Should I use AP Credit to skip intro classes

<p>So I received a 5 on both my AP Chemistry and AP Biology exams. This lets me exempt General Chemistry 1. My question is should I still take General Chemistry 1 or would Medical Schools like to see me take General Chemistry 2 my freshman year instead. Assuming I make a good grade in General Chemistry 2 would that be impressive to Medical Schools rather than making a good grade in General Chemistry 1. I don't want to take General Chemistry 1 because there are going to be so many people in that class as opposed to General Chemistry 2.</p>

<p>You might want to make sure that med schools will take AP credits. If they do, then the choice is up to you. Some things to consider:</p>

<p>1) Will skipping help you graduate on time?
2) Not skipping and doing well in it just gives you an extra A for GPA padding.
3) Taking gen chem 2 and getting a good grade is not going to be any more impressive than taking gen chem 1 and getting a good grade (and in the long run, getting an A in gen chem period is not going to be very impressive). The bottom line is getting a good grade. Doing well in science overall is what’s going to matter to med schools and not any one grade.
4) There is an advantage to being “off” sequence - most people take ochem 2 their second semester sophomore year. However, that’s also when many take biochem, and ochem 2 and biochem are two hard classes and tend to have tests the same week (at least when I was there) . Either by skipping gen chem 1 or by taking an ochem class over the summer, you get away with not taking ochem 2 and biochem at the same time.
5) If you’re worried about class size, then just sit closer to the front. You won’t notice how many people are in the class. </p>

<p>If anything, send in your AP scores regardless. You can still retake even if you technically have AP credit.</p>

<p>As long as you can still graduate in 4 years (if that’s your goal), then I’d just go ahead and take the classes. They’ll be GPA padders. Any A is a good A. </p>

<p>(I’m a current med student if you were wondering about my credibility).</p>

<p>Alright I hear you. What classes would look good to Medical Schools for Freshman Year because I want to take challenging classes that will look good. Any ideas?</p>

<p>Lol, I guess you didn’t really hear me because there aren’t any classes you’ll take as a freshman that will impress medical schools. More challenging upper level science classes, maybe. Intro freshman classes? Not a bit.</p>

<p>What do you want to major in? If I know that, then I could give you better advice for scheduling classes. Also, it’s almost August, so I’m guessing your first semester of classes has already been scheduled? What are you currently planning on taking?</p>

<p>I want to major in biology. No, my first semester has not been scheduled yet.</p>

<p>Have you taken a look at this website?
[UGA</a> Online Bulletin : General Information](<a href=“http://www.bulletin.uga.edu/MajorsGeneral.aspx?MajorId=34]UGA”>UGA Bulletin - Major Specific - General)</p>

<p>This lays out all the requirements you need for graduation. Putting aside your desire to impress med schools, what you need to make sure you’re fulfilling are your degree requirements and basic med school requirements.</p>

<p>What other course credit are you coming into college with? (english, history, etc). Are you planning on graduating in 4 years? Are you planning on staying at UGA?</p>

<p>I am coming in with 34 credits in total. Mainly in biology, chemistry, various histories, 3 credits English, 4 credits in calculus, and 4 in statistics. I plan to stay at UGA. I will fulfill graduation and degree requirements but I want to go beyond the requirements. That’s my main issue.</p>

<p>Well, it’s a little hard for me to make a schedule down to the nitty gritty for you, but a few suggestions:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>The MCAT is including a psych/sociology/stat section soon so take intro psych and intro soci and don’t discount them as fluff classes. Since you already have statistics, I’d just skip it. The stat course I took wasn’t very helpful. *Note - this is all assuming med schools will take AP credits.</p></li>
<li><p>Check out other bio-related majors - biochem, micro, cell bio, and genetics. Biochem, cell bio, and genetics have the reputation for being slightly harder than a bio major (I haven’t really met anyone who was a micro major). If you like math, biochem might be up your alley. As a premed, I think you’d enjoy cell bio. It’s challenging and has interesting material. If you only really care about human-related science, I’d consider the aforementioned majors.<br>
*Note: GPA is one of the biggest factors in med school admissions. Do what you need to do to get the highest GPA possible. If that means a less challenging schedule, then so be it. A challenging schedule won’t make up for a lower GPA.</p></li>
<li><p>I honestly don’t know how you can make first year challenging. Take a whole bunch of classes at once? If anything, DON’T make it challenging because you want to impress med schools. IT WON’T. What will impress med schools is getting good grades regardless of when and how fast those classes were taken. Getting an A in gen chem earlier than everyone else doesn’t matter - in the end, everyone who has an A has an A, end of story. So don’t make it harder than it has to be JUST to impress med schools (especially freshman year). Now, if you genuinely thrive in the challenge, then sure, make freshman year as hard as you want. Just don’t do it thinking med schools will care. They won’t. </p></li>
<li><p>Helpful and/or challenging classes that you’ll want to take consider: biochem, genetics, cell bio, immunology, neurobiology, micro, “VPHY” (the anatomy/physio class most premeds take - NOT the same at the normal anatomy class), human biochem .</p></li>
<li><p>Look for a research lab to get involved with. You could get class credit AND look good to med schools.</p></li>
</ol>