Can using AP credits for pre-reqs screw you over?

[iamvangogh]

I guess this is my question: how much of a disadvantage am I at for taking AP credits and not completing a semester of inorganic chem? How much does pre-req fulfillment play a role in admissions decisions, and could missing one semester of the gen chem req lead to my pre-med demise?

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[iamvangogh]

Never mind. Found something relevant.
http://students.rice.edu/uploadedFi.../AP Credit - Allopathic Medicine 20130606.pdf

 

[frosted_flake]

In my opinion when looking back I didn't learn jack from my AP biology class in high school. I am glad I failed the AP bio test, because I would have missed out big time if I would have skipped bio in college. But thats just my experience.

 

[Pacna]

In my opinion when looking back I didn't learn jack from my AP biology class in high school. I am glad I failed the AP bio test, because I would have missed out big time if I would have skipped bio in college. But thats just my experience.

+1

Purposefully failing the AP test and retaking the class in college is the best route IMHO. Very common practice.

 

[YankeesMD]

+1

Purposefully failing the AP test and retaking the class in college is the best route IMHO. Very common practice.

Or you could just not pay for the test and not take it.

I'm kind of in that same boat. I got a 4 on AP Bio last year and my school is telling me I'm placed out of one semester of bio but I honestly don't remember learning anything in that class.

 

[Pacna]

Or you could just not pay for the test and not take it.

I'm kind of in that same boat. I got a 4 on AP Bio last year and my school is telling me I'm placed out of one semester of bio but I honestly don't remember learning anything in that class.

I never had to pay for them.

A lot of people have been running into your problem, though, and this is why people are purposefully failing the AP tests. If you pass it, you get a transfer credit (no GPA weight) in college and are not allowed to take the course again. If you fail it, you're virtually guaranteed to ace the college course. It's a nice GPA boost.

 

[Dr. Dog]

I guess this is my question: how much of a disadvantage am I at for taking AP credits and not completing a semester of inorganic chem? How much does pre-req fulfillment play a role in admissions decisions, and could missing one semester of the gen chem req lead to my pre-med demise?

Depends on the schools you're looking at. This chart should help you out: http://students.rice.edu/uploadedFiles/Students/Academic_Advising/AP Credit - Allopathic Medicine 20130606.pdf

I used AP credit for the first semester of gen chem and took the second semester at my school, but I also took a semester of biochem. This seemed to work for the more AP-strict schools like BU and Vanderbilt.

 

[487806]

I guess this is my question: how much of a disadvantage am I at for taking AP credits and not completing a semester of inorganic chem? How much does pre-req fulfillment play a role in admissions decisions, and could missing one semester of the gen chem req lead to my pre-med demise?

Take an upper level chem to compensate AP credit. Retaking a class is a waste of time, but it's up to you.

 

[487806]

Depends on the schools you're looking at. This chart should help you out: http://students.rice.edu/uploadedFiles/Students/Academic_Advising/AP Credit - Allopathic Medicine 20130606.pdf

I used AP credit for the first semester of gen chem and took the second semester at my school, but I also took a semester of biochem. This seemed to work for the more AP-strict schools like BU and Vanderbilt.

because those schools, like nearly all others except those few weird ones, accept AP credit if you include upper-level coursework. Retaking a class is the easy, waste of time, way out. An upper level class that challenges you to understand the material convinces med school you can handle the difficult work

 

[plumazul]

Use your AP credits if and only if you score a 5 on the associated exam. If you do score a 5, don't repeat the class unless forced to do so by your UG school, it's a waste of time for everyone involved. I took all basic prereqs (except orgo) in high school and I certainly was not at any "disadvantage" for doing so.

 

[frosted_flake]

Or you could just not pay for the test and not take it.

I'm kind of in that same boat. I got a 4 on AP Bio last year and my school is telling me I'm placed out of one semester of bio but I honestly don't remember learning anything in that class.

We were forced to pay and take the test, or I definitely would have. Such a waste of money.

 

[AquiVoy13]

I know many people who tested out of Bio and just took other upper level bio classes. They weren't necessarily confident that they remembered everything from the AP class, but when push came to shove they did well on the MCAT and in their advanced biology classes. Replace the class with something interesting like like immunology or anatomy.

 

[kyamh]

Wait, did you not send AP scores from freshman-junior years to colleges for admission? Would you not raise a huge red flag if you had a failed test score?

 

[Mad Jack]

Take an upper level chem to compensate AP credit. Retaking a class is a waste of time, but it's up to you.

Isn't a waste of time if you didn't learn anything in the original class. Dat foundational knowledge, aw yeah.

If you don't feel that your AP classes provided you with a solid foundation for the MCAT and medical school, retake them. If not, don't and take upper level courses to show you can handle college level science.

 

[487806]

Isn't a waste of time if you didn't learn anything in the original class. Dat foundational knowledge, aw yeah.

If you don't feel that your AP classes provided you with a solid foundation for the MCAT and medical school, retake them. If not, don't and take upper level courses to show you can handle college level science.

