My counselor recommended I take IB next year, but to do so I would have to drop either organic chemistry or multivariable calculus. I would have to take IB English, biology, history of the Americas, Chinese, film and theory of knowledge so this leaves only one period open. I would like to go towards the medical field, but the high level of math looks good on my transcript. As far as how I would do in the classes, I believe I would get similar grades. I’m going to be a junior. IB Math would not be required for me as I took Calculus BC this year.
Which class should I drop, or should I just take AP classes?
Just take AP classes. The classes you would have to drop are really good, especially if you want to go into the medical field.
It all depends on your goals. Where do you want to go to school? You’re way ahead of the curve in math and that’s great, but is there anything suggesting you’re not a strong writer?
I’m aiming for schools like UC Berkely, Johns Hopkins, maybe not Ivy Leagues but definitely great schools. I might try for an Ivy League but that really depends on if I can improve my grades. I’m a pretty strong writer, I would say. I usually do well on my English essays and I got a 10 on my SAT essay. If I were to drop a class, it’d be organic chem because I realized I could probably get a higher grade in math. Thanks for your advice.
Assuming that the math and chemistry courses are college courses, the grades earned in them will count toward your GPA for applying to medical school, even if they are not counted by the undergraduate school you attend. Getting A or A+ grades in those courses would give you a head start on your pre-med GPA, but getting grades lower than A- would start you off behind.
Note also that many medical schools do not accept AP (or IB) credit to fulfill pre-med requirements, so you would likely have to replace with more advanced courses any that you skip with AP credit. Medical schools typically require no more than calculus and/or statistics, so taking multivariable calculus instead of calculus skipped by AP credit should be ok. But replacing general chemistry and labs skipped by AP credit may require taking advanced inorganic or physical chemistry and advanced labs later.
But you should also realize that medicine is a long and expensive road, usually leaving a new MD with very large amounts of debt (see https://www.aamc.org/download/152968/data/debtfactcard.pdf ). Large amounts of debt may pressure you into specialties that pay better but are not otherwise your top choices. Expect to have to live a frugal lifestyle for the next two decades or so after high school graduation; do not assume that going into medicine will put personal financial worries behind you.