Help with High School Math/Science Courses

[iamsolemn]

Hello iamsolemn,

I am a freshman in high school right now and am taking Biology G/T and Geometry G/T (G/T is gifted and talented, above honors). Next year, I plan on taking Algebra II and Chemistry. However, my question is I am not that very good at math as I find it tedious and boring. So, which math classes should I take in the future in order to get into a good college without being overwhelmed by numbers? Also, what should I take in Senior year? Should I take Bio AP, Chem AP, or Physics AP? I am planning to become a psychiatrist as I feel like I would enjoy that career path the most. I am not that good with mathematics and am looking for the bare minimum in order to get into med school. I know this my be a bit verbose but please forgive me.

Thanks!

-Solemn-

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[Thomato]

Hello iamsolemn,

I am a freshman in high school right now and am taking Biology G/T and Geometry G/T (G/T is gifted and talented, above honors). Next year, I plan on taking Algebra II and Chemistry. However, my question is I am not that very good at math as I find it tedious and boring. So, which math classes should I take in the future in order to get into a good college without being overwhelmed by numbers? Also, what should I take in Senior year? Should I take Bio AP, Chem AP, or Physics AP? I am planning to become a psychiatrist as I feel like I would enjoy that career path the most. I am not that good with mathematics and am looking for the bare minimum in order to get into med school. I know this my be a bit verbose but please forgive me.

Thanks!

-Solemn-

There's a difference between not being good at math and finding it tedious and boring. If you're in the gifted and talented classes for math, you're obviously good at it. I've always done quite well in math, but it's not something that I'm particularly fond of either. Nonetheless, understanding it is important, and being good at it is a valuable skill. Some medical schools will require you to take a math class in college, typically being calculus or statistics, but you don't really need to worry about that right now.

If you want to be a competitive applicant for college, I'd recommend taking as many AP courses as you can handle. Calculus, physics, chemistry, and biology are all great AP classes to take. They will be rigorous, but they'll give you some insight into some of the stuff you'll be facing in the future. However, don't overload yourself--take only as many as you feel comfortable. Challenge yourself, but don't take so many that you'll just be miserable all the time.

As for your senior year, taking biology and/or chemistry again might be kind of boring since you will have already taken them, but if it's something you want to do, go for it, I suppose. If you want to take chemistry and physics in high school, which I recommend, you could take them both the same year, but if you're not interested in doing that, you can just space them out over the years. Regarding math, here's what I recommend if you want to "get into a good college without being overwhelmed by the numbers":

Sophomore: Algebra II
Junior: Precalculus
Senior: Calculus or Statistics

If you're shooting for top colleges (i.e. the Ivies or equivalent), then you'll probably want to take more math and science classes and select the highest level of those classes that your school offers. Conversely, if you just want to go to an in-state, public university or something private that's just not as competitive as the Ivies, just taking honors in those classes will be fine if the thought of taking many AP classes is daunting to you.

Ultimately, choosing your classes is up to you. Figure out what you want and take classes that you find interesting. Your high school career isn't going to affect whether or not you'll go to medical school--it's college that does.

 

[iamsolemn]

Thank you very much!

 

[Zazam]

It's great that you're already thinking about taking AP courses for senior year! If you're looking into psychiatry, you'll have to go to medical school and I just wanted to warn you that a few med schools don't take AP science courses to fulfill your prereqs. So AP Bio, Physics, and Chem would fall under those, whereas AP Psych might not.

The majority of medical schools do take them, but if you really want to keep all of your options open then don't take those AP courses in high school. But, if you're fine with not applying to those med schools, go ahead and take them.

I would honestly suggest AP Statistics for senior year since the AP exam lets you use a calculator, but in college (at least my college) stat students were only allowed four function calculators. It was honestly torture watching them add up 20 numbers just to get a mean. The best way you can get better with math is just to force yourself to do extra problems and get some after school help with your teacher!

 

[Thomato]

It's great that you're already thinking about taking AP courses for senior year! If you're looking into psychiatry, you'll have to go to medical school and I just wanted to warn you that a few med schools don't take AP science courses to fulfill your prereqs. So AP Bio, Physics, and Chem would fall under those, whereas AP Psych might not.

The majority of medical schools do take them, but if you really want to keep all of your options open then don't take those AP courses in high school. But, if you're fine with not applying to those med schools, go ahead and take them.

I would honestly suggest AP Statistics for senior year since the AP exam lets you use a calculator, but in college (at least my college) stat students were only allowed four function calculators. It was honestly torture watching them add up 20 numbers just to get a mean. The best way you can get better with math is just to force yourself to do extra problems and get some after school help with your teacher!

Just because some medical schools don't accept AP credit doesn't mean you shouldn't take AP classes in high school...

OP, I recommend enrolling in whatever AP classes you want to and choosing to take the AP exams. For the most part, AP classes do a pretty good job of preparing you for the rigor of college, and if you score well on the exams for them, getting 4's and 5's, it looks great on your college application. There is absolutely no harm in taking AP classes; I find them to be highly profitable.

 

[Pre-Med '18]

I would say if you find all those AP classes to be too much don't take AP physics. You should definitely take regular or honors physics, but don't feel you need to take all AP classes. Our physics teacher is awful so I am going to take AP Comp next year (senior year) instead of AP physics.

 

[Marry Russell]

I guess you are not the bad in math if you are in the gifted and talented classes for math. Keep it up and you'll obrain what you are after

 

[845302]

At my high school, you got advanced ornon-advanced Physical Sciences freshman year, you got AP Bio Sophmore year, AP Physics Junior year and AP Chem senior year. Out of all of them, as long ago as it may have been, Chem or physics was probably hardest, but for med school, Bio will probably be most helpful if you can only take AP science class senior year. You may have to retake bio in uni, but you'll be ahead and ready for the course.

As for math, 2-3 students (Including me) skipped math courses in Junior High and when they became a freshman, they were in Algebra II. Sophomore year, we got Pre-Calc, Junior year we got AP Calculus AB and senior year we took AP Calculus BC. Although thise AP Calc Classes didn't give me extra credits when entering uni (Even tho I scored a 4 & 5...), it still helped me because I was ahead and didn't need worry about making class ALL the time lest I miss something. Bottom line is, the more classes u take in high school, the easier uni will be and you'll have more time to focus on extracurriculars for med school.

Take AP Phsycology in Junior year!!!

Hope this helps!

-Fyz