<p>I have read around several different places and I cannot find a simple answer to the following:</p>
<p>A student receives Advanced Placement credit for a given science course that a Medical School requires (such as Biology, Chemistry, or Physics). If the given Medical School does not accept AP credit as a suitable replacement for it's requirements can more advanced courses be used to satisfy those requirements?</p>
<p>Example:</p>
<p>AP credit used to gain one or two semesters of 100-level Biology Credit. Later on 2 semesters of 300-level Biology courses and 1 semester of a 300-level Biology lab course are taken.</p>
<p>Is this an acceptable replacement without and serious repercussions?</p>
<p>It’s exactly what I did and exactly what I was advised to do. I got a 5 on the AP when I took it in 06, that allowed me to skip intro bio and go directly to Genetics sophomore year, which was followed by Cell Bio, Animal Phyisology, 2 semesters of research for bio credit, a senior seminar class (capstone), and Developmental Biology (second capstone just for fun). </p>
<p>If I can’t go to medical school because I failed to take intro bio as a freshman, when I had credit for it, and chose to take much harder classes…then so be it, I’ll pick a different profession!</p>
<p>Short answer: take harder classes. You will be fine.</p>
<p>Well the deadline to change around my course schedule is coming up soon. </p>
<p>From my readings it appears that the UTexas Medical Schools are the only notable exception that do not allow substitution of introductory biology with advanced biology? (The ones that do accept that I know of are my states medical school, Johns Hopkins, Harvard, Yale, and maybe Duke?).</p>
<p>Biology is my main concern, especially since the intro biology at my school does not have a laboratory section (anymore). </p>
<p>The class thus far, as well as the planned content, isn’t very enlightening to me as it pretty refreshes everything I’ve already learned.</p>
<p>If I could do it without having serious repercussions to my chances at Medical School I would drop the class and take 300-level courses next year or next semester (being Genetics, Cell Bio, and Bio Lab).</p>
<p>@kristin:</p>
<p>Have you gotten into/applied to Medical Schools yet? It would really unfortunate if you got rejected because of something like that. While I would accept going to a Ph.D program as well, my current plan outline is based on Medical School requirements (and then some).</p>
<p>Extra Info: Current Major is Biochemistry and Microbiology (pretty much covers all the Medical School requirements except Statistics and English, which I will take eventually).</p>
<p>Applying right now! All of my advisors are well aware of my course history (including AP and all the bio I have taken) and have never mentioned that it would be an issue–and I have explicitly asked them. None of my schools have mandated intro bio (most even say that upper level classes are accepted and expected if AP credit is given). I applied to Boston, Creighton, Drexel, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Loyola, Mayo, Missouri, Northwestern, SLU, Virginia, and Tufts.</p>
<p>You’re fine! Check the MSAR if you’re curious; that’s where I found most information about requirements (but US News is the way to go for numbers/stats). Your pre-med advisor probably has MSAR laying around in the office. Good luck!</p>
<p>(NB: Be careful implying that you’ve “only” researched JH, H, Y, and Duke + your state schools–you will likely attract comments regarding the need to apply broadly (in my opinion, applying broadly is phenomenal advice))</p>
<p>Those schools were ones that I could find definitive information on thus far. </p>
<p>Further on I will of course do more in depth research about schools but currently I just needed a quick references of general requirements.</p>
<p>It will be at least 2+ or 3+ years before I even begin to apply to Medical Schools. In the intervening time I may even decide that I’d rather go into a Ph.D program.</p>
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<p>On another note: If I finish my major in 3 (or 3.5) years (which is a possibility given my major and core requirements with non-MedSchool AP credits). Which of the following is most advised:</p>
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<p>@kristin:</p>
<p>Any other advice you can provide me would be greatly appreciated! Good luck on admissions and do tell what school you decide to go to ~!</p>
<p>I was in a similar boat when I started undergrad…I came in with 30h from AP. I went the route of lightening my load and concentrating on non academic things so that I could graduate in 4 years. I have a feeling that if I had chosen to go to a more expensive undergraduate school I would’ve graduated early, but college isn’t too expensive for me thanks to scholarships & staying in state.</p>
<p>So I guess my personal vote would be to use the spare time you generate from spreading your degree over 4 years to do really awesome, personally meaningful extra curriculars/shadowing/volunteering etc!</p>
<p>OP, unless you will apply to some super “picky” schools (e.g., UC Davis), it may be fine to skip intro bio since you are a bio major. A frequent CC contributor BRM posted that it is better not to use any AP credit other than bio, unless you are a physics or traditional chemistry major, or are very interested in taking p-chem and quantum physics which often requires extra math classes as a prereq for taking these second-level science classes.</p>
<p>Some UC medical schools are just so picky that you had better check their requirements. For examples, it is rumored some of these schools may require you to take an intro science course, maybe because they want to see how you perform at such an introductory science class.</p>
<p>It is rumored that at some schools at least, the more introductory the class is, the harder to make sure you will get a good grade. This is the reason why all graduate level classes are not counted as your UG GPA. Very different from a high school class!</p>
<p>While UC medical schools generally have a prestigious reputation, there are other schools that have comparable selectivity levels which I am interested in as well…</p>
<p>So if I will take more advanced Bio courses (and do well) then I am able to apply AP credit towards introductory Biology without repercussions? (confirm)
<< See below regarding AP Chemistry? >></p>
<p>Other Note: I am currently taking a full year of Intro.Physics without a lab section (no corresponding one at this institute).</p>
<p>Regarding Intro Chemistry: I applied AP credit but the schools policy is to only give Chem 101 credit for that regardless of score (meaning that I am taking Chem 102 currently). The course content of 101 and 102 is comparable to that taught at most other universities/colleges. </p>
