<p>My son is trying to decide which Chemistry he should take. He asked several people and is getting conflicting advice.
He's going for a pre-med. Probably double majoring in Chemistry and Biophyschology. He got a 5 on Chemistry AP, but everyone is advising him not to skip Chemistry in college so he gets used to LABS. In addition Tufts only gives credit for 5 ap classes and he has 7 so he needs to take something over anyway. Chemistry comes really naturally to him and he really enjoys it.
From what I understand Chem 01 is an introductory course so has a huge class of over 100 kids in it. Chem 11 is a much smaller class of maybe 20 kids but is much more detailed and difficult. Chem 11 is also 1.5 credits vs 1 credit for Chem 1. So what some kids are telling him is why stress yourself out and take a harder course when they cover stuff you don't need on MCATs.
I would like to hear what everyone is thinking and if anyone had a personal experience with these 2 courses.
Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>He doesn’t have to retake courses he has APs in, he just won’t get credit. I can’t tell you which course is better for your son to take - if he can locate a syllabus for both courses, he might have a better idea. My older son (at Carnegie Mellon not Tufts) had no issues with taking the more advanced courses, but not all students have as strong a background as he did.</p>
<p>If he’s planning on majoring in Chemistry, then I’d say go for Chem 11. Chem 1, like Physics 1, is (from my understanding) typically for people not majoring in the field and are using it to fulfill requirements for engineering/pre-med or distribution requirements, or for people without an AP background. Since he wants to major in Chemistry, and has an AP background (doesn’t matter if he’s pre-med, it’s the major that matters in this case), then I’d say Chem 11 is the way to go. Even if it’s harder, he’ll be better much prepared for later Chemistry courses.</p>
<p>It’s a tricky balance. One of my friends had a 5 on the AP and (literally) slept through most of Chem 1, still getting an A. Another also had a 5 on the AP, having taken the class at an equally good school. But he remembered little of the material and had to work a little more to get an A. A third friend also had a 5 on the AP and didn’t go to that great a high school. He chose to take Chem 11, worked harder than the three of us combined, and got an A (just barely). He took it at a time when the professor wasn’t as good as the one teaching Chem 1 was (not sure how it is now; I don’t think they have selected a new Chem 11 prof yet).</p>
<p>I’m not sure what I’m trying to say. The bottom line is no matter your comfort, it’s probably possible to do just as well in both classes. I personally would take Chem 1 if he was planning on taking 4 other classes and Chem 11 if he was planning on taking 3 others. But it’s really not a huge deal in the end.</p>