Latin vs. an AP course

[Anthony558]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I was wondering what i should take, if i were to take latin i would take it as a junior and a senior of high school or should i take one of these AP courses
AP Calculus
AP Statistics
AP Biology
AP Chemistry
AP Physics
AP Computer sciences

Also what would colleges like better you getting a B- in an honors class or an A- in a normal class

Also would it be better to take a community college class or an AP class.

And lastly what would help me more Human Anatomy & Physiology or Genetics/Microbiology

Sorry that was longer than expected, thanks in advance

 

[docB]

If you're thinking of taking Latin because you've heard it will help you with medical terminology don't do it. I took three years of Latin and I really can't see that it helped me at all in med school.

That said an understanding of Latin and knowing more about classical literature is way cool. So if you want to do it, do it for that reason.

 

[Wolfman89]

If you're thinking of taking Latin because you've heard it will help you with medical terminology don't do it. I took three years of Latin and I really can't see that it helped me at all in med school.

That said an understanding of Latin and knowing more about classical literature is way cool. So if you want to do it, do it for that reason.

I find that in my undergrad classes, my three years of high school Latin is coming in handy, like knowing some of the roots and what not.

And if you want to learn a Romance Language later, Latin could potentially be helpful.


But I do agree with you last statement, docB, it is fun learning about Latin and classical literature as well as the lifestyle of Ancient Rome. But then again I have always been a bit of a history nerd. 😀

 

[jeremmed77]

I was wondering what i should take, if i were to take latin i would take it as a junior and a senior of high school or should i take one of these AP courses
AP Calculus
AP Statistics
AP Biology
AP Chemistry
AP Physics
AP Computer sciences

Take the AP course only if you want to take it. In all honesty, getting into an undergraduate college is different versus getting into grad/professional school. Most of the undergrad colleges will look at your overall gpa and act/sat score more than what classes you are taking. So no, a B- would not look better than an A- in a regular course. Having said that, taking a college class is definitely an exception to this rule. Getting a firm understanding of chemistry would help you out since you need to take at least four of those courses in college as a premed!


A community college class would likely impress colleges more than AP. Especially if you achieve a good grade in that course. Depending on what you are planning on majoring I would suggest different answers. If you are doing Biology/Biochemistry then I would suggest genetics/microbiology. If you were doing something unrelated to science, chemistry, or physics, I would suggest anatomy and physiology since that would help you understand some of the mcat and give you an edge in medical school (A small edge at that).

 

[neekzg]

If you're trying to look competitive for colleges, you should take the AP courses, unless you don't have a foreign language already. You should take the classes that interest you; any of these APs will help prepare you for college.

It's hard to say whether a CC course or AP is better.. but APs are more often incorporated into your GPA which will give you a much needed GPA boost if you do well.

If that last question refers to a major, you should probably read up more on these forums and elsewhere, because it is a big decision going into either of those.

 

[Doctor Positive]

1) Go the AP route, or at least that's what I would do. I'm not trying to insult anyone taking Latin but what is it really going to do? People are under the impression that it'll help you learn clinical terms faster and all that jazz but that is what Med School is there for! An AP class will definitely give you more of an extra step over competition (or at least more than Latin) and not only that but if you take one, it's going to help you adjust to the college level of thinking and then you'll be over that hurdle and that will save you that initial shock you'll get to watch at least some of your colleagues go through.

2) It's been said above but languages are usually required by most universities, for at least two years. You didn't make a point of saying if you were already taking one, but if you are, it would be total overkill in my opinion. So you might not even have a choice depending on the school you're attending and the class you're majoring but if the choice is yours, I would strongly suggest you to take the AP class unless you're connected to the language somehow, because then at least you're doing it for more than just "I want to get ahead in med. school".