Do these credits count for a year's worth?

[YoungProdigy]

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I took a couple of dual enrollment courses courses when I was in high school (almost graduating), and I'm wondering if these credits will count for my first year.

In high school, I took:
Freshman Comp 1 - A (3 hours)
Freshman Comp 2 - A (3 hours)
Bio 1 - current semester (4 hours)
Chem 1 - current semester (4 hours)
Psychology - A (3 hours)
Trig - B (3 hours)
Speech - B (3 hours)
precalculus algebra - A (3 hours)
stats - A (3 hours)
A lit course - A (3 hours)

I messed up on speech and trig (going to regret getting B's on these easy courses until the end of applications, but this was during my first semester of college when I was in 11th grade. Will med schools overlook these B's because I was in 11th grade, or will they not care?)

Back to the original question though, with these dual enrollment courses + courses I plan to take during summer semester (maybe bio 2 or chem 2, which one should I take?), what "year" of college will I be in when I officially start my first "semester" of college?

To boil it all down:
1. What "year" of college will I be in when I officially start my first "semester" of college?
2. Will med schools overlook these B's because I was in 11th grade, or is a B a B in their eyes?
3. Any recommendations on whether I should take Bio 2 or Chem 2 during summer semester?

Thanks for the help.

Mods: Please don't move this to HSDN. I beg you lol.

 

[bora]

despite that being a very impressive curriculum for high schoolers if you transfer all these scores to college, med school admissions will see those b's as part of your freshie GPA....on top of that they will not overlook it because they simply just dont nit pick. if you were to transfer that i am sure you could get done in 3 years or less if u take summer school. on top of that, most med schools that look at ur curriculum will not appreciate you taking all those ap's because its just not at the level of a 4-year instituition (even though it may very well be superior), and they want to see you take most, if not all, ur prereqs at 4-year institutions. If i were you, i'd enjoy high school and turn the jets on during college because i am sure u'll be fine getting into a college. On top of that, don't think metrics are everything, they aren't, be a well-rounded student and try to explore the trade and work for a cause. follow sdn too, you'll learn an awful lot by reading these threads!

 

[jeghaber]

First of all, it seems like you're getting a little ahead of yourself, since you won't be applying for another 5 years. Relax, it's high school. Enjoy your time. In any case, here are my thoughts on your questions:

1. I also had quite a few dual-enrollment credits from high school. On your AMCAS, you're able to mark those courses as "HS" (High School) and mark the courses you took your actual freshman year as "FR," etc. As far as AMCAS is concerned, your dual enrollment and freshman year are separate. As for how your school handles it, it may be different. You may be assigned sophomore or junior standing. I was not. That, however, will be school specific.
2. Your AMCAS GPA summary chart will have a separate line for high school, freshman, sophomore, junior, senior years, post-baccalaureate undergraduate, cumulative undergraduate and graduate GPAs, broken down by BCPM, AO (all other), and Total. A separate line indicates the number of credits from P/F and AP credit. Medical schools will thus be able to see the breakdown of your GPA, but it's up to them whether they take the time to look into the details of your academic record. A grade of B is always going to be a B, but remember, you have 4 years of courses to come. Two Bs are nothing, especially if you keep a strong academic record throughout college.
3. That's completely up to you. If you're confident in doing well AND plan on taking more advanced level science courses in college, I'd say go for it. If your plan is to get the minimum pre-med requirements out of the way and coast through college, I might reconsider. While early achievement is impressive, I'd imagine medical schools will want something more recent than courses from 6 years prior to applying to judge your most up-to-date academic abilities. This also probably depends on where you're currently taking the courses and where you end up matriculating for college. If you go to a significantly more rigorous college, you might want to consider waiting to take those courses to show you can perform at higher levels. On the other hand, if you just want to take those courses to get a better foundation, there's no harm in taking them now.

EDIT: I should add that for #1, my dual-enrollment credits were never accepted at/transferred to my college. I'm not sure what the transcript would look like had I done that. I'd assume that if I had, those courses would comprise my freshman year GPA and I would have "sophomore standing" in college. Someone with direct experience with this can speak more accurately on this.

 

[Catalystik]

I took a couple of dual enrollment courses courses when I was in high school (almost graduating), and I'm wondering if these credits will count for my first year.

In high school, I took:
Freshman Comp 1 - A (3 hours)
Freshman Comp 2 - A (3 hours)
Bio 1 - current semester (4 hours)
Chem 1 - current semester (4 hours)
Psychology - A (3 hours)
Trig - B (3 hours)
Speech - B (3 hours)
precalculus algebra - A (3 hours)
stats - A (3 hours)
A lit course - A (3 hours)

I messed up on speech and trig (going to regret getting B's on these easy courses until the end of applications, but this was during my first semester of college when I was in 11th grade. Will med schools overlook these B's because I was in 11th grade, or will they not care?)

