@“Erin’s Dad” I totally agree that it is not necessary to take calc, especially if one is looking towards a less competitive college. My S did not take HS calc and got into a moderately competitive (but not close to a top tier) college. The problem came when he took calc in college and was only one of two students (out of a class of 40 or so) who did not have calc in HS. He found himself at a HUGE disadvantage in the college calc class. Based on that experience, I would recommend that anyone who plans to take calc in college try to get at least some level of calc in HS – and that would be particularly true for the OP who would be aiming for a high college GPA for med school. Therefore I would recommend that the OP take AP Calc over AP Physics (post #6).
I agree AP Calc isn’t necessary to get into college (unless it’s a very competitive/prestigious one), but it will allow you to skip Calc 1 and possibly Calc 2 (depending on the score and school), giving extra credits to use for other interests or simply to graduate early.
It depends on whether the student wants to have a bit more of a work load during high school or during college.