(Re)taking prereq coursework

[Saint Fu]

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Hello all,

I have 2 questions regarding taking prereqs.

1) I passed out of 1 year of Bio, 1 semester of Chem, and 1 semester of Calculus when I was an undergrad via AP exams. In general do I need to retake these courses in a university? If I don't, should I (from an admissions standpoint)? I certainly need to brush up on Bio and Chem since the last time I took those classes was in high school, but if I don't need to take classes, I may just review it on my own, or audit.

2) I studied engineering as an undergrad, so I have 2 semesters of Physics (mechanics, e&m), and 3 semesters of math (advanced integration/series&sequence, multivariable calculus, and linear algebra). With the exception of one math course, my grades in these courses ranged from B- to B+. Would retaking some courses and raising those grades help at all? These are among the first college courses I took, and I had yet to develop effective study habits and a mind for studying more difficult material (relative to high school), and I'm sure I could do better now.


Thanks.

 

[RHeff]

I'm pretty sure that admissions committees will want to see how you performed in a college class, not AP scores. At least I think I've seen others say that around here.

 

[NTF]

Hello all,

I have 2 questions regarding taking prereqs.

1) I passed out of 1 year of Bio, 1 semester of Chem, and 1 semester of Calculus when I was an undergrad via AP exams. In general do I need to retake these courses in a university? If I don't, should I (from an admissions standpoint)? I certainly need to brush up on Bio and Chem since the last time I took those classes was in high school, but if I don't need to take classes, I may just review it on my own, or audit.

2) I studied engineering as an undergrad, so I have 2 semesters of Physics (mechanics, e&m), and 3 semesters of math (advanced integration/series&sequence, multivariable calculus, and linear algebra). With the exception of one math course, my grades in these courses ranged from B- to B+. Would retaking some courses and raising those grades help at all? These are among the first college courses I took, and I had yet to develop effective study habits and a mind for studying more difficult material (relative to high school), and I'm sure I could do better now.


Thanks.

For most schools AP courses can be used to fulfill prereqs, but pre-reqs are a school-by-school thing so I'd check with each school you plan on applying to. For instance I tested out of calculus and all the schools I applied to that required it used my AP credits.

Not worth it to retake B grades. A better course would be to take some additional upper level bio classes.

 

[wholeheartedly]

This is going to be pretty specific to the schools you're applying to. What I've noticed in my reading on various school websites is that a lot (but not all) will accept AP credits for pre-reqs, or some pre-reqs, if you take some upper divsion bio credits. I have seen schools that won't accept them, or schools where it's course specific.

 

[Saint Fu]

Alright, that makes sense. I'll just have to check with specific schools regarding AP.

@ NTF

I appreciate the response regarding retaking Bs, but I was wondering what the reasoning is here. Obviously it's good to do well in some extra upper division courses, but wouldn't it also help raise my GPA easily if I could turn those Bs into As? Is the issue that the new grade doesn't really replace the old one? Or would extra upper division courses carry more weight? Or something else entirely. I'm just asking because I don't know, not necessarily that I don't believe you or anything.