What high school course are the best for getting into a good college such as Brown or JHU? I plan on majoring in either Biology or Human Biology. I also can take DE classes such as Organic Chemistry and Human Physiology. I understand the basic courses such as AP Bio, AP Chem, AP Physics, and AP Calc, but what other courses would also make a student be more prepared for the rigor of college.
I took Bio, Chem and Anatomy and physiology.
You do not have to take every single AP science available - no university expects it. In fact, for a pre-med, you probably don;t want to since most med schools don’t accept AP science credits as fulfilling prereqs. So pick one, or at most, 2.
There is no magic formula for putting together a schedule, and no schedule will guarantee admissions. No college admits you as a pre-med and no college expects applicants to specialize in HS. You should have a solid foundation in all core subjects - 4 years each of English, Math (including calculus), and Science, and 3-4 years of history/social science and foreign language. On top of that, your HS may have graduation requirements in arts, PE, etc. Once you have that squared away, you can round out your schedule with challenging classes which interest you. Good luck.
If you want to go pre-med then think about:
- The cheapest reasonable college so you/your parents can use the money for med school
- The college needs to prepare you for MCATs but still allow you to get a good GPA
- Access to volunteering opportunities (e.g., near a hospital)
- Success in graduates getting into med school
- Options if you don’t go to med school
So aiming for top schools is not always the best strategy.
You should take Bio, Chem, Physics and AP Chem or AP Bio for science
If you want to be premed, I WOULD NOT take organic chemistry as dual enrollment…med schools want to see you take your pre-med classes (Bio, Chem, Org Chem, calc etc) at a 4 year school, not community college.
You want to take AP Bio to learn and prepare, but for pre-med you can’t use AP scores to place out of Bio. You will have to retake Bio or take a higher level Bio to show you can do college level Bio work.
You shoudl take AP calc AB for Math.
Also remember that for undergraduate, nobody cares that you want to be pre-med. You will have to pick a major. Biology or CHemistry is popular because it is easy to take the pre-med required classes, but really you can major in anything. So a college doesn’t care if you took Anatomy…but it is good for you to take for yourself…to get exposed to the info and see if you like it. If you hate memorizations, then medicine is not good for you.
Medical schools only care about the premed required classes, not what you took in HS.
I would suggest you volunteer at a hospital or something such that you know you like working in that kind of environment.
DO NOT take organic chemistry before sophomore year in college. Taking it earlier is one of the biggest mistakes ambitious students make, one they seldom recover from.
The most important thing you can do is shadow doctors, volunteer in retirement residences, help in clinics, join Habitat for Humanity.
Take AP physics 1, AP bio, AP chem, AP psych, AP calc, AP English language, AP foreign language. Take non AP classes that expose you to a diversity of cultural groups and ways of thinking. If your college offers you credits in English or psychology, remember you’ll need to have one further class in each for med school.
I’d avoid majoring in biology. This major has a terrible ROI.
Look for colleges that offer Medical Humanities as a minor as well as traditional science majors.
My daughter took an honors organic chem course in high school and loved it. I don’t think it’s the same curriculum as what she’ll be seeing for her chem e requirements though!
Unless you take college courses while in high school, in which case the courses and grades do become part of your application to medical school (A grades are acceptable; don’t get any Bad, Catastrophic, Disastrous, or Failing grades). Note: taking organic chemistry at a community college may not be optimal, since medical schools often look down on community colleges, wanting to see at least some pre-med courses or more advanced courses in those subject areas taken at a four year college.
In some colleges, taking organic chemistry in the later part of frosh year is the normal sequence for biology majors.
https://career.berkeley.edu/Medical/PrepChem (CHEM 3A and 3B are organic chemistry for biology majors, typically started in second semester of frosh year)
http://science.nd.edu/undergraduate/sample-curricula/preprofessional-studies-sample-curriculum/ (CHEM 10172, typically taken in second semester of frosh year, is organic chemistry)
http://exploredegrees.stanford.edu/schoolofhumanitiesandsciences/biology/#bachelorstext (CHEM 33 is organic chemistry, typically taken in third quarter of frosh year, according to the suggested course plan)
You’re asking two questions- premed and highly competitive colleges.
Ski is right, you get the cores in, all of them, not just stem, the right rigor, and you do well. Bopper, too. MYOS is right that you get some field experience- though if you’re thinking Brown or JHU, forget the easier hanging with older folks or following a doc around. Roll up your sleeves and vol as close to actual health delivery as you can. (It can take time to work your way into this.) A clinic, some aspect of a hospital that puts you there with the medical needs and the needy. Health or welfare related advocacy is good, it increases awareness of issues and works toward better conditions. That’s not for distant lands, it’s in your own area.
When you look for a college, try to identify those that are more collaborative in premed courses (early bio, chem, and math,) as opposed to competitive (the brutal weeding out of most kids who start college hoping for later med school.) You do not need a big name college, you will need your own best record, wherever that is, and then MCAT scores. The ECs for med school are a little different than those to get into undergrad.
I’d go even further. High school med clubs are rarely (very, very rarely) an “it.” But other hs math or sci ECs are good, as well as other non-stem activities. Those schools like depth and breadth.
And don’t miss how important reading, comprehension and analytical skills are. You can always take an anatomy class online or self study, keep the hs course schedule open for the rigorous cores.
Last, know what Brown and JHU (or others like them) really look for, what makes them a bit unique. You will need to match what they like and want.