<p>In this case are there any special actions I should undertake?</p>
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<p>In the future, as per the requirements of my major/program… I will be taking the following:</p>
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<p>Given this lineup, will using AP credits for Bio and Chem (among other unrelated ones) have a negative impact?</p>
<p>OP, what you are asking really does not have a simple asnwer because a lot has to do with which college you go to and which medical school you are going to apply to. What other people may “guess” for you is just their educated guess based on their own experience, which may not be applicable to you.</p>
<p>For example, at some schools, some may think it is better to start from the very beginning of the chemistry or biology course sequence. I happen to know a student who skipped one chemistry class at the suggestion of her departmental advisor, and it turns out she could not pass the intermediate chemistry class with a “premed-worthy” grade. She was at a state school, and it happens that the professor at that school IN THAT PARTICULAR YEAR was very demanding. She gave up being a premed in the end. For some other students at the school (or some studebnts at another school), they may be perfectly OK if they skip one introductory science class (a bio or a chem class.)</p>
<p>To recap, there is really no simple answer. Only YOU could understand your own school (and yourself) better than anybody else here.</p>
<p>If you are determined to be a biochemistry major, you will have enough chemistry credits. But depending on which college you go to, it could be the case that a quite high percentage of aspiring Biochemistry major may change their mind in a year or two.</p>
<p>Also I tend to be more paranoid than most others – this often drives my child nuts. So please take this into consideration when you read my subjective opinion above.</p>
<p>I see; I must draw my own conclusions using whatever information is available to me.</p>
<p>I am of the opinion that I know the limitations of my abilities and that I am not arrogant enough to presume that I am more able than I actually am. I would rather underestimate myself than overestimate myself.</p>
<p>The subject of chemistry is the one that I both enjoy and would pursue a career in (what I enjoy most are artistic/creative pursuits which I have no interest in as a career, they are only a hobby to me).</p>
<p>If I decided not to stay on the Medical School path, I would almost definitely pursue a career in research (in the same subject area).</p>
<p>Note: This institute is relatively small compared to some others but offers a significant amount of opportunities to work in a laboratory during the school year.</p>
<p>It’s probably part of my nature… I’ll learn something and understand it as best as thoroughly as possible and then move on to another pursuit. Relearning a subject holds neither interest nor joy for me, I will review/refresh my knowledge for my own benefit because I want to but a whole block of time devoted to relearning something seems wasteful to me… I could perhaps better spend that time working in a laboratory.</p>
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<p>I’m in college because I want to be, not because I’m told I should be or because I’m obligated by some “higher” power to be.</p>
<p>I find it most wise to retake the classes, for GPA and for simplicity. Want to accept the credit so you could take it easy and do other stuff? Well damn, if you take it it’s a retake anyway, so it should just be simple review along with the homework. AP definitely doesn’t teach you jack about lab processes & procedures (this can vary with teachers) because you just don’t have enough class time to handle both lecture and lab as a high schooler and fully take on the objectives of lab (i.e. complete lab reports, many labs (I think our AP Chem did like 2 labs requiring no submission of report or data)).</p>
<p>My only hardcore/serious pre-med friend going to UVa had more than enough AP to hit the credit cap limit but through analysis of the medical process chose to deny only her science credits and to retake them in college. I also hit the credit cap but still chose to retake the science credits. To him his own - I also know a few students who accepted theirs, though I don’t know how serious they are about medicine (which may or may not matter).</p>
<p>EDIT:
PS. The answer to this question is actually pretty easy to find and readily available.</p>
<p>In the end, you’ll have to ask each school individually as to their policy, and considering that you’re asking this question means you don’t know where you will apply which means you won’t know what schools to ask which means there’s a chance you will end up wanting to apply to a school years down the road that does not accept AP credit. Quite a dilemma that would be.</p>
<p>It greatly depends on specific UG. According to my D., skipping first Bio at her UG in her major (she had both Honors and AP Bio with “5” on exam in HS. She also has used the same textbook in HS as in first college Bio) would be a grave mistake at her UG, making higher level Bio classes significantly harder with the less chance of getting A’s. It might not be the case at other UGs. Input from pre-med advisor who is familiar with specifics at his UG is very valuable.</p>
<p>It is my opinion that if you think you need a GPA buffer of sorts, then you’re overestimating your abilities. I have no intention of making it necessary for a GPA buffer to achieve my goals.
Besides, I have more than enough flexibility to resolve any issues before they become a problem.</p>
<p>I currently plan to accept the credit not with the intention of taking it easy but rather to move on to other subjects and studies that I am more interested in (particularly the genetics course, analytic, and organic chem). </p>
<p>I have not taken the more advanced courses in a college setting, but I’ve had some small amount of exposure to their rigor and content due to the specialized high school program that I attended (classes lasted from 7AM to 3 PM minimum every day, focus on “above-AP” level sciences).</p>
<p>My model upon which I based most of my goals is the requirements for Johns Hopkins medical school. Ideally I will eventually find my way there and their requirements are in line with the goals I have now.</p>
<p>If I make some catastrophic mistake (which I am trying to prevent by consulting places such as this) then the institute policy and my AP credits give me more than enough leeway to resolve it before it can actually have an impact.</p>