AP Credit for Science Classes - a word of CAUTION
While Miami will apply AP credit towards undergraduate science
requirements, you should use caution when using AP credit for science classes that
will be used towards medical school requirements. Some medical schools are reluctant
to accept AP credit as a means of fulfulling the premedical science requirement.
In addition, some premed students later regret bypassing some of the required premed
science classes for several reasons:
- the MCAT covers the topics in these courses and you do not
want to rely on high school knowledge to do well on the MCAT.
- doing well in high school AP science classes does not mean
that you have all the background necessary to do well in the next course in that
sequence.
- admission to medical school is very competitive, and if you
can readily achieve an A in the introductory science class, this will improve
your science GPA and your chances for admission to medical school.
- Some medical schools may accept AP credits for science classes
but may view AP credit the same as taking a science class for credit/no credit (i.e.
that it is equivalent to achieving a C in this course).
For many entering students, taking the AP science classes should
be viewed as a means to help you to do well in these premed courses, not as a means
to bypass these courses in college. It should be emphasized, however, that this advice
does not apply to all students. For an exceptionally strong student who plans to
take upper level classes in the sciences, and can readily achieve A's in the science
classes, using the AP credit may be the best option.
