I took a look at your other thread, where you listed the classes you have taken or are now taking. I’m assuming that you got straight A’s in these classes. The reality is that most of these classes are remedial, meaning that they cover material that most students have taken in high school. Some of them would fulfill general education requirements at a linked 4-yr institution with a pre-set transfer agreement with your community college.
If you wanted to transfer to a four year college with an associate’s degree in Physics, and continue on for a BA in Physics, and there were an existing, guaranteed plan which guaranteed that transfer, assuming high enough grades, and you had a career goal for which a BA in Physics would qualify you, then an AS in Physics leading to a BS in Physics might be a good idea.
But you seem more interested in a career in healthcare - you’re talking medical or dental school.
Community college is not a springboard to medical or dental school, and not to nursing/NP or PA school, and not to dental hygiene or dental assisting, or frankly, any ancillary medical field, unless you are in a nursing or ancillary medical program at the community college. You would find it extremely difficult, and likely impossible, to move forward with any of these paths, if your basic sciences were done at the community college. Medical schools and dental schools are highly competitive. They reject many applicants with B’s in basic sciences with lab done at good four year colleges, so for them to consider someone who took their basic sciences at a community college, the person would have to have near-perfect MCATs and a good explanation for having gone to community college (like lack of funds) - except that med and dental schools are very expensive, too.
Did you take the SAT or ACT? While the MCAT is largely reflective of the content of the basic science courses, one’s performance on the SAT or ACT would give one an idea of how one might score on the MCAT, assuming appropriate preparation.
I suggest you take a frank look at your career goals. If you think that you can get into med school (and BTW, for dental school, you also need to have a certain visual-spatial ability, as tested on the DAT), I would suggest that you choose your target transfer school immediately, make an appointment with the pre-med or pre-dental advisor at that school, and go in and ask them to give you a frank evaluation of the likelihood of your being admitted to medical or dental school with an AS in Physics from a community college, followed by a BA from their school. They will very likely recommend that you transfer to the 4 yr college immediately, and give up the idea of pursuing an AS in Physics if your goal is medical or dental school.
If you like physics, and want to work in medicine, I suggest that you take a look at radiation technology, or radiation oncology technology/therapy. These are achievable, respected, necessary and in-demand ancillary medical fields, that require some understanding of physics. Technicians of these sorts work in X-ray, MRI, CT, ultrasound, and radiation oncology. They are paid well, often with a two year degree from a community college, plus additional on-the-job training. Respiratory therapy might be of interest to you, also. You can get an RN at the community college level, make a decent living, and your job would pay for the night classes to move to the BSN. After that, you could consider becoming a nurse anesthetist, but it’s highly competitive to get into these programs. The beauty of that route is that every step of the way, you become qualified to earn a good living.
But if you are focused on medical or dental school, and think that you have the ability to get admitted, then you need to apply now to transfer to begin at the 4 yr flagship U, or if not that, 4 yr state college, this summer. The classes you intend to take at the community college will not lead to medical or dental school admission. You asked, “Would an AS in Physics from my community college benefit me for medical school?” The answer is NO. It would be a waste of time and money, and might in fact DETRACT from your ability to get into med school. Either choose to apply for and attend a community college or 4-yr college course for a degree in an ancillary medical field, or transfer to a 4 yr college and begin your premeds there. Continuing at the community college on the path you have outlined will not help you to achieve your goals of a career in any medical field.
I don’t mind budgeting 1.5 year for a Physics degree, I really want to learn more about Physics, Chemistry and the other math courses I mentioned.