Classes I should take in High School (for Pre-Med major)

Pre-Med & Medical School High School Student Topics
1

<p>I am currently a 10th grader in high school and would like some advice on what classes I should be taking next year and in my senior year if I am looking to be a pre-med major in college.</p>

<p>Here is my course load from so far from the past two years:</p>

<p>9TH GRADE</p>

<ol>
<li>Honors Biology - A</li>
<li>Honors Spanish 3/4 - A</li>
<li>Honors English 1/2 - A</li>
<li>Geometry (honors not offered) - A</li>
<li>Honors World History - A</li>
<li>Elective - A</li>
<li>P.E. - A</li>
</ol>

<p>10TH GRADE</p>

<ol>
<li>Honors English 3/4 - A</li>
<li>Honors Spanish 5/6 - A</li>
<li>Advanced Algebra 2 /Trig - A</li>
<li>Honors Physiology - A</li>
<li>Elective - A</li>
<li>P.E. - A</li>
</ol>

<p>(My school GPA is around 4.5-4.6, but my UC GPA as of right now is 4.0)</p>

<p>I have gotten straight A's in 9th and 10th grade. I am struggling to plan out my next two years in high school.</p>

<p>I am planning on taking an art class at a community college this spring semester (to complete my Visual & Performing Arts requirement), as well as an SAT/ACT prep course this summer.</p>

<p>I want to fit in AP Biology, AP Chemistry, and AP Physics into my last two years in high school.</p>

<p>You have to take AP Calculus the same year you are taking AP Physics, so I can only take it when I am in 12th grade. AP Physics is an easy A. But I hear the teacher doesn't prepare you well for the AP Exam.</p>

<p>AP Biology is an extremely difficult class. Your grade is based solely on how you do on the tests, which are crazy hard. If I were to take this class, I would probably be able to pull of getting a B. But the teacher is very good at preparing you for the AP Exam. Almost every student in AP Bio gets a 4 or 5 on the AP Exam.</p>

<p>AP Chemistry is also an extremely difficult class, if not more difficult than AP Bio. The teacher is very dull, boring, and has a high temper. His tests are impossible. I would probably end up getting a B or C in his class if I were to take it. And I hear the teacher doesn't prepare the students well for the AP Exam.</p>

<p>Here are the classes I'm thinking about taking in the following 2 years:</p>

<p>11TH GRADE</p>

<ol>
<li>AP English</li>
<li>Honors Pre-Calculus</li>
<li>AP U.S. History</li>
<li>AP Biology</li>
<li>Honors Spanish 7/8</li>
<li>Elective</li>
</ol>

<p>12TH GRADE</p>

<ol>
<li>AP English</li>
<li>AP Calculus AB</li>
<li>AP Chemistry</li>
<li>AP Physics</li>
<li>Govt./Econ.</li>
<li>Elective</li>
</ol>

<p>So here's the problem: My main goal for 9th-11th grade is to get straight A's. The first thing colleges see is your transcript. Your grades are the first items the admissions office looks at when evaluating their applicants. This is why I want to do so well next year. But, AP Biology is an extremely demanding class that requires a lot of reading and studying and would take up most of my time; plus, I would probably end up with a B in the class (which I want to avoid). Another thing to take in consideration is the fact that I need to keep up my grades in my other classes as well. AP US History is a very time-consuming course at my school. If I were to take AP Bio and AP US History at the same time next year, I fear that I will end up with 2 B's because I might end up struggling in both classes.</p>

<p>Here's an idea I came up with: I could take AP Bio and/or AP Chemistry and/or Physics in 12th grade (2 of the 3) when my grades don't matter as much (I'm aiming at getting into UCLA). I definitely want to take AP Bio before I leave high school because that seems like an essential class for someone who will be majoring in a biological science, such as biochemistry. Is Physics hard in college? I know biology and chemistry are very challenging in college, but how is physics? Do you think I should take AP Physics in high school or start off with the intro courses in college?</p>

<p>Another question: Do you think one or two B's in my junior year of high school would look bad? I want to show colleges how hard working of a student I am, but I can only really do that through my transcript. My GPA for junior year (if I got 2 B's) would be around 4.5, but I have no idea what my UC GPA would become.</p>

<p>If anyone could please give me any advice or suggestions as to which classes I should take and when, that would be amazing. I need some help taking this stress off my mind.</p>

2

<p>Take AP chem, Calc, Bio, and physics and retake them in college (drop the credit). It’ll let you ease into college, make it easier to get As, and you don’t have to worry about medical schools not taking your AP credit.</p>