Back to the original question though, with these dual enrollment courses + courses I plan to take during summer semester (maybe bio 2 or chem 2, which one should I take?), what "year" of college will I be in when I officially start my first "semester" of college?

To boil it all down:
1. What "year" of college will I be in when I officially start my first "semester" of college?
2. Will med schools overlook these B's because I was in 11th grade, or is a B a B in their eyes?
3. Any recommendations on whether I should take Bio 2 or Chem 2 during summer semester?

1) If all your credits transfer, and you're on the semester system, it looks to me like you'd have sophomore standing.
2) No. But some school give less weight to early grades.

 

[NickNaylor]

These types of things are difficult to generalize because colleges generally have specific agreements with one another that governs how transfer credit is awarded. In other words, you will likely need to check with the schools you ultimately are considering attending. When I was in high school and looking at colleges, I found that schools differed pretty wildly in how they accepted transfer and AP credits. You're just going to have to do a lot of research.

If, however, all the credits were accepted, that looks like 20-30 hours of coursework, which would likely be sophomore standing or very close.

 

[plumazul]

despite that being a very impressive curriculum for high schoolers if you transfer all these scores to college, med school admissions will see those b's as part of your freshie GPA....on top of that they will not overlook it because they simply just dont nit pick. if you were to transfer that i am sure you could get done in 3 years or less if u take summer school. on top of that, most med schools that look at ur curriculum will not appreciate you taking all those ap's because its just not at the level of a 4-year instituition (even though it may very well be superior), and they want to see you take most, if not all, ur prereqs at 4-year institutions. If i were you, i'd enjoy high school and turn the jets on during college because i am sure u'll be fine getting into a college. On top of that, don't think metrics are everything, they aren't, be a well-rounded student and try to explore the trade and work for a cause. follow sdn too, you'll learn an awful lot by reading these threads!

There is no "if" when it comes to reporting all of your college transcripts. You must do it. As for thinking med schools will "not appreciate" advanced work, that's nonsense. They either won't care or they will appreciate it. (btw, the OP was taking college courses, not AP)

 

[NickNaylor]

There is no "if" when it comes to reporting all of your college transcripts. You must do it. As for thinking med schools will "not appreciate" advanced work, that's nonsense. They either won't care or they will appreciate it.

This is correct. I had to get a transcript from a CC I did dual credit at back in high school. Because tracking students that attended colleges is a trivial matter, you don't want to leave out parts of your education history, no matter how minor. You can get in trouble for that sort of thing from the AAMC's perspective.

 

[jeghaber]

despite that being a very impressive curriculum for high schoolers if you transfer all these scores to college, ...

There is no "if" when it comes to reporting all of your college transcripts. You must do it. As for thinking med schools will "not appreciate" advanced work, that's nonsense. They either won't care or they will appreciate it. (btw, the OP was taking college courses, not AP)

While you most definitely are required to report all your college transcripts, dual-enrollment credits may not always be transferred to your college transcript. On the AMCAS, you indicate whether the courses taken somewhere are on a separate transcript or on some other school's transcript (a common example of this is that for study abroad credits, you're able to indicate that those credits have been transferred to your college transcript and therefore not have to submit a separate transcript). Because my college didn't accept my dual-enrollment credits, however, I submitted separate transcripts from the university I took courses at during high school and from my college and those dual-enrollment courses were included as my HS GPA.

 

[bora]

There is no "if" when it comes to reporting all of your college transcripts. You must do it. As for thinking med schools will "not appreciate" advanced work, that's nonsense. They either won't care or they will appreciate it. (btw, the OP was taking college courses, not AP)

to be quite honest, most of the admissions people i know (3 top 20 admissions reps) told me plenty of times that med schools could care less what your life was like in high school (something which i am very thankful for). however, it is safe to say that does not apply to college classes taken during high school because like ur smart self said "you must report college credits" that is if they transfer as dual-enrollement. what i had said was thinking it was ap credits, which medical schools don't usually care for. Now, there are individual cases that may be totally diff from what i've experienced or heard of.

 

[plumazul]

Back to the original question though, with these dual enrollment courses + courses I plan to take during summer semester (maybe bio 2 or chem 2, which one should I take?), what "year" of college will I be in when I officially start my first "semester" of college?

