<p>Hi:
I'm currently on premed route. I have AP credit for first term of some premed prerequisite classes...do you guys recommend retaking the intro-level classes (and therefore giving up the AP credit) or skipping what I can with the AP credit? I worry that</p>
<p>(1) AP credit seems a bit iffy when it comes to satisfying med school requirements, even though they claim to accept them under circumstances.</p>
<p>(2) Retaking the courses provide an even firmer science base for further investigation into the later advanced topics.</p>
<p>(3) NOT retaking classes leaves room in schedule to 'explore'</p>
<p>For pre-med it's been recommended you don't take AP credit since med schools don't accept AP coursework and it will likely force you to take some very difficult advanced bio & chem courses to fulfill the necessary med school pre-reqs; however, if you find interesting bio or chem courses that your AP courses allow you to take instead, it might be worthwhile. it really depends on the classes available to you at your university</p>
<p>(p.s. "more firm"...those little mistakes can throw off your personal statement when applying for med school and are a well-documented "kiss of death" in professional and grad school admissions -- primarily because they show a lack of care in your writing!)</p>
<p>Sorry to "steal" your thread, but I was wondering the same thing... I have satisfied the only math requirement for the bschool i got into (AP Calc BC) but I am considering minoring in math. Should I retake it, not only as a refresher because I took it as a junior and might have forgotten stuff in a year, but as a GPA booster. You guys might not think the GPA help is a good reason but hey, it may be a factor for me.</p>
<p>I'd suggest retaking the classes, especially since you obviously plan on taking higher level class in the subjects. The only time I think you should take AP credit is to fulfill core that you don't plan on taking higher level classes in.</p>
<p>A lot of unis will MAKE you retake the courses -- the AP will only count if you're not majoring in that field. For example, AP biology students at my college still had to take BIO 111 their first semester, if they were biology majors. They still got the 4 hours of credit, but it didn't substitute for the major course.</p>
<p>If you're planning on majoring or minoring in the field that you took the AP, you should definitely retake the course. Or if it's something like pre-med where you need the classes to go to medical school, retake it. Better to retake it now and have no questions on your transcript than to find out years down the line that you can apply to some schools because they won't accept your AP bio/chem credit.</p>