Hi everyone! My name is Hannah, and I am currently a high school senior planning on studying Pre-Medicine in college next year. Today I wanted to share some of my experiences with taking AP classes, and why taking as many AP classes as possible can benