<p>The common wisdom is that if you use your AP science credits, then you need to take the “next higher” courses to demonstrate college-level competency. And if you’re replacing an AP that has a lab, then the next higher course needs to have a lab.</p>
<p>Someone recently asked me if OChem I and II are considered to be “next higher” courses if you took AP Chem credit. I didn’t think they would. I think you still have to take 2 more chem classes with labs.</p>
<p>What’s the scoop?</p>
<p>And…are there any med schools that won’t accept taking the “next higher” courses, and require that you take regular bio and chem?</p>
<p>As for AP English…what’s the scoop on that? I think I recall Kristin saying that she sent emails to her schools indicating that a higher level class had a Writing req’t and the med schools accepted that. My kid’s school requires two 300 level courses (not necessarily in English) that have the (W) Writing designation because much writing is required and the work is graded for English competancy as well as subject competancy.</p>
<p>Classes designated with a W (for writing intensive) are accepted by nearly all med schools as fulfilling the writing requirement. D2’s school does this also. </p>
<p>(Her school also does not allow students to use AP credit to skip freshman comp; they have to pass a writing competency exam to place out. In practice fewer than 12 students per year get exempted that way, and those who do still are required to take 2 W designated courses in their major/minor to fulfill the school writing requirement. I find it amusing that D2’s required W-designated class will be thru the math dept.)</p>
<p>I find it amusing that D2’s required W-designated class will be thru the math dept.</p>
<p>Older son had to take the W-desig class in math as well, but for his second W class, he was allowed to take an W class from the Honors College.</p>
<p>The math class was called…History of Math. The class did include historical context for math development, but the prof also used the class time to teach things that he liked to teach (this prof is very good, but a bit of a maverick.)</p>
<p>I hope someone can still answer this…</p>
<p>*another question regarding AP Credits…</p>
<p>The common wisdom is that if you use your AP science credits, then you need to take the “next higher” courses to demonstrate college-level competency. And if you’re replacing an AP that has a lab, then the next higher course needs to have a lab.</p>
<p>Someone recently asked me if OChem I and II are considered to be “next higher” courses if you took AP Chem credit. I didn’t think they would. I think you still have to take 2 more chem classes with labs.</p>
<p>What’s the scoop?</p>
<p>And…are there any med schools that won’t accept taking the “next higher” courses, and require that you take regular bio and chem?*</p>
<p>Most schools want 1 year of bio, whether you skip bio 1 and take an advance one or start in the beginning. For chem it is 2 years of chem, not including AP. There are a few schools that I have read will take APs, but it is tough to only apply to those, you have to tailor your coursework to the toughest requirements of the schools to which you are applying.</p>
<p>My son is taking (or has taken) the “next higher” courses for bio and chem, but someone asked me recently if it was “necessary” to take the next higher courses for Chem, since OChem would be taken and those 2 classes are “next higher”. </p>
<p>Like you said, I believe that a student still has to demonstrate 2 years of chem (including OChem) while in college.</p>
<p>A BA degree (as opposed to a BS degree) has been recommended for Pre-med students with a science major. The advantage is that the student with a BA degree would have more time to cover EC’s due to less upper level course requirement from the major. </p>
<p>1) Would Medical school care about the BA vs. BS degree?
2) Would medical school care about a student taking too many lower level non-science courses?</p>
<p>Huh? That makes no sense. A lot of colleges don’t even offer a BS with a science major, including some of the most selective colleges, for example. But even if they do offer both a BA and a BS, the difference is usually just a couple of courses; BA means two more lit/hume/social science courses. Many science geeks would much prefer the BS to avoid another lit/hume course. :D</p>
<p>Both Ds school offer both a BA and a BS in each science discipline. The difference? A couple additional math classes and about 3-5 extra science classes for a BS.</p>
<p>At both kiddos’ schools the BA in science programs seems to attract secondary ed majors and pre meds.</p>
<p>At Duke for example, 60% of Chem majors obtain a BS. Cal-Berkeley’s largest undergad college, Letters & Sciences, which include nearly all physical and biological sciences, ONLY offers a BA.</p>
<p>Indeed, the BA Chem degree S is considering requires less upper level Chem courses (5-6) than its BS counterpart. However, a BA student needs to take six more courses in social/humanity studies. It has been tailored for the pre-professional students. I think that it fits the new MCAT test guidelines well even though he should be taking MCAT by Spring 2014 . If a student decides to pursue a science/engineering graduate program, he/she can make adjustment in Junior/senior year to go for the BS degree.</p>
From this, it is not difficult to deduce that the pre-professional admission system (maybe with the exception of a few very top research ones) does not prefer a student who has more exposure to the hardcore science. Rather, it prefers a more well-rounded student who nonetheless is smart/disciplined enough to get through the introductory sciences courses successfully (as compared to other “gunners” at their school) and then they should place their emphasis on developing, through involvement with ECs, other quality that is sought after by the professional/medical schools.</p>
<p>At DS’s school, there are BA and BS tracks also. For some reason, most science majors end up on the BS track. I think the most significant difference is that a BS requires one year of a research (and likely commit much more hours per week) in science professor’s lab and write/present a paper at the end, and a BA could just write a paper about anything and does not have to set a foot in the lab if he/she chooses to do so.</p>
<p>I guess most science-track students at DS’s schools are on the BS track mostly because of their ego (That is, you are a top science student all your life up to now but then you do not want anything to do with a science research now, just because you are on the pre-professional school track?!)</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply. The ego thing is very much true. Also, the humanity courses may not be easy for some students. I am not sure which way S wants to go. At least, this is one more option to consider.</p>
<p>My kid’s school also requires “research” – a course, really – for the BS, but not sure if its one or two semesters. In any event, the BS majors get priority for the course since it is required; the BA’s with an interest in research go to the back of the line.</p>
<p>"I guess most science-track students at DS’s schools are on the BS track mostly because of their ego "
-I believe that most science oriented degrees at D’s UG had BS and BA. Yes, BS was considered more “prestigious”, I do not know how else to define the diff. BA somehow felt as a step down. I have no idea about diff. in classes BA vs BS. Social/humanity studies have been hard for my D., she never discussed switching to BA, she has struggled enough with history in HS and made sure to get college credit for it, so that she does not need to take it ever in her life. Her “humanity” studies was her Music Minor, that is as far as she can go in this direction. Taking Music at college was a blessing.</p>