0
4 years ago
Admissions Advice

If I'm concerned about my classes, is it more important to take classes pertaining to what I want to do in life?
Answered

Hi I'm a freshman, and really overwhelmed about quite a lot of things. I'm in the middle of deciding if I should take AP Euro, a class that gives me an extra grade bump but does not involve my medical career at all, or if I should take Medical Core, a class that I am unsure if it is weighted/honors but it teaches me the necessary things needed if I want to work as or volunteer at hospitals and other places involving the medical field. I hope you guys can help me with my dilemma !! :D

classof2023
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2 answers

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Accepted Answer
4 years ago

Take what you're interested in! When it comes time to apply for colleges, there will be many, many students with high GPAs and lots of AP/Honors classes. No matter what, there will likely be someone with a higher GPA than you. Taking classes that allow you to pursue your passions and open up doors for volunteer work and internships in your field is invaluable, and when colleges are reviewing your application, they are looking to admit a person, not a GPA.

The best way to be a strong applicant, especially in competitive majors such as Pre-med, is to have leadership, excellence, and service in your field of interest. For you, taking bio and med-related classes that allow you to pursue deeper involvement in activities you're passionate about will help you out in the long run, more than any small GPA-boost from a random AP class. The more involved you can be with what you actually care about, the better. Join any science/bio club your school has, look for volunteer opportunities, and take classes that are meaningful to you! Not only will it help your apps, it will make high school much more enjoyable than it would be with a heavy load of APs in subjects you don't enjoy as much.

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4 years ago

Hi, if your planning on going into the medical field/biology, I would try to fit something into your schedule that has to do with this. However, you don’t need to load up your schedule with classes all in the same subject. For example, I’m a junior and I plan on majoring in biology; however, I took all AP classes this year including other subjects such as: US history, lang and comp and calc. I wanted to do AP Biology to show colleges I could excel in my desired major, but I took other APs because I was genuinely interested in them. I’m not sure if your school provides AP Biology as a sophomore or at all though. If not and you have no other class focused on your major I’d take the Medical Core class! Hope this helps!

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Unweighted GPA: 3.7
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4.0
SAT: 720 math
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800
| 800 verbal
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