Schools not taking AP credit....

[youngin]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hi,

Talked to my pre-med advisor and they told me as a pre-med student they would not let me waive out of gen chem(5 in AP chem) becuz med schools wouldn't accept it. Now I know from other posts as well as checking out med school websites that a good chunk will accept AP credit as long as I have it on my transcript for credit and/or I take an upper division science course later on too. Although this is true for a majority of schools, I know that schools like UCLA for example will not accept the credit period.

Do you guys know any other schools like this because I may just take gen chem again if there are too many schools that are like UCLA and that I would want to apply to?

Thanks. I know AP credit is often discussed but i just need a bit more clarification since I don't want to shoot myself in the foot.

 

[Dr.LeoSpaceman]

I am not sure if there are any other schools that will not accept it at all, even if you do take upper level courses. Note though, that o chem will only count for your o chem requirement, and schools probably wouldn't double count it. So I guess look at the schools you are interested in, and see what they say...an email probably wouldn't hurt.

However, if its early in your college career, retaking might not be a bad idea. This way you can kick a$$ in it, and it will only help your BCPM GPA which is very important. You will then not have to worry about it at all. This, of course, if it won't totally throw a wrench into you college track. But taking care of it now will be much easier than worrying about it senior year.

 

[i77ac]

As far as I know, all med schools I know do NOT accept AP replacement for the sciences. Understandably so, since most AP's are cake. If you want to be considered a competetive applicant, I advise you to take all your sciences and math prerequisites in undergrad.

 

[Gleevec]

Almost all med schools will take APs for all your intro classes, provided your undergraduate institution gives credit for them (not necessarily a grade, though some schools with lots of grade inflation will do that as well) as an intro class.

Its even better if you decide to take an upper division course in its place, but I had no problems with med schools about APing physics and not taking any upper levels in that field.

 

[PhysicsDoc]

I'm of the opinion that anyone who repeats a class they had AP credit for was either 1) fooled by college admins who wanted more tuition money or 2) in pursuit of that shiny four-point-oh, and decided to wimp out of taking something harder. Moreover, I would have to say that those medschools which do not accept AP credit are so elitist (in a doctors-vs.-normal folk sense, not a US News sense) and so far behind the times that I would not even consider applying to them... I mean, even Hahvahd accepts AP's, for christ's sake!

The advice of the previous posters has been pretty accurate... either take upper-div classes in the areas from which your AP credit is drawn to cover all bases, or (as I would do if this was the case) if you're a humanities major just limit your apps to schools which accept AP's. If you really want to go back and repeat the class, keep in mind that you're not only giving in to administrative pressure, but you're also (in all likelihood) going to have to sit in a giant lecture hall learning things you already know while being forced to deal with all the irritating 'prospective premeds' in the class.

Also, consider that medschool admissions policies are constantly evolving, and more schools are accepting AP credit every year... by the time you graduate, you may very well end up having those AP credits counted as fulfilling admissions prerequisites everywhere you apply.

 

[g3pro]

As far as I know, all med schools I know do NOT accept AP replacement for the sciences. Understandably so, since most AP's are cake. If you want to be considered a competetive applicant, I advise you to take all your sciences and math prerequisites in undergrad.

WTF are you talking about? Everything you wrote is so f***ing wrong, I don't even know where to start!


1) All med schools do accept AP credit if it is on your transcript.

2) AP tests are not cake, as it is based in relation to the nationwide pool of test takers. It would be similar to saying the MCAT was a cake, even though 50% of test takers get below 30.

3) AP credit actually shows that you are more mature in that you were able to take college-level classes by the time you were 14 years old.

4) Science and math requirements should be done as soon as possible, as in high school AP classes. I received AP credit for almost all of my pre-reqs except organic chemistry.

 

[Dr.LeoSpaceman]

WTF are you talking about? Everything you wrote is so f***ing wrong, I don't even know where to start!


1) All med schools do accept AP credit if it is on your transcript.

This is not true, especially for things like English. Some schools, yes, but ALL schools? I think thats a pretty broad statement.

 

[SaltySqueegee]

Can people in here cut the bull**** and just get an MSAR from amazon.com or the local library!

For instance, UCDavis does not except AP credit for required pre-reqs.

--------------------- Taken from <http://som.ucdavis.edu/ea/admission/requirements/> :

What are the requirements for admissions?
... ...AP/CLEP credit is not acceptable for prerequisite courses.
... ...

-------------------------------
Yet some other schools do not have this restriction:

Taken from <http://www.med.umich.edu/medschool/admissions/faq.html#ap>

Do you accept AP or CLEP Credits?
Yes, AP credits may be used to meet our requirements, however we strongly recommend that you take some of your biology and chemistry credits while in college.

------------------

The point being, figure it out for yourself, this information is school specific and changes as often as the weather in the Mid-West.

