Selecting an AP science

[jvanewportnews]

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I'm set on going into a BS/DMD or BS/DDS program, and I'd like to know which class would appear better on a transcript and would help me be more prepared for college sciences- AP Biology or AP Chemistry?
I'm going to take two maths (Calc. and Stat.) and two sciences (not sure), but I'm not sure of which sciences to take, and if both of these classes look equal on a transcript. Any advice on which to take? Any other sciences that might help?

 

[Gallix23]

I would personally take AP Chem because chemistry is more involved concept and application wise, having a good chem foundation never hurts. Plus, it'll help you understand biology more in-depth when you do take it in college.

 

[jvanewportnews]

You've taken both Biology and Chemistry?

 

[Gallix23]

Yup, I mean taking either would be fine but I would rather get a jump start of chemistry if I were you, I find it to be the harder of the two subjects (and like I said a lot of the chemistry principles will help you understand biology/anatomy&phis better)

 

[futuredocDB]

i think you should take AP Biology because say you do very well in whatever AP class you choose and get college credit. if you had taken biology (which is a dental school requirement), you'd just take some upper level bio courses like genetics and physiology and dental schools would accept the credit with those high level courses whereas if you had taken AP chemistry and done well, you might have to repeat the sequence for dental school and other than organic chemistry, higher level chemistry classes (stuff like analytics, physical chem, ect) isnt really necessary and could do some damage to your gpa. however, the choice is yours

 

[Gallix23]

i think you should take AP Biology because say you do very well in whatever AP class you choose and get college credit. if you had taken biology (which is a dental school requirement), you'd just take some upper level bio courses like genetics and physiology and dental schools would accept the credit with those high level courses whereas if you had taken AP chemistry and done well, you might have to repeat the sequence for dental school and other than organic chemistry, higher level chemistry classes (stuff like analytics, physical chem, ect) isnt really necessary and could do some damage to your gpa. however, the choice is yours

But he could do the same with chemistry, and even if he did ace the AP exam and still have to take Gen chem in college, he should be able to get an easy A in that class which is a core pre-req to boot rather than just jump right into upper level bio which really isn't necessary until upperclassman years.

 

[futuredocDB]

But he could do the same with chemistry, and even if he did ace the AP exam and still have to take Gen chem in college, he should be able to get an easy A in that class which is a core pre-req to boot rather than just jump right into upper level bio which really isn't necessary until upperclassman years.

its not the same with chemistry because the upper level chem classes arent really necessary for dental school whereas upper level bio classes like biochem, gen, physiology, ect is good prep for dental school. why would he want to retake a class when he already learned everything? seems like a waste of time to me.

i dont think it really matter that much either way. OP should take both if he/she can or wants to. ultimately its his choice. i guess he should just take the subject he likes the most

 

[Gallix23]

its not the same with chemistry because the upper level chem classes arent really necessary for dental school whereas upper level bio classes like biochem, gen, physiology, ect is good prep for dental school. why would he want to retake a class when he already learned everything? seems like a waste of time to me.

i dont think it really matter that much either way. OP should take both if he/she can or wants to. ultimately its his choice. i guess he should just take the subject he likes the most

I said that in my above post, if he already took the class and aced it in high school, he should have no problem acing it in college which not only will raise his GPA higher but it also looks good since it is a core pre-req.

Besides that though, that's assuming he does pass this test (which I hear is a beast). I am simply saying I would rather be exposed to chemistry earlier on than biology.

But yes it really doesn't matter but I wouldn't advise taking both senior year in high school either, that could be asking for trouble/unneccessary stress

 

[futuredocDB]

we both bring up good points:
if ur looking for an easy A and gpa boost, take ap chem then retake it in college
if u want to take a class, get credit for it then move on into higher level bio courses, take ap bio
its all your choice really though OP

 

[Gallix23]

we both bring up good points:
if ur looking for an easy A and gpa boost, take ap chem then retake it in college
if u want to take a class, get credit for it then move on into higher level bio courses, take ap bio
its all your choice really though OP

Yeah that pretty much sums it up, just do well in whichever class you take and that is basically what matters most.

 

[The Z]

we both bring up good points:
if ur looking for an easy A and gpa boost, take ap chem then retake it in college
if u want to take a class, get credit for it then move on into higher level bio courses, take ap bio
its all your choice really though OP

I agree. Could you try to do both as your "two sciences?"

 

[jvanewportnews]

Hey thanks for the responses! But I heard Biology was actually easier than Chemistry? And in my school, most people struggle with both, so I'd like to only take one and then biomedical engineering or something like that.