To boil it all down:
1. What "year" of college will I be in when I officially start my first "semester" of college?
2. Will med schools overlook these B's because I was in 11th grade, or is a B a B in their eyes?
3. Any recommendations on whether I should take Bio 2 or Chem 2 during summer semester

1)I entered college with about 55 semester hours in AP credit. My official standing varied by specific situation. (e.g. for housing I was a freshie, academically I was a late sophomore, for my scholarships I was a 1st year, etc.) But my question to you is, why does it matter? I could have graduated in 5 semesters, but I would have been crazy to do so. I took my advanced academic standing as an opportunity to broaden my studies by taking upper division classes in several different sciences, taking advanced honors seminars on various topics and taking graduate level classes in my major. This is your last chance to "dabble", take advantage of it. Use your summers for ECs and/or research. Concentrate on getting a great education, not how long it will take.
2) No
3) Don't take classes in the summer when it's not necessary

 

[plumazul]

to be quite honest, most of the admissions people i know (3 top 20 admissions reps) told me plenty of times that med schools could care less what your life was like in high school (something which i am very thankful for). however, it is safe to say that does not apply to college classes taken during high school because like ur smart self said "you must report college credits" that is if they transfer as dual-enrollement. what i had said was thinking it was ap credits, which medical schools don't usually care for. Now, there are individual cases that may be totally diff from what i've experienced or heard of.

Perhaps you didn't understand what the OP was saying. He took dual-enrollment classes at a college. These transcripts must always be reported. As for your comments about AP credits, I have no idea what you are talking about.

 

[bora]

As for your comments about AP credits, I have no idea what you are talking about.

thats ok for you not to know what i am talking about because it is impossible to figure out all this stuff...

 

[jeghaber]

thats ok for you not to know what i am talking about because it is impossible to figure out all this stuff...

Some medical schools accept AP credit for pre-req requirements, some don't and ask for additional advanced coursework. You just need to look at each school's website. Generally, it's safest to assume that at least one of the schools to which you plan to apply won't accept credit and thus take advanced coursework if you do place out of introductory science courses from having AP credit. Plumazul knows what she's talking about.

 

[DokterMom]

Some good advice here -- the best of which is (IMO) NOT to hurry. If your goal is to become an MD, there is much you need to do before you graduate from college, and the less time it takes you to get your degree, the less time you have to get all the rest of it done also. What else do you need to do?

• Volunteering to demonstrate altruism. Several hundred hours post high-school. Activities that you start in HS but continue through college can help you stretch this and show continuity.
• Leadership, which as an 18 year old in college, is a bit tricky to do. Much easier when you're 21...
• Shadowing several physicians
• Research - One or more years
• Securing letters of recommendation from college professors who have had a chance to get to know you
• Developing some hobbies and outside interests to show you're a well-rounded person
  
• Plus, maintaining a high GPA, which will be much easier to do while taking 12-15 credit hours per semester than 18-21
• Study for the MCAT - again, much easier with a 12-15 credit courseload

I get that graduating early is an ego boost. But don't let that ego boost derail your long term plans.

 

[bora]

Some medical schools accept AP credit for pre-req requirements, some don't and ask for additional advanced coursework. You just need to look at each school's website. Generally, it's safest to assume that at least one of the schools to which you plan to apply won't accept credit and thus take advanced coursework if you do place out of introductory science courses from having AP credit. Plumazul knows what she's talking about.

sure she does, she discovered the double-helix and is on the move to discover some more!..but yeh, look into each school b4 applying there are too many variations, and making generalizations most often then not will get you in trouble. Now if you want some tailored advice, go straight to the med school advisors.

 

[plumazul]

sure she does, she discovered the double-helix and is on the move to discover some more!..but yeh, look into each school b4 applying there are too many variations, and making generalizations most often then not will get you in trouble. Now if you want some tailored advice, go straight to the med school advisors.

Thanks for recognizing my avi. Not many people do. Rosalind has been my hero since I was an 8yo. (yeah, I know I'm weird)

 

[YoungProdigy]

Just to clarify, I’m currently a senior in HS, and about to graduate. This summer term will be my first official semester in college (if I do take summer semester).

Also, my CC has a DirectConnect program to UCF (Central Florida), and this is where I’m ultimately going to go (best combination of financial aid (in-state) + Bright futures scholarship). So, I’m assuming that ALL of my credits will transfer over especially when taking this directconnect program into consideration.

I’m still not sure if I want to stay one more year at CC and then transfer over to UCF my “second year” of college, so that’s still up in the air. Do you guys have any recommendations?

I know it’s still way too early in the game, but I’m planning to take courses that I need for the MCAT early so I can get it out of the way, so I can start preparing for MCAT asap and really get into some EC’s I really want to do (research, volunteering, and some other stuff). I’ll probably then take advance science courses after that. That’s my plan right now, not sure what’s going to happen to it in a couple of years, though.

