<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>Should I do General Bio again - Cell/Molec bio plus Evol/Ecology biology which I always thought would be a breeze to repeat. </p>
<p>OR do you think I should use the "5" on the AP Bio exam to skip General Bio and do a course on Cell and Moleculary Biology using the Bruce Alberts text?</p>
<p>Afterall, Med Schools simply require 1 year of Bio!</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Use the 5....</p>
<p>I had this same question my freshman year. I ultimately decided to sit in on my college's intro bio class for a week. If the class was too repetitive, I would use my AP bio credit. If not, then I would just repeat the course. I ended up retaking the course because it went a lot further in depth than my HS course.</p>
<p>who cares if its repetitive...if it is then there should be no excuse for not doing well.</p>
<p>Believe it nor not, there are some people who go to college to learn new things, not just settle for the easy A.</p>
<p>yeah, and i have heard people say that it is misleading to say if you retake a class in college that you could test out of, you will get an A</p>
<p>at some schools they grade at a B-/C+ curve to weed out students in intro classes, and my friend says for Biology level II there is not a harsh curve and ironically its easier to score higher in even though the material is harder...</p>
<p>for pre-meds you need that A...so i dont think it matters at that point whether or not you are retaking a class...you may not agree with this but medicine is cut throat...u do wut u have to do to get into medical school.</p>
<p>As for it being misleading that u will get an A....ok u may not get an A due to the curve, but if u do well the curve isnt gonna put u below the rest of the class. While a curve like the one u explained may hurt sum1 who has perfect grades, its not gonna make them do worse then any other kid in the class...they will still be getting higher grades.</p>
<p>Now, if you are retaking the course, even if the material is harder then what you previously had, you will still have somewhat of a grasp on the topics, which puts u at an advantage to kids taking the class for the first time. You have the opportunity to do better...why not take it??</p>
<p>I know plenty of people who retook bio after having AP credit with 4s and 5s. Needless to say they got cocky and didn't do so great. You WILL go waaay more in depth in one sem of bio then you did in the whole year in highschool.</p>
<p>retake the class, the advantage of having had exposure to the material is there for the taking.</p>
<p>yeah its a very common misconception that retaking the class is a guaranteed A... at any competitive college, you cover about 10x more depth</p>
<p>ok granted u may not get an A but u have an advantage because uve been introduced to the topics more so then those who have never taken the class before</p>
<p>I think I have to lean towards norcalguy and say that you can try it out the class and if you find it boring or the curve to be unfriendly, then just drop it. </p>
<p>The real question is, do you have what it takes to do well on the biology part of the MCAT? If so, then you may be able to get away with not taking biology at all, or taking it after you've already applied to med-school (and hence they won't be able to see what grades you got), and/or taking it pass/not-pass. Keep in mind that premed classes are classes you have to take before you matriculate at med-school, not necessarily before you APPLY to med-school, and not even necessarily before you take the MCAT. </p>
<p>Take a gander at myths #8 and #9.</p>
<p>are u a quest scholar??</p>