 

[TTSD]

I don't know about medschools taking AP credit or not, but colleges, if you're going the science route, will not accept AP credit for sciences with the exception of math. Therefore you wasted your time in highschool and should've only taken math, english and history =)

But let's face it, APs don't stack up to a college course no matter which way you cut the cheese (applicable to sciences only). There's no four hour labs, cutthroat competition, and boatloads more information.

 

[The Druid]

Wow, there's a lot of conflicting info in this thread. . .I'll give my experience with the whole AP thing. . .I graduated this past May with a major in Biological Sciences and my ugi took AP credit for a lot of subjects both science and non-science- so I got out of intro bio, intro physics, intro chem, even though I was a premed bio major. I understand that a lot of undergrad schools wont even look at AP credit, so its a matter of your institution.

As for the medical school's view on it - most medical schools that I applied to took my AP credit in leiu of taking the actual pre-med required classes - I did however take upper level classes in bio and chem (but not physics or math). I applied to a variety (read: both elite and nonelite) of med schools, so I dont think that plays a real role. However, I do know that Harvard would not look at my app because I AP'd out of those pre-med classes (I think chem and bio were the real sticking points, the others they would let slide). It says their complete policy on their application website (and in the MSAR too, I think). Also, I believe (but not 100% sure) that Yale and U of Chicago also do not take AP credit for certain pre-med classes.

Really, though, I dont think anyone on this board has a complete list of what med schools consider which classes are ok to AP out and which ones are not. What you should do is follow the previous poster's advice and get a copy of the MSAR, email med schools that you're interested in, and/or look at their admission websites. Good luck 👍

 

[45408]

I'd take the actual course and not fly on the AP credit.

 

[youngin]

Hey thanks ya guys. I think I will possibly just try to AP out of first year chem and take organic and then later classes like biochem. I guess if there are schools i really want to apply to that don't like APing out of inorganic then I can always take the next level of inorganic. Just wondering tho, what science classes beyond the pre-med req. should I take then? I might have to apply one year earlier because I am likely to finish in 3 years easily since I waived out of so much GE. I just want to make sure I can take the MCAT a year earlier too.

 

[Gleevec]

I don't know about medschools taking AP credit or not, but colleges, if you're going the science route, will not accept AP credit for sciences with the exception of math. Therefore you wasted your time in highschool and should've only taken math, english and history =)

But let's face it, APs don't stack up to a college course no matter which way you cut the cheese (applicable to sciences only). There's no four hour labs, cutthroat competition, and boatloads more information.

WTF. What kind of college doesnt let you use your science APs so you can take more upper level courses.

OK, obviously this thread has become insane and useless now since apparently colleges and med schools have way more policies regarding APs than I thought existed.

In any case, the best source is to just check the med school's website.

 

[g3pro]

The people who hate AP credit and think it is inferior to college classes are the ones who did not maximize their talents in high school, for the pre-pre-med experience. 😉 I knew I wanted to do medicine in high school, and so I loaded up on AP classes which are directly applicable to pre-med requirements. So, I can take organic chemistry, biochem, physiology, anatomy, psychology, etc, in record time before the MCAT and med school.


I highly recommend replacing pre-reqs with AP classes. There is no point wasting time in undergrad when you can take more advanced classes which are better preparation for the MCAT. 👍

 

[TTSD]

The people who hate AP credit and think it is inferior to college classes are the ones who did not maximize their talents in high school, for the pre-pre-med experience. 😉 I knew I wanted to do medicine in high school, and so I loaded up on AP classes which are directly applicable to pre-med requirements. So, I can take organic chemistry, biochem, physiology, anatomy, psychology, etc, in record time before the MCAT and med school.


I highly recommend replacing pre-reqs with AP classes. There is no point wasting time in undergrad when you can take more advanced classes which are better preparation for the MCAT. 👍

? No, wrong. My school doesn't allow chemistry or biology AP units if you're a Biology major, so I don't know what the hell you're talking about about not maximing our pre-pre-med years. And I did pretty good in those courses in HS as well and I know. And in my school to take Physiology you have to pass through organic chemistry, then the anatomy series and then you get to take physiology. They're thinking about adding biochemistry as a pre-req too.

I fail to see how more advanced courses help the MCAT outside of biology unless one's a physics or chemistry major if one's taking the biological sciences route.

Most of the equations, etc in chemistry I never touched again. Physics, the only physics applicable to the MCAT I used again were basic concepts and electrical diagrams and voltages.

 

[g3pro]

? No, wrong. My school doesn't allow chemistry or biology AP units if you're a Biology major, so I don't know what the hell you're talking about about not maximing our pre-pre-med years. And I did pretty good in those courses in HS as well and I know. And in my school to take Physiology you have to pass through organic chemistry, then the anatomy series and then you get to take physiology. They're thinking about adding biochemistry as a pre-req too.

I fail to see how more advanced courses help the MCAT outside of biology unless one's a physics or chemistry major if one's taking the biological sciences route.

Most of the equations, etc in chemistry I never touched again. Physics, the only physics applicable to the MCAT I used again were basic concepts and electrical diagrams and voltages.

