As a future premed, you should have bio, chem, and physics. It could be regular physics, honors physics, or AP physics 1, but it has to be in.
How do you think it’ll feel to wait till college, be in a class of competitive premeds and be the only one who hasn’t had Physics? How badly do you think it’ll shoot your GPA?
How would you know if premed is right for you if you have never taken physics in high school? Don’t you have to take several semesters of physics in college as a premed?
You are taking AP Bio and AP Chem. You could take Honors physics instead of another bio class senior year.
Physics is at best tangentially related to clinical medicine. Don’t get me wrong, a working understanding of physics is important, but I’d hardly say that taking physics in high school would be make or break for knowing if premed is right for you.
I agree with @MYOS1634 though that it would be foolish to go into college without having taken physics as a high schooler from a competency standpoint. If this class would be instead of high school physics than I would highly, highly recommend taking physics instead.
I also want to bring to OP’s attention that whatever grade earned in this class at UM will have to be reported to medical school. Yes, they will be able to figure out you took it during high school but it will be automatically factored into the cumulative and BCPM GPAs that appear on your application.
@mommdc Well, I took physics before, that was in China a lone time ago. Yes you’re right. It requires 2 physics in pre med at U of M. I will consider it more and talk to more people.
Thank you!
@MYOS1634 yeah… since high school class is lighter than a college class. #:-S Thank you for your foresighted advice!
@iwannabe_Brown Okay. Maybe I just take AP physics next year then. Thank you.
You could request a random, “retired” Biology 171 test and see if you can do well.
My suggestion would be 173-174 (lab course,+ project-based Bio2) IF you have taken and succeeded in AP Chem, otherwise, 173 only.
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/UMICH/biology/Home/Academics/Majors%20&%20Minors/BIO.MAJOR.pdf
@MYOS1634 Thank you so much for your advices. I will try it!
The most important class for you to take next year is physics.
If you can add 173 good for you, but only if you take physics in high school.
OP is already taking AP chem next year, with physics I’m not sure adding college bio is a good idea.
Oops, missed that .
You’re absolutely correct.
Op : take physics (regular, honors, or AP physics 1), and with AP chemistry you’ll have your hands full. Leave college bio for college.
@someonescarlett make sure to consider what IWBB said.
“I also want to bring to OP’s attention that whatever grade earned in this class at UM will have to be reported to medical school. Yes, they will be able to figure out you took it during high school but it will be automatically factored into the cumulative and BCPM GPAs that appear on your application.”
I am a former high school Biology teacher and am now a college instructor. My high school students who performed the best in college were students who took challenging classes in high school, such as AP and IB courses. In order to do well in AP or IB, you have to acquire good study and time management skills, which are critical to success in college. In addition, you learn college level material. If you do well on the exam at the end, you can earn college credits. If you don’t do as well as you want, hopefully you still gained content knowledge and a better idea of how to study for college level material, but you get to start college with a clean slate - the GPA that you earned in the course in high school won’t get averaged into your GPA for your medical school application. That is not the case with dual credit.
You sound like a student who is focused on your goals, but I knew more than a few students who either blew off or struggled with dual credit, earning a B or C in the 100 level courses. If you are pre-med, you want to make A’s in these because they are going to be much easier that the 200-400 level sciences you will face down the road.
So I agree with what others have said. Use high school to prepare well for college. Take a high school Physics of some sort so that you go to college with a broad science background, and hone your time management and study skills so you hit the ground running your first semester of college.