BTW, thanks for the help guys.

 

[jeghaber]

OP, if your pre-reqs are from a CC, be aware there seems to be a certain amount of controversy about this practice when these are the only science courses you take (do a quick SDN search to check out some previous discussions; I'm not well-versed in this discussion). Generally, it seems that as long as you continue take advanced courses at your 4-year university, you should be fine.

I'm not sure what the advantage of staying at your CC for an extra year would give you, especially since you've mentioned that UCF would be a good deal financially.

As for your MCAT, remember that doing well on the MCAT is much more important than taking the MCAT early. Make sure you're well-prepared before taking it and don't try to rush it just so you can get it over with and neatly compartmentalize your MCAT and ECs. Plenty of people are able to prepare for the MCAT while also putting in time for meaningful ECs. Starting some lower-pressure ECs (volunteering or shadowing, for example) early can also give you a better idea about medicine as a career and whether it's the correct path for you.

 

[bora]

Thanks for recognizing my avi. Not many people do. Rosalind has been my hero since I was an 8yo. (yeah, I know I'm weird)

rosy was a boss....

Just to clarify, I’m currently a senior in HS, and about to graduate. This summer term will be my first official semester in college (if I do take summer semester).

Also, my CC has a DirectConnect program to UCF (Central Florida), and this is where I’m ultimately going to go (best combination of financial aid (in-state) + Bright futures scholarship). So, I’m assuming that ALL of my credits will transfer over especially when taking this directconnect program into consideration.

I’m still not sure if I want to stay one more year at CC and then transfer over to UCF my “second year” of college, so that’s still up in the air. Do you guys have any recommendations?

I know it’s still way too early in the game, but I’m planning to take courses that I need for the MCAT early so I can get it out of the way, so I can start preparing for MCAT asap and really get into some EC’s I really want to do (research, volunteering, and some other stuff). I’ll probably then take advance science courses after that. That’s my plan right now, not sure what’s going to happen to it in a couple of years, though.

BTW, thanks for the help guys.

Is it valencia you're talking about? I went to valencia. I can tell you for a fact that a few top school, like hopkins, do no accept CC credits and it seems like you're doing a few of those already. However, most schools don't care about that. As far as going straight to CC or UCF, I would go to UCF because if you want to be considered by top 20 schools you need to set yourself apart from the other 25K brilliant college students that want to go to med school.

EDIT: Now if you don't care about the caliber of the school you'll apply to in the future, starting at a CC is not bad because you'll end up having an easier time for transitioning to a college life and have a more personal relation with your professors which could get you better LOR and it'll surely be easier for keeping up that GPA.

EDIT 2x: As far as your CC grades, if you are working towards an AA degree, that will be considered as your freshman GPA because if you finish your AA and transfer to UCF you will enter as a junior after your AA (2+2 system). In that case, if you're truly bothered by the B. Go straight to UCF and retake those classes they will get scribbled right over (thats the system there).

 

[YoungProdigy]

rosy was a boss....

EDIT 2x: As far as your CC grades, if you are working towards an AA degree, that will be considered as your freshman GPA because if you finish your AA and transfer to UCF you will enter as a junior after your AA (2+2 system). In that case, if you're truly bothered by the B. Go straight to UCF and retake those classes they will get scribbled right over (thats the system there).

Wait...so if I complete my AA at Valencia, and then transfer over to UCF, I'll be considered a junior? More importantly though, once I complete my AA at Valencia and transfer over to UCF, I can retake those classes I got B's in, and no one will ever know those B's existed? How does this work?

Thanks for all the help. Appreciate it.

 

[candbgirl]

That may be true at UCF but when you apply to med schools they will all see ALL grades you received at CC and UCF. AMCAS does not do grade replacement so that B you are worrying about will always be with you in AMCAS land.

Sent from my KFOT using Tapatalk 2

 

[YoungProdigy]

That may be true at UCF but when you apply to med schools they will all see ALL grades you received at CC and UCF. AMCAS does not do grade replacement so that B you are worrying about will always be with you in AMCAS land.

Sent from my KFOT using Tapatalk 2

But will my GPA reflect those B's, or will they be replaced? I understand that the B's are permanent on the AMCAS, but what about the GPS I'm going to be turning in.

 

[candbgirl]

But will my GPA reflect those B's, or will they be replaced? I understand that the B's are permanent on the AMCAS, but what about the GPS I'm going to be turning in.

For MD they will be averaged into your GPAs. For DO the Bs would be replaced by the new grade(if higher and the same number or greater number of credits.) I've never really heard of anyone retaking a class with a B. The Adcoms on here recommend retaking C, D and F grades for the DO grade replacement.