 

[ACSurgeon]

we both bring up good points:
if ur looking for an easy A and gpa boost, take ap chem then retake it in college
if u want to take a class, get credit for it then move on into higher level bio courses, take ap bio
its all your choice really though OP

I took both AP courses in high school. They are both fairly difficult, and both will give you a boost once your in college. Chem is a lot of concepts so it would be nice to get your foundation down before going to college. However, bio has a lot of terms to wrap your brain around (like learning a new language), so getting to see it once in high school will certainly help in college. If you have a harder time learning large volumes (vs. concepts) then taking bio (vs. chem) might be better. Good luck either way👍

 

[jvanewportnews]

Thanks for the help. I've given it some thought, and I think I'll go with AP Biology because I'd probably do better. Hope it goes well👍

 

[futuredocDB]

Thanks for the help. I've given it some thought, and I think I'll go with AP Biology because I'd probably do better. Hope it goes well👍

good choice. i took AP Biology and loved it (got a 5 on the exam). you have to know a lot of stuff but its manageable. when reviewing for the AP test though, you should def use Barrons. its helps sooo much! good luck and good choice!

 

[EyEnStein 07]

Go with which ever you are most comfortable with and can do the best in. Its better for a college your applying to for bs/dmd/dds that your Acing the class...No point in taking AP chem, if you can rock AP Bio..and arent that strong in chem. As far as learning concepts better i think sciences should always be taught Physics -> Chem -> Bio, that way you can probably really understand everything when it comes to bio.

 

[jvanewportnews]

Not sure if I can ace either one actually. Would it be better to try it and risk a C or pick another science? I'm sure that AP physics would go well, but I don't think it would help as much as chem and bio. Have most BS/DDS applicants taken either AP chemistry or biology, and would they consider these classes important?

 

[EyEnStein 07]

Not sure if I can ace either one actually. Would it be better to try it and risk a C or pick another science? I'm sure that AP physics would go well, but I don't think it would help as much as chem and bio. Have most BS/DDS applicants taken either AP chemistry or biology, and would they consider these classes important?

Im not sure why your saying AP physics wont help much...especially since its a pre-requisite no? though it might not be on the DAT, i do think its a pre-req (please correct me if i am wrong). Showing you did well in AP Physics looks just as good as Bio or Chem. In fact, understanding the physics will probably help you understand chemistry better In my opinion. But its up to you, if you feel you can get an A in physics when you say "would go well"...i dont know why you would take AP chem and risk it?

Either way, if you feel unsure, the BS/DDS programs would be happy to answer all questions. See what they think but i honestly think it doesnt matter. There are many schools that dont even offer AP sciences, or maybe offer only AP chem or something....and that doesnt mean students from those schools never get into BS/DDS programs....they do.

 

[jvanewportnews]

Alright thanks I'll give that some thought. I'll probably do physics instead.

 

[bryantvo]

Ap biology is just reading alot and alot of memorization. AP Physics is more on real life concepts with simple algebra/trig skills. AP chem is algebra math skills with a bit of memorization (binomial nomenclatures). If I were you I'd bust my butt and take both biology/ chemistry since ur predental. I'm not sure if the DAT requires physics but if not dont take physics. And the experience in biology/chemistry will help you on the DAT and classes being taken in college so that when you do take chemisty I/II and biology I/II in college those classes will be much easier because you have experienced them already in high school.

 

[godcyning]

Well dental schools probably won't look at your high school stuff, so you're really looking for stuff for getting into college.

I think either will look fine on your transcript, so if you think you can def do better in one, go for that. My school didn't offer AP Chem, and colleges know that high schools vary a lot in offerings, and won't hold it against you if you take one and not the other. Taking both could show colleges that you're challenging yourself, plus you could earn more AP credits going in, but you gotta gotta gotta know what you're doing.

As far as which will prep you more for college sciences, I say AP chem. College chem intro courses tend to be fast-paced and assume you know a lot going in, so I'd take chem to prepare for that.

Another (very minor) consideration is you can look into how your prospective colleges award AP credit...it varies by department. So at my school AP Bio counts as a credit toward graduation, but doesn't actually exempt you from any courses. AP Chem might have gotten me into an intense chem course that does all of genchem in 1 semester, which is a timesaver (but of course, you gotta know what you're doing). I know people who took organic freshman year because of this.

 

[jvanewportnews]

Bryan, I'm not going to take both because that would be too much of a risk for my gpa and probably too stressful-I'm looking at AP Bio., physics, spanish, calc., gov., and possibly AP Lit.. Since math and science are important for bs/dds programs, I'd like to keep those grades at A's, and leaving chemistry out would help.

Godcyning, I'm referring to BS/DDS or BS/DMD programs, which look at high school performance, since applicants are accepted into dental school from their senior year of high school. And VCU, the closest dental program near me, attributes Biology and Chemistry as the same amount of credits for the scores earned on each test.
http://www.pubapps.vcu.edu/bulletins/prog_search/?uid=10096&&iid=30735&did=20408
AP History is one of my easiest classes because it's mainly memorization, and everyone says that AP Biology is more memorization than Chemistry, so that's why I chose Biology, and I'm doing fine in a CC physics class so AP physics should be alright also. I'll just have to try harder in chemistry when I get to college😎