Biomedical engineering without taking AP Bio??

Hi,

I’m about to enter my junior year of high school and I’ve already completed regular freshman biology and chemistry honors. My school only allows us to take a maximum of two ap sciences in total, and I am enrolled for AP Chemistry next year. I was planning to take AP Physics C Mech Senior year. Because of this, there is no space in my schedule to take the AP Biology class. I have already taken the SAT Biology M subject test (scored 800). I also self studied for the ap biology exam and received a 5 (but I realize this does not substitute for the class).

Will not taking AP Biology will put me at a disadvantage for admission to top biomedical engineering programs (JHU, UCSD, UCB, Duke, GA Tech)?

Thanks! Any feedback is appreciated!

I would think Chem and Physics would matter at least as much as Biology. I wouldn’t worry about it.

No worries, universities design their curricula such that no AP or transfer credit is assumed. Also, it is the test that determines if you may get college credit, not the class. If you already took the AP test, do not bother actually taking the class, it is not worth your time. On a college application, there may be space for you to list your AP test scores.

I understand that it could get me college credit, @umcoe16 but what I’m worried about is that in many schools (ucb, ucsd, jhu), bioengineering is an impacted major, so will not taking ap bio make it seem that I’m not interested or ready for the bioengineering major?

No, not at all. Having taken the AP test is enough to demonstrate that you have mastered the material that is expected of you for the course.

@umcoe16 To my understanding, colleges don’t even consider AP test scores for admission, only for placement/credit.

A BE degree is very broad. Chemistry and physics are required for all engineering disciplines so you are all set. When you have the opportunity to take a bio class with molecular labs, you will be able to explore pharma, tissue, medical devices, imaging… At some point you will need to chose a concentration within biomedical unless you change your major to another discipline and work in a medical field.

Yeah, most if not all schools require that engineering student in all disciplines must take chemistry and physics. So those two would be a good choice, especially if you decide that you would like to choose another engineering discipline instead while in college (happens to a lot of people).