<p>Hi, I'm interested in going pre-med in college but I'm worried that, since I don't have AP credit for calc/bio/chem, that I'll have to take the lower track for these subjects in college and be at a disadvantage against people applying for medical school who do have AP credit. So my question is, how much do medical schools value students taking higher level/accelerated math and science courses? Is it the same way that colleges value AP over college prep? I'm contemplating whether or not to self-study for these subjects, so knowledgeable advice would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Med school pre-reqs and the content of the MCAT is largely lower level science/math. (Biochem is the highest level course required.)</p>
<p>Med schools accept students from all majors (like the humanities & social sciences) who never take a math or science course higher than those pre-reqs.</p>
<p>I’m a Cardiologist and never took AP Chem, Calc, Physics in HS. You should be fine with the general prerequisites for med school.</p>
<p>A lot of the time, medical schools require that to meet their prerequisites, courses have to be taken in college, not as AP tests. I guess because it’s more rigorous and consistent and they can see that you can handle the content in a college setting.
The requirements are not very specific (i.e., 1 year of general bio, 1 year of physics). This means that if you took AP bio and then took other higher level bio classes as part of your major, you would be fine. However, if you took your physics as AP (or your math, since you mentioned that) and weren’t planning on going further with the subject, you’d have to take it again once you were in college.
I don’t think medical schools are hugely concerned with what you took in high school. They’re much more focused on what you take in college.</p>
<p>Med. School will not care.
However, it is a good idea to have upper level Bio classes for the MCAT, ilke genetics, physiology, cell…
Some Med. Schools started adding requirements for Anatomy and Biochem. You will have to check the requirements of schools on your list. D. mentioned that it is a good idea to have Anatomy in UG, but many in her Med. School did not have it. She said that she was happy to be familiar with vocabulary. Difficult Vocabulary is a huge thing at Med. School (from D’s comments), but you will not know most of it anyway, taking Anatomy in UG or not.</p>
<p>…oh, I do not think that Med. School is much concerned with the list of your UG courses. You have to complete pre-reqs (might be different at different Med. Schools) and you should have very high collge GPA, decent MCAT score, various Medical ECs, outgong personality will help you at interviews (I would say the last one is optional as long as you can connect to people and not a total hermit who is studying in his room whole day long)</p>
<p>I didn’t know what AP courses were while I attended high school. To my knowledge they weren’t offered at my school. I didn’t take chemistry in high school either. I was able to complete all of my required premed courses in college without any difficulties. I do agree with MiamiDap that some upper level college biological or statistic courses would be helpful for the MCAT.</p>
<p>You will not be held to a disadvantage, at all.</p>
<p>Many with AP credits, don’t use them anyway.</p>
<p>Med schools really don’t care whether the pre-reqs are satisfied by Bio I and II or by upper division bio. </p>
<p>What will your major be?</p>
<p>Where I go to school, all pre meds start with the same general Science and math courses, whether or not they have taken AP courses in high school. In fact, some Med schools don’t want you skipping over the basic science and math courses in college, so they don’t let AP level courses fulfill any pre med requirements. Since you’ll probably have to start with general science courses anyway, you’ll be fine. The only advantage to having taken AP science and math courses in high school, is that much of what you learn in the college level general science/math courses are review.</p>
<p>“In fact, some Med schools don’t want you skipping over the basic science and math courses in college, so they don’t let AP level courses fulfill any pre med requirements”
-Check with adcoms of Med. School before making this conclusion. My D. did. I do not understand why people prefer guessing games over facts, which are also different from Med. School to another. In fact, D. did NOT want to waste her time on additional college Math, easy subject for her that she never was much interested. So, she USED AP Calc credit (AFTER checking with Med. Schools adcoms) and took only college Stats. The same for English. She had to take one college semester though, because she had B on AP English, not A. And her Honors college English was in fact a complete waste of her time (aside from earning required credit, she did not learn anything new).<br>
Do not make any rules yourself, do not rule out anything without checking. It is better to spend you time / money in UG on something that is truly required and on something that you are personally interested. Some people are very passionate about Math. In this case, take as many as you personally wish. For others, Math might not be their passion, them check and take as minimally required.</p>
<p>* In fact, some Med schools don’t want you skipping over the basic science and math courses in college, so they don’t let AP level courses fulfill any pre med requirements*</p>
<p>I think you’re confused. Yes, many med schools do not accept AP credits to fulfill premed reqs. However, that does NOT mean that they don’t allow skipping. Most/all of them allow skipping. The student skips over the basic sciences and takes higher level sciences which med schools use to fulfill the premed prereqs. The student doesn’t have to retake the lower sciences.</p>
<p>^Again, it depends on Med. School as well as specific UG program/major. At D’s UG, it was highly advisable to start Bio with the first calss (in her major). She listened, for her own good (despite of 5 in AP Bio). The class went way way beiyond the AP Bio and was a foundation for all other Bio classes in her major.<br>
Overall, there is NO general rule. Got to check with Med. Schools Adcoms as well as your pre-med advisory and talking to current pre-meds at your UG in your major is also highly advisable.</p>