<p>Hi, I’m a rising senior and planning to apply ED to the PLME. I’ve taken AP chem in 11th grade, and am planning to take AP Physics next year. However many people say that bio is more useful to be a doctor, but AP Bio in my school is two periods and would require me to drop another class which I don’t really want to. I think physics is pretty fun and bio would be better to take in college anyway since it’s mostly memorization. So my question is does PLME look down on applicants who have minimal experience in Biology? (I’ve only taken an honors bio course in 10th grade but will have a biomedical related internship) Should I switch to AP bio next year instead of physics?</p>
<p>Ah, I see your predicament. But honestly, taking AP Bio is not the end all-be all requirement that is necessary for med school, or PLME acceptance.
As long as you have <em>some</em> foundation in Biology, I don’t think it will matter to PLME admissions. Having a strong foundation in all of the core sciences (Bio, Physics, Chem) is much more important; I think that taking at least one Physics class is more important than taking a second Bio class. Taking AP Physics definitely can’t hurt you, since you have taken care of your other science classes; but NOT taking Physics at all… it could work out, but well, you never know. I would say play it safe and stick with your AP Physics class in your schedule.</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity, had you decided to incorporate AP Bio into your schedule next year, what class would it have replaced? A free period? Another academic subject?</p>
<p>And, as a sidenote: remember, you can always try self-studying for the AP Bio exam, if you want the credits. It’s not imperative to do so, but if getting those credits is part of what you’re after for AP Bio, go for it.</p>
<p>Of course, the decision is ultimately up to you, but this is just my advice 
Hope you’re able to resolve your problem quickly!</p>
<p>The effect of taking AP Bio or not on your PLME admissions has nothing to do with knowing or not knowing the material taught in AP Bio. It is about whether or not you are taking the most challenging curriculum available to you. In your case, since you’re saying you don’t have room with your other AP sciences it’s really unclear to me what you should do.</p>
<p>Well most people in my school consider AP Physics to be more challenging than AP Bio. I’ve already taken honors level of both, so I have some experience in both already. If I take bio next year I’ll probably be replacing AP physics and psych. It’s just that I’d rather take physics if it’s not detrimental to PLME admissions.</p>
<p>I might explain this situation briefly in your PLME application. Though I understand your reasoning, the PLME admissions team might not see that the class takes up a double period at your school and would thus affect your other class choices quite a bit. I think it should be fine, especially as you’ve already taken some bio and have that internship. Good luck!</p>
<p>The biomed internship, if it is significant (every week, most days, all year, maybe some research etc. ) is much more important than AP Bio for PLME application. Of course if you could take AP Physics and AP Bio and the internship, (and do well) that would be the strongest scenario. If you can only take one of the 2 APs, I would also agree that Physics would be better. (re rigor and what you will learn to apply in undergrad studies). The “intro” course for bio majors is so good that many premeds take it even if they took AP Bio. (I’m not sure but think you may not be eligible to take it if you have a 5 on AP BIO. Current students can confirm.)</p>
<p>Well, I’m going to correct/amend what I said above. While for getting into PLME, there might not be much difference in AP Physics vs Bio, and having had the physics will help you in college physics, a current BIO/ premed at Brown tells me you would be better off taking the AP BIO. There are a bunch of BIO courses at Brown that are really great that you are unlikely to get to take (only open to freshmen) and that require previous AP Bio credit or similar to enroll. Also most of the PLME students have had AP BIO. Also as a premed you will still have to take 2 semesters of Physics so AP physics will not get you out of that.</p>
<p>Based on the above post, you should self-study for the AP Bio exam!</p>
<p>BrownAlumParent, I don’t think that’s quite right. The only bio classes open exclusively to freshmen are the first-year seminars (the BIOL0190 series), none of which (with the exception of Phage Hunters, which is a course sponsored by HHMI) requires AP Bio. There are a bunch of other classes open to freshmen AND sophomores that require AP Bio, but you could always leave those for sophomore year.</p>