Youngster here..

[mhm008]

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Hey guys. Got a question here from a junior in high school.

Before i ask, my ultimate dream is to become a physician, but please understand I am not looking ahead; nor am I committing myself 100% at such an early age, im not that stupid. So please save me the "your too young to be thinking that far ahead" or "Have fun while your young" (trust me, I am 😉 ).

But my actual question pertains to my senior year of high school, and I figured you'd be the best group to ask; ive also posted in the pre-allo forum. My dilemma is in scheduling, and I only have room to take either AP Biology or Physics. (I've already taken Biology 1, chem, and human anat. & phys.)

So my question is, if you were in high school again, and knowing what classes affected you in college, what would you choose between AP Biology and Physics, from someone with like my standpoint? (basically, what class has helped you the most in undergrad)

Sorry about the long post, but it's the biggest academic decision I've have to make is my short, tiny life. 🙂

thanks all!
p.s. please no arrogant replies. I know im young, but so were you once..

 

[Brainsucker]

Where are you going to school next year? Check their departments to see what you'll get credit for. In either case, you'll need to take classes in the subject for med school requirements, so you might as well see if you can bump out of the basic class at your college.

 

[Handle]

Hey guys. Got a question here from a junior in high school.

Before i ask, my ultimate dream is to become a physician, but please understand I am not looking ahead; nor am I committing myself 100% at such an early age, im not that stupid. So please save me the "your too young to be thinking that far ahead" or "Have fun while your young" (trust me, I am 😉 ).

But my actual question pertains to my senior year of high school, and I figured you'd be the best group to ask; ive also posted in the pre-allo forum. My dilemma is in scheduling, and I only have room to take either AP Biology or Physics. (I've already taken Biology 1, chem, and human anat. & phys.)

So my question is, if you were in high school again, and knowing what classes affected you in college, what would you choose between AP Biology and Physics, from someone with like my standpoint? (basically, what class has helped you the most in undergrad)

Sorry about the long post, but it's the biggest academic decision I've have to make is my short, tiny life. 🙂

thanks all!
p.s. please no arrogant replies. I know im young, but so were you once..

Eh, kind of a toss-up. You'll have to take both in pre-med coursework. Personally, I'd go with AP bio; however, maybe that's why physics was my worst class in undergrad.

Some schools don't allow you to AP out of required coursework, in which case you should just take what interests you the most because you'll have to take both again anyway.

 

[CANES2006]

My vote: AP Biology

 

[robh]

Hey guys. Got a question here from a junior in high school.

Before i ask, my ultimate dream is to become a physician, but please understand I am not looking ahead; nor am I committing myself 100% at such an early age, im not that stupid. So please save me the "your too young to be thinking that far ahead" or "Have fun while your young" (trust me, I am 😉 ).

But my actual question pertains to my senior year of high school, and I figured you'd be the best group to ask; ive also posted in the pre-allo forum. My dilemma is in scheduling, and I only have room to take either AP Biology or Physics. (I've already taken Biology 1, chem, and human anat. & phys.)

So my question is, if you were in high school again, and knowing what classes affected you in college, what would you choose between AP Biology and Physics, from someone with like my standpoint? (basically, what class has helped you the most in undergrad)

Sorry about the long post, but it's the biggest academic decision I've have to make is my short, tiny life. 🙂

thanks all!
p.s. please no arrogant replies. I know im young, but so were you once..

Honestly, I don't think it matters. Medical schools will prefer, and many will require, that you take those classes at the university level. If I were you, I would not take them for the purpose of receiving advance placement credit. Take them because they are classes you want to take, and let that guide your choice. Repeat them when you get to your university. No doubt, your high school AP experience will help you get better grades with less effort, and grades are very important when applying to medical school!

The other advice I would give you is attend a good university (not somewhere nobody's heard of) and choose a major that you enjoy for its own sake, not just for the purpose of getting into medical school. Medical schools don't really care what you major in as long as you do well. It's a lot easier to keep up the effort and interest for 4 years if you are doing something you enjoy.

You are not too young to be thinking about your future. Just don't box yourself in. Leave your options open in case you find you want to do something else. It sounds like you know that. Good luck!

 

[stherling]

I vote for AP Bio. In the event that a med school won't count your AP coursework towards prereqs and you have to take a higher level class... I'd much rather be taking a higher level bio class than a higher level physics class. but then that's just me 🙂 and don't get me wrong... I loved physics all the way up to the GCE 'A' Levels and placed out of freshman physics, but PHYS 230 and complex wave equations were just a little too much for me.

 

[usrael]

Bio all the way.
IMHO Bio is such a broad and constantly growing field, while physics is eh....physics.
Any opportunity to strengthen your BIO infrastructure is welcome.

good luck

 

[emack]

As others have pointed out, don't stress too much over this decision because you may end up having to take one or both again anyway. Take whichever one you think you'll get the most out of at this point in your life.

That being said, I took a few AP credits in high school (which were excellent classes) but then declined to claim all of them toward my degree. Instead, I retook two of them in first year. I didn't want to vault right into possibly scary second-year classes in those subjects, and I figured it would make my first-year course load more familiar & thus make the overall adjustment easier. And it worked: Physics I was the easiest A+ I ever got in undergrad (and I even landed a few hundred bucks from some random academic prize for best first-year physics mark). I wish I'd had the opportunity to do AP Bio because first-year biology was the most useless/boring course I ever took.

 

[ddmo]

Robh said it best.

With that in mind, I'd go Physics just because I think people tend to underestimate its importance. It tends to be a harder course in undergrad and is pretty tough on the MCATs. Physics concepts like resistance, flow, energy, come up all the time in med school, not to mention that it teaches you how to use arithmatic to solve problems. The most useful bio stuff is molecular, which you probably won't get too detailed into in AP bio anyways.

 

[erin682]

Well I took both in HS and I think AP bio helped me more. Not so much b/c of its content but b/c I tested out of my first year of bio in college. Of course I was a bio major so it was worth it because I got to have several semesters of less credit hours. If you're wanting to do a bio major than AP bio could help you to need less credits towards that end. On the other hand if you don't want a bio major you would have to take bio again in college anyway b/c AP credits won't count toward the bio requirement for getting into med school.

The physics I took in HS wasn't remotely useful in my college physics class, though that probably isn't the same experience for everyone.

 

[ussdfiant]

Please do not cross post. Please respond to post in Pre-Allo.