So that's your school's problem, then. Why would you need to take organic chemistry as a pre-req for physiology? And why would you have to take anatomy before physiology?? And why would biochem be a pre-req for those things also???

That's seriously f'd up. I took organic chemistry freshman year, with more biology. I finished my pre-med requirements by the end of my freshman year. I can now devote more time to a serious study of biology and computer science. Pretty nice, eh? All that without going through the reqs in college.

(And I really feel sorry for you that you can't get credit in your major from AP credit. 😱 )

 

[SaltySqueegee]

I took AP credits in high school for practically all my intro science and math courses.

and Yes it was inferior to the College versions.

 

[youngin]

Hmm well i see where everyone is coming from. Most of what I can AP out of is mostly GE and not pre-med. The ones i can waive out of are Phys, chem, and calc(took the second half at community college). But I plan to take physics again w/ calc since I only did the first half during hs(did the one w/out calc but just for knowledge i want to do the one w/ calc). And for math I plan to do possibly linear, multi var, or sum stats. So really I guess the only jam that I could be in is for chem. But i guess if i needed to take inorganic, I can always take the higher level or retake it later on.

 

[TTSD]

So that's your school's problem, then. Why would you need to take organic chemistry as a pre-req for physiology? And why would you have to take anatomy before physiology?? And why would biochem be a pre-req for those things also???

That's seriously f'd up. I took organic chemistry freshman year, with more biology. I finished my pre-med requirements by the end of my freshman year. I can now devote more time to a serious study of biology and computer science. Pretty nice, eh? All that without going through the reqs in college.

(And I really feel sorry for you that you can't get credit in your major from AP credit. 😱 )

Actually it works out. You can skip half of the book in Physiology by having a firm understanding of the principles of biology/biochemistry. There's already so much information being packed into 10 weeks you can probably glaze over more if you know everyone's on the same page. Especially on cell and molecular aspects of phys.

 

[45408]

The people who hate AP credit and think it is inferior to college classes are the ones who did not maximize their talents in high school, for the pre-pre-med experience. 😉 I knew I wanted to do medicine in high school, and so I loaded up on AP classes which are directly applicable to pre-med requirements. So, I can take organic chemistry, biochem, physiology, anatomy, psychology, etc, in record time before the MCAT and med school.

Captain Generalization called - he wanted to know where you've been. My school didn't even offer any AP classes. I think they're over-rated because I knew people who got AP credit in calculus and still ended up doing more poorly than me, even though I ended with advanced math in high school. I knew people who had AP chemistry credit who made it no further in chemistry than I did with basic HS chemistry.

It didn't hold me back either - in two years I still knocked out organic, gen chem, physics, biology, and more (I'll have 77 credits after four semesters - and I only took 13 last semester).

 

[Gleevec]

Captain Generalization called - he wanted to know where you've been. My school didn't even offer any AP classes. I think they're over-rated because I knew people who got AP credit in calculus and still ended up doing more poorly than me, even though I ended with advanced math in high school. I knew people who had AP chemistry credit who made it no further in chemistry than I did with basic HS chemistry.

It didn't hold me back either - in two years I still knocked out organic, gen chem, physics, biology, and more (I'll have 77 credits after four semesters - and I only took 13 last semester).

Haha, TheProwler, did you even notice the irony in your own post?

Lets get back on topic though instead of pissing all over each other's course selection. I really think that with all the dissent, the only way to know if schools accept APs is to look on their websites. That said, most med schools will accept APs as long as your undergrad gave you credit for them as well.

 

[MoosePilot]

USUHS website says they don't accept AP credits for pre-reqs, the MSAR says they do as long as you take higher level classes in the same subject. It only matters to me in English, but I did take one higher level English class after AP credits killed most of my college requirements.

 

[45408]

Haha, TheProwler, did you even notice the irony in your own post?

I cited my own examples rather than saying "Everyone who took AP courses is dumber than me."

 

[i77ac]

The people who hate AP credit and think it is inferior to college classes are the ones who did not maximize their talents in high school, for the pre-pre-med experience. 😉 I knew I wanted to do medicine in high school, and so I loaded up on AP classes which are directly applicable to pre-med requirements. So, I can take organic chemistry, biochem, physiology, anatomy, psychology, etc, in record time before the MCAT and med school.


I highly recommend replacing pre-reqs with AP classes. There is no point wasting time in undergrad when you can take more advanced classes which are better preparation for the MCAT. 👍

Well, I commend you for your "maximizing" your potential and talents in high school. But I still believe that AP's are a joke compared to my classes in college. And yes, I did get 5s in the AP exams- bio, chem, physics.

More to the point, my college do not accept AP's as replacement. And as others have pointed out, many med schools do not accept them either. I am applying AMCAS right now, and many even ask where you took the course. So why not be safe and take them over? You might earn deeper understanding of the subject if you think you know it all. It might help out for MCAT as well.