Hey CC. I’m going to be a junior in high school this fall. I normally would be taking Physics during the school year, but I took Physics I and II at Rutgers University over the summer and got an A on all 4 classes (2 labs & 2 lectures). I am planning on going to my guidance counselor so take another class in place of Physics, but I want to have some courses in mind before I go to her. I know for a fact that the school won’t have anything they can give me, because the curriculum is preset and there are no electives I can participate in and they won’t let me sit in with the seniors. That’s why I was planning on taking a college course online, but I need recommendations/advice.
I was thinking of taking Microbiology at the UC Berkeley Extension school. Is that a reasonable/doable course?
Do you guys have any other recommendations? I really enjoy science and math, and I plan on applying to some bs/md programs or Biomedical Engineering programs and go the traditional route.
When I go to my guidance counselor, any advice on how I should talk to her? Knowing my school there is a chance she could say no and I really dont want to take physics again for a second time.
For microbiology, make sure you have an equivalent of General biology I/II. AP biology may not cut it. You could do organic chemistry or analytical chemistry (if you have credit for general chemistry I/II). A microbiology course that is worth its salt is definitely a good choice for someone that is interested in medical applications. Plus if you can take courses at a physical college, you might be able to take medical microbiology or something similar in the spring.
I would ask her nicely and if she says no then explain that you are a candidate for top tier schools (if you are) and this will further your education. You could get the physics teacher involved, saying that his curriculum will be nothing new to you.
Hi biochemgirl67. Thanks for your reply. If you have taken Microbiology, how rigorous is it? Is it doable while still doing my high school work? I really want to challenge myself, but I want it to be a reasonable challenge. Like I don’t want it to be too hard that it would affect my other classes or that I end up doing poorly in the class.
Ok sorry I’m going off topic, but what was it like to take a lecture and lab at an actual college? How much studying/homework did you do outside of class? I’m think about doing something similar. Also another unrelated side note, just so you know, colleges don’t love prerequisite classes over the summer, but you should be ok if you take a higher level class during college you should be ok.
Well, I go to a Magnet School that prepared me very well for college and therefore I found the course to be fairly easy. I lived on campus to get a feel for college life (which was the main reason why I did it) and found it pretty easy to balance my free time and studying. I didn’t put a lot of time into studying, but that was probably because I had a good background for physics thanks to the engineering course my school offers.