Pretty sure a 4 or 5 on an AP exam suffices for foundational knowledge (that's the criteria for my college to get AP credit, other places restrict to only 5). If OP got 4/5, pretty sure he can move on. Foundational knowledge can start in high school bro.

And it's weird many of you "were forced" to take an AP exam in your high school. AP classes in my high school focused heavily on establishing and building foundational knowledge rather than focusing only on AP exam. Class exams were incredibly difficult, but I'm indebted to it because my high school showed me the college academic environment. And that really really helped me a lot for the AP exams and in upper-level courses in college. Other high schools in adjacent counties have a dual-enrollment opportunity for high school students, and allow them to acquire college/CC credits. Perhaps this is n=1, but the point is, foundational knowledge doesn't always start in college (and even if it does, it doesn't always prove to be useful --> "the weeding-out effect"). This is also the reason for the success behind strong undergrads at top tier UG.

Wait, did you not send AP scores from freshman-junior years to colleges for admission? Would you not raise a huge red flag if you had a failed test score?

Good point. I assumed OP was smart enough (i.e. reported the score and received AP credit) to allow for the placement. If OP didn't receive AP credit, the discussion is moot.

 

[DoktorO]

My school did not accept AP credit for prereqs. So I had to take all of them. You should do the same. Why? Because by retaking these courses you are not only reviewing and improving upon your knowledge of the subjects but you will also be ahead of the curve at all times and will be getting straight A's with relatively little work. A buffered GPA is a good GPA.

 

[plumazul]

My school did not accept AP credit for prereqs. So I had to take all of them.

What do you mean? What "school"? What UG school has AP policies just for pre-med prereqs?

You should do the same. Why? Because by retaking these courses you are not only reviewing and improving upon your knowledge of the subjects but you will also be ahead of the curve at all times and will be getting straight A's with relatively little work. A buffered GPA is a good GPA.

By your logic above, why not take the same classes over and over until you take the MCAT? Retaking any class for which you have already received credit, is a silly waste of time and not allowed at many colleges.

 

[kyamh]

My school did not accept AP credit for prereqs. So I had to take all of them. You should do the same. Why? Because by retaking these courses you are not only reviewing and improving upon your knowledge of the subjects but you will also be ahead of the curve at all times and will be getting straight A's with relatively little work. A buffered GPA is a good GPA.

And relatively little gained from your higher education...life is not one giant road to medical school, IMO.

 

[487806]

My school did not accept AP credit for prereqs. So I had to take all of them. You should do the same. Why? Because by retaking these courses you are not only reviewing and improving upon your knowledge of the subjects but you will also be ahead of the curve at all times and will be getting straight A's with relatively little work. A buffered GPA is a good GPA.

What do you mean? What "school"? What UG school has AP policies just for pre-med prereqs?

I believe DoktorO didn't meet his UG's criteria for AP placement (either the school just flat out rejects AP credit of any kind or his performance on the AP exam was unsatisfactory (3 or below)). And his argument of going the easy way out by buffering the GPA has extremely short-term benefits.

But hey, it's their call. They'll still fix themselves tightly to the notion of an easy 4.0 GPA and retake the intro class, just to make it easier to get into medical school... because clearly med school classes aren't going to be difficult.

And relatively little gained from your higher education...life is not one giant road to medical school, IMO.

I think the overall problem involves the following things:

1. Lack of self-confidence.
2. Easy way out to get a 4.0 GPA

Both these criteria are independent of the future goal. #2 is a useless reason. What a waste of money (for the AP exams) and time just to retake the same class.

#1 is a legitimate concern. People like OP who may lack the confidence but still did very well on the AP exam (4/5) should by all means proceed with the upper-level courses and not be dissuaded by cynics. However, if they got a 3 or lower (deliberate or not), they should retake the class. Basically, if they got college credit, they should take the upper-level courses and enjoy the thrill of learning.

 

[mvenus929]

In my opinion when looking back I didn't learn jack from my AP biology class in high school. I am glad I failed the AP bio test, because I would have missed out big time if I would have skipped bio in college. But thats just my experience.

OTOH, my first semester of general chemistry was remarkably similar to my high school chemistry class, even without doing AP. I don't feel like I missed out on anything by skipping general bio and going straight to the upper level courses.

 

[DoktorO]

What do you mean? What "school"? What UG school has AP policies just for pre-med prereqs?

By your logic above, why not take the same classes over and over until you take the MCAT? Retaking any class for which you have already received credit, is a silly waste of time and not allowed at many colleges.

The UC system did not accept my AP credit for AP Physics, AP Biology, and AP Chemistry for my intro courses in my Biochem major. I got 5's in all three of those tests. Thus I had to retake those classes and did very well in them.

And relatively little gained from your higher education...life is not one giant road to medical school, IMO.

It was required by the UC system for chemistry majors.

