<p>I am a junior in highschool and we recently got registration cards for senior classes.
I have the option of taking 2 of the following 3 Ap science courses, AP Bio, AP Physics B and AP Chem. I am also planning on taking premed in college and taking the MCAT. My question is which two courses would best prepare me for premed and the MCAT?</p>
<p>AP Chem and AP Biology
although those are killer together unless you have a lot of time to dedicate to each</p>
<p>^I agree. But you’re not going to be preparing for the MCAT by taking HS classes, for the most part. You should be preparing yourself well for college classes and you should be getting into the habit of taking hard classes simultaneously–great skills to build, and AP bio and chem will certainly help you do that. </p>
<p>If I were in your shoes, I’d take whichever of those 3 was my favorite subject area, plus whichever of the remaining ones has the best teacher (which would be bio and chem). A fantastic AP teacher can make a world of difference.</p>
<p>Personally I’d take bio and physics just cuz I hate chemistry.</p>
<p>AP Biology and AP Chemistry. </p>
<p>I took AP Physics B and C(Mech and E&M) in high school and did little to prepare me for physics I in college (which im taking now).</p>
<p>Don’t take AP Physics B. Why won’t they let you take as many AP classes as you want?</p>
<p>@kristin,
WHAT? 
Why do you say things like this?</p>
<p>Uhhh…because she’s been there, done that? Just guessing. lol</p>
<p>^ Who knows, maybe there are several alternate realities? :eek:</p>
<p>Or, at least , some whose opinions differ from our own.</p>
<p>Sorry if I was unclear. The OP mentioned that s/he wanted to know which AP courses would be most useful for premed and the MCAT. My reply was that s/he should choose the one that’s most interesting, and choose another with an awesome teacher.</p>
<p>In addition to personally thinking this is a good strategy, I wanted to bring up the point that preparing for the MCAT in high school is not really possible, and even if it were, it’s not a good idea (one reason: studying for a test 5 years before you take it is not useful). The reason it’s not really possible is because AP courses, while certainly rigorous for high school students, aren’t taught at the level of critical thinking necessary for the MCAT–and that’s OK, as they’re classes intended for high schoolers! Each of the AP classes I took–bio, chem, calc AB, and calc BC–were taught by PhDs, and my school is routinely rated as one of the most rigorous in the state. I’m sure my AP preparation was adequate; I scored 5s on each test. I imagine my experience with AP classes was perhaps better than average, so I don’t think my conclusions about the comparison between the AP and the MCAT are based on a poor AP program. But basically, I didn’t want the OP to choose a course with the impression that s/he would be indirectly preparing for the MCAT by taking it.</p>
<p>Plumazul, I know you are planning to prepare for the MCAT by doing lots of content review, and I am sure you’ve done plenty of research to decide that that’s the best route for you. I don’t doubt that it is! But to suggest that someone could be prepared for the MCAT solely by taking AP classes in high school is incorrect. While the material covered in AP classes is theoretically similar to the material covered in intro college classes, and technically those intro college classes are all you “need” for the MCAT, you also need to have developed solid critical thinking skills in order to tackle the MCAT. I surely credit my high school with laying the foundation for critical thinking (thanks in part to the AP courses I took), but it was in college–and through advanced science courses–that I really honed those skills. I did choose to take an MCAT prep class, and maybe to some that makes me look like a loser applicant who can’t take standardized tests, but really I just wanted some discipline and strategies. </p>
<p>And in the end, it worked out just fine. I didn’t kill the MCAT (as so many prospective applicants here are sure they will), and I’d imagine my score of 30 is among the lowest of the posters regularly represented here. But hey, I got into a med school that I really love. I’m really enjoying it. I have a better idea about what I want to do with my future. I think patient care is exciting and rewarding. I still have time to hang out with family and friends. I’m currently co-authoring 3 different papers and have presented work at numerous conferences already. So to the OP–yes AP classes are important. Yes, choosing a school that works for you is important. yes, when the time is right, figuring out how you want to study for the MCAT is important. Etc etc etc. It’s all important and all a part of the whole crazy long involved process to get into med school and realize your goal of being a doctor, but if you play your cards right, it won’t even feel like work. (And that’s why I know this is undoubtedly the right career for me.)</p>
<p>Most pre-meds are advised to take college Chem. and Bio starting with the very first class despite of getting “5” on AP exams. So, basically it does not matter. Take whatever you wish. Forget MCAT for now, nobody start preparing before few months (rare exception) or most likely several weeks before MCAT. Any earlier is a waste of time.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of your responses. I realize that I shouldn’t be thinking about the mcat right now but I just wanted to know which two subjects would help make college pre Med courses easier.</p>