistry in one semester. She took that accelerated course, (actually, she took the honors section of the accelerated course) first semester freshman year.</p>
<p>Does your daughter’s college have an accelerated general chemistry class?</p>