I believe DoktorO didn't meet his UG's criteria for AP placement (either the school just flat out rejects AP credit of any kind or his performance on the AP exam was unsatisfactory (3 or below)). And his argument of going the easy way out by buffering the GPA has extremely short-term benefits.

First off, the UC system does not let students skip the introductory chemistry, biology, and physics classes using any AP score for chemistry majors. Second, I scored 5's in all three of those AP tests. Third, I took honors levels of those intro courses when available to challenge myself academically. And fourth, the GPA buffer from those courses did carry on into my third and fourth years, and helped immensely as some upper division professors in my university were not very generous with A's.

 

[plumazul]

The UC system did not accept my AP credit for AP Physics, AP Biology, and AP Chemistry for my intro courses in my Biochem major. I got 5's in all three of those tests. Thus I had to retake those classes and did very well in them.

I have several friends that were not allowed to retake classes that they had AP credit for at a UC school. Are you sure that the problems you had were not specific to your school? Also, are you sure that you were not just being advised to retake? I had an orientation adviser tell me that I should retake some AP classes. My response was "no thanks", and that was the end of it.

Everywhere I interviewed last year whenever the topic of AP classes came up the opinion was unanimous and can be summed up by this quote from the Yale School of Medicine website.

The student of medicine enters a profession closely allied to the natural sciences and must be prepared to cope with chemistry and biology at a graduate level. Students entering college with a strong background in the sciences, as demonstrated by advanced placement, are encouraged to substitute advanced science courses for the traditional requirements listed above.

 

[ichor]

Hmmm what do you guys think about using AP credit for psych? (with the new 2015 MCAT coming up)

Took the AP class senior year. I did really well in the class and got easily got a 5 on the exam. But now (just finished first sem of freshman year) the psych knowledge is sort of seeping away. I currently have no plans to take any psych classes in UG, but I'm not sure if that's a good idea.

 

[Lucca]

Hmmm what do you guys think about using AP credit for psych? (with the new 2015 MCAT coming up)

Took the AP class senior year. I did really well in the class and got easily got a 5 on the exam. But now (just finished first sem of freshman year) the psych knowledge is sort of seeping away. I currently have no plans to take any psych classes in UG, but I'm not sure if that's a good idea.

I don't think any of us are qualified to answer that question until we have first-hand data on what and how much psych will be covered.

 

[moisne]

It screwed me over. I called admission office to ask for clarification and exemption and they denied it - I had to get a hold of the dean to explain the situation. I had AP credits for Calc I, II, Bio I, II; Chem I, II; Physics I, II; English; psychology; Statistics; 2 history.

I begggged them to take into consideration that being a chemical engineering and GPA of 3.8 that I "kind of knew" chemistry. I also asked one school if they REQUIRED me to retake chemistry. I currently teach it at a community college - so I will be taking my own class I suppose?

 

[487806]

It screwed me over. I called admission office to ask for clarification and exemption and they denied it - I had to get a hold of the dean to explain the situation. I had AP credits for Calc I, II, Bio I, II; Chem I, II; Physics I, II; English; psychology; Statistics; 2 history.

I begggged them to take into consideration that being a chemical engineering and GPA of 3.8 that I "kind of knew" chemistry. I also asked one school if they REQUIRED me to retake chemistry. I currently teach it at a community college - so I will be taking my own class I suppose?

What school(s) was this exactly? Try consulting the AP credit link on my signature to see whether they actually accept the credit (Y) or do they expected you to take an upper level class to compensate (Y* or M).

 

[moisne]

What school(s) was this exactly? Try consulting the AP credit link on my signature to see whether they actually accept the credit (Y) or do they expected you to take an upper level class to compensate (Y* or M).

UCSD
Loma
Texas

UCSD specifically told me they will NOT accept it - I could NOT reach their dean. Whatever - if they want to shut the smarter people out. I also taught chemistry as a grad student at an engineering school. Eye roll.

 

[487806]

UCSD
Loma
Texas

UCSD specifically told me they will NOT accept it - I could NOT reach their dean. Whatever - if they want to shut the smarter people out. I also taught chemistry as a grad student at an engineering school. Eye roll.

Loma Linda doesn't accept AP credits at all. They specifically demand you to retake intro level courses. Weird school (talk about their mission).

The others you mentioned are.. weird. Check out this link for more info on AP credit

 

[DoktorO]

I have several friends that were not allowed to retake classes that they had AP credit for at a UC school. Are you sure that the problems you had were not specific to your school? Also, are you sure that you were not just being advised to retake? I had an orientation adviser tell me that I should retake some AP classes. My response was "no thanks", and that was the end of it.

Everywhere I interviewed last year whenever the topic of AP classes came up the opinion was unanimous and can be summed up by this quote from the Yale School of Medicine website.

The medical schools may accept AP credit. However the undergraduate institution I attended, a UC, did not allow me to bypass the intro chem, intro bio, and intro physics course series in order to attain my undergraduate degree. If AP credit was accepted I would have graduated in 2 years instead of 4.