College Classes

[I'm No Superman]

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Hey, so I'm going to be a senior next year, and I'm taking Physics 1 at UNK. I have a few questions about the entire ordeal.

1. Does taking this class while still in high school count for the pre med preq?

2.If it does, would you recommend taking it this early?

3. If for some reason I do not do so well in the class, does it count towards my college GPA? (I assume so, but I may be wrong)

I'm just finalizing my schedule now and am wondering if taking it would be beneficial or not.

Thanks.

 

[Gigantron]

1. As far as I know, any college class you take at an actual university shows up on your AMCAS. Since this is physics, it may cover the pre-req, but I'm not completely sure.

2. Me personally, no. That's just me though.

3. This will depend on many factors that are up to the college you attend. Simply, you will be given credit for the course. If the college keeps the grade, then yes, it will go into your GPA. If they just give you the credit but not a grade, then no. You can ask your college for specifics.

 

[I'm No Superman]

Thanks for the insight. I think I'll still take the course, but it's always nice to have different points of view. The main reason I was worried about taking it to early was that most people take physics their sophomore or junior year of college.

 

[orthomyxo]

Hey, so I'm going to be a senior next year, and I'm taking Physics 1 at UNK. I have a few questions about the entire ordeal.

1. Does taking this class while still in high school count for the pre med preq?
Yes.

2.If it does, would you recommend taking it this early?
No, I wouldn't. IMO it's pointless, and if you do poorly, you'd already be behind as the grade would get factored into your AMCAS GPA.

3. If for some reason I do not do so well in the class, does it count towards my college GPA? (I assume so, but I may be wrong)
No, it doesn't. You only get credit, assuming you pass the course.

I'm just finalizing my schedule now and am wondering if taking it would be beneficial or not.

Thanks.

You're going to have to take it at some point anyways. There's absolutely no need to rush, especially considering that you're still a high school student and may not be used to the volume of material presented in university courses (also realize that AP =/= college). Physics is a class that many people have trouble with.

 

[the duck]

Why is everyone saying it won't count in your GPA? If you get a letter grade in the course, it WILL factor into your GPA. The only situation where it would not count in your GPA is if you take it Pass/fail, which is not recommended at all for pre-reqs.

I'd suggest waiting, I know too many people who messed up there GPA by trying to take college classes in high school.

 

[I'm No Superman]

I probably will take it later, just found out it would conflict with one of the classes that I was looking forward to, and I also don't want to screw up my gpa if I don't do well.

Thanks for the responses.

 

[orthomyxo]

Why is everyone saying it won't count in your GPA? If you get a letter grade in the course, it WILL factor into your GPA. The only situation where it would not count in your GPA is if you take it Pass/fail, which is not recommended at all for pre-reqs.

I'd suggest waiting, I know too many people who messed up there GPA by trying to take college classes in high school.

I was under the impression that he was asking if it would factor into his institutional GPA, which it will not. Of course it will be included in your AMCAS GPA.

 

[ucbsmd]

I was under the impression that he was asking if it would factor into his institutional GPA, which it will not. Of course it will be included in your AMCAS GPA.

If he goes to UNK for college it will impact his institutional GPA.

 

[Swiss Medical]

If he goes to UNK for college it will impact his institutional GPA.

Yea, but not into his HS gpa.

 

[deleted357625]

Hey, so I'm going to be a senior next year, and I'm taking Physics 1 at UNK. I have a few questions about the entire ordeal.

1. Does taking this class while still in high school count for the pre med preq?

2.If it does, would you recommend taking it this early?

3. If for some reason I do not do so well in the class, does it count towards my college GPA? (I assume so, but I may be wrong)

I'm just finalizing my schedule now and am wondering if taking it would be beneficial or not.

Thanks.

yes it will count, and no if you do well in it now it doesn't matter how early you take it, as long as you still know the information when it comes time to taking the MCAT. Also, if you do bad in it, yes it will show up on your transcript. No matter what grade you get it will be there permanently, so adjust well.

 

[Freezer]

something to keep in mind... some medical schools are now instituting a cutoff regarding the eligibility of prereqs based on when they were taken... it is not too uncommon to hear about schools who will not accept certain prereqs if they are 10 years or older... however, what is now being seen now is 6-7 year cutoffs... something to consider if you take college physics as that credit might not be eligible when you start applying to med schools...

 

[deleted357625]

Hey, so I'm going to be a senior next year, and I'm taking Physics 1 at UNK. I have a few questions about the entire ordeal.

1. Does taking this class while still in high school count for the pre med preq?

2.If it does, would you recommend taking it this early?

3. If for some reason I do not do so well in the class, does it count towards my college GPA? (I assume so, but I may be wrong)

I'm just finalizing my schedule now and am wondering if taking it would be beneficial or not.

Thanks.

1.) yes any college class you take whether your in high school or not will count towards your college GPA and med schools look at your college GPA.

2.) If you feel ready then go for it.

3.) Yes, like above answer, any college course taken whether in high school, dual credit, collegiate high school, it all counts.

 

[I'm No Superman]

I don't think that I will take the class after all. I would hate to start college with a less than decent grade because I wasn't ready for a college class. Thanks everyone.

P.S. Torshi, your avatar makes me want to puke. 😀

 

[Eponine94]

I know you decided not to take the class, but I thought I would add my own experience in case someone else is interested...

I took General Physics (i.e. algebra) at CU-Boulder in my sophomore year at high school, due to scheduling conflicts. Basically, I worked my ass off all year, and got a B+ first semester and an A- second semester. It went into my HS GPA, but whether or not it will impact your college GPA depends on the school that you go to.

Even though I already took physics, I'm planning to take AP Physics C this year, as I think I will understand it better now that I have an extensive background in Calc. If you're willing to put the work in, and you like the subject, you will make it through. I did worse first semester partly because I couldn't for the life of me engage in boxes sliding down inclined planes. Magnetism and electrical currents, on the other hand, really interested me, so second semester felt a lot easier.

Good luck with whatever you decide to take!

 

[I'm No Superman]

Don't hate on inclined planes.

Anyways, thanks for the advice, I more than likely wont take it this year, but I might look at the English classes that the local university has for the summer, I'd like to get it out of the way.

 

[Nuclear Science]

Don't hate on inclined planes.

Anyways, thanks for the advice, I more than likely wont take it this year, but I might look at the English classes that the local university has for the summer, I'd like to get it out of the way.

Gamma Knife,

I am not a student, but a parent and was searching these boards for information for my daughter, who just graduated high school (middle daughter).

I have an older daughter as well; so have some knowledge about how things work.

Here is my suggestion on taking university level physics early. Medical schools do not require the calculus based physics, just the algebra based physics. The calculus based physics is often used as a 'weed-out course for engineering majors'. Many people who are not strong in math find physics to be somewhat difficult.

Taking physics early can be good or bad.......depending on you.
If you are very strong in math, you should be fine in algebra based physics. If math is not a strong subject for you, then you should probably wait. (If you have had pre calc or AP calc and did ok, you should be fine if you earned an "A" or high "B")

If you take physics early, it will be a terrific experience to get it out of the way as it is very hard to 'fit' all the classes you need into your schedule.

You might also consider taking university Biology I and the lab instead. This would allow you to take Biology II with the lab in the spring. This would be absolutely terrific for your university schedule and preparing for the MCAT.

But the key is: NO MATTER WHAT YOU TAKE, PLAN TO SPEND YOUR TIME STUDYING AND DOING QUALITY WORK & EARN AN "A" IN THE CLASS.

Hope that helps.😉