3

<p>Thank you for the feedback, @mmmcdowe.</p>

<p>“you don’t have to worry about medical schools not taking your AP credit.”
^
I don’t know a lot about how medical schools look at your grades and coursework. Are you saying that med schools will be able to see the AP classes that I took in high school?</p>

<p>And what are the benefits to dropping the AP credit in college? Wouldn’t taking AP classes help me get ahead in college?</p>

<p>And also, do you think that getting 2 B’s in my junior year would hurt my chances of getting into a school, such as UCLA, which is where I’m aiming for?</p>

4

<p>Two B’s won’t destroy your chances and from what I see, you have a good chance grade-wise of getting into a decent school. The benefits of dropping AP credit would be having more options after graduation (from college) as not all med schools accept AP credit, and also the reasons that mmmcdowe listed (good grades, easier transition from HS to college).</p>

5

<p>Getting ahead also means getting into the thick of things. Many a freshman pre-med has gotten his or her first non-A by taking Organic Chemistry in their first semester. Other than getting to look silly by saying your a junior because of the number of credits you have (don’t ever say that, you are a freshman regardless of credit), there is no reward for collecting as many credits as possible other than it gives you more opportunity to buff up your GPA (which does not happen anyways with AP credit). You will have no trouble graduating in four years with or without a few AP credits, and honestly you might not even end up using them (other classes that are graded might fulfill the reqs to graduate, and some schools don’t accept AP credit for classes relative for to your major so you will have to take other courses anyways and they will just be listed in the “electives” graduation requirement).</p>

6

<p>Thank you so much for all this information, @mmmcdowe and @nate763. I appreciate all your help.</p>

<p>Another question: If I take AP Biology next year, I will probably get a B in the class. AP US History is a very time-consuming class that I would probably get a B in if I took it with AP Bio in the same year. Do you think I should not risk getting a B in AP US History and instead try to skip Spanish 7/8 Honors and go to AP Spanish so I could get a different 3rd AP class in my schedule next year? (I would then take regular US History which is a piece of cake.) Or maybe stop taking spanish and instead take an AP science class such as AP Environmental Science, which isn’t too demanding?</p>

<p>Again, thank you so much for all this helpful information. :)</p>

7

<p>Overall it won’t matter THAT much. I guess if you despised history you could take it in HS and maybe be able to skip it in college if you take the AP credit. Colleges might like seeing that you have 4 years of a foreign language instead of a science class, but if you don’t they won’t know the difference anyway especially if it’s AP. If you’re really worried about doing bad in biology, do it in high school and retake it in college. I would rather have a B on my high school transcript than a B on my college transcript (unless you’re saying the grade would be because of the courseload rather than difficulty). Just remember that a B isn’t an awful grade either. I don’t think you would be seen on a downward trend if you got a couple B’s here and there…you’ll be fine. :)</p>

8

<p>Here is a question along the same line. Do colleges and universities want to see Biology, Chemistry and Physics on a pre-med high school transcript?</p>

<p>Example: Student is required to take Honors Biology in 9th grade. Then required to take Honors Chemistry in 10th grade. Would taking AP Chemistry in 11th and AP Biology in
12th work. This student is thinking about not taking Phyics until college but is a bit worried that it might look bad. Any suggestions?</p>

9

<p>I frankly don’t think they care. You are taking rigorous classes, its not like the reason you didn’t have any Physics is because you took 2 study periods a semester.</p>

10

<p>I’m in 11th grade so I guess take my advice with a grain of salt (Plus, I think I might be more interested in Nursing and getting my Masters in a Nursing field than Medical School), but I would make sure you take Physics. A lot of colleges want to see that students have taken it. I am interested in a couple that require it. Could you take AP Biology, AP Chemistry, and Honors Physics instead of AP Physics your last two years? Try to think positively. Don’t start off the year telling yourself there is no way to make an A in the classes you’re worried about.</p>

11

<p>I don’t think Physics is an absolute necessity. I hate Physics with a passion. haha I also plan on being pre-med in college and I did not take Physics in high school (I’m taking AP Biology instead). I got into Dartmouth and I think my application said I want to be physician. So I agree with mmmcdowe.</p>

12

<p>Which one is looked at more favourably?</p>

13

<p>I have a similar question too: do the pre med undergrad colleges want to see AP classes, even if you do end up getting a B or something? Will getting a B in AP chem and an A in honors chem (assuming you took honors first then AP) look better than just an A in honors chem? Basically, want I’m trying to ask is: is taking AP classes gonna help your admission to a good/elite college, or are most elite colleges fine with just one year of honors chem. I’m using chemistry as an example, but same question for biology. Thanks!</p>

14

<p>Both of you, don’t post on an old thread, instead use the New Thread button to ask your question.</p>