<p>I took AP Chem as a junior in high school and got a 4 on the exam. I took AP Bio this past year as a senior and am still waiting for my score, but I'm expecting either a 4 or 5 (hopefully). Let's say that I do get the 5, allowing me to get credit for both the intro bio and the intro chem classes. Do you recommend I skip them and go on to Bio II and Chem II? I'm planning on going pre-med or pre-pharm, so I definitely need a solid base in these two subjects, but I also don't want to get stuck in intro classes that grade hard, risk my GPA, and are review of what I've already learned (although I did forget alot of AP Chem since I took it junior year...).</p>
<p>Hi, OoovooO,</p>
<p>I admire your proactive investigation of your upcoming college experience! But on this one, don’t you think you should be addressing these questions to your academic advisor? You are in honors. I can’t recall if you were able to attend one of the honors admitted student sessions, but my son did (Dean’s Scholars), and he said the department representatives emphasized that a perk of earning an honors admission is getting more personalized attention to your curricular needs. And as you have recognized, they also stated it was very important to make good decisions about skipping classes you already placed out of AND that what’s right for you, your personal strengths/weaknesses and proposed degree plan may not be what’s right for your neighbor, i.e., it is a very individualized decision-making process. They invited students to work with them as much as necessary to figure out a custom plan. </p>
<p>So…when you go to orientation, take your list of questions and get them answered to your satisfaction. Find out who to contact if you think of other things after you get home. If you aren’t satisfied with the advising, talk with the honors program personnel to find out who best can help you! </p>
<p>I would offer essentially the same advice to any student, honors or not–be politely persistent until you get the academic counseling you deserve. I have read a few CCers report back on inadequate counseling, which surprises and dismays me. But you can’t say, well, that sucks and let it go. College is a huge investment. You are the customer!</p>
<p>Good luck! I hope you are my doc or pharm one day!</p>
<p>Retaking classes can be a GPA booster (I know firsthand). If you already know your material, the professors (decent ones) can’t really throw anything hard at you. If you’re skipping Bio & Gen Chem, you’re skipping both Bio/Chem I & II with the labs. You’ll be moving onto Genetics and Organic Chem, which you probably don’t want to do.</p>
<p>However, some professors can make it so you have to spend more time than necessary preparing. TXArtemis has great advice regarding your advisers. They should have the scoop on this issue also.</p>
<p>Xcellerator,</p>
<p>So if I decide to take the AP credit for Chem (or Bio), am I required to skip both chem 1 AND chem 2? Or can I just skip ch 301? Because I don’t really want to be taking Organic Chem during my first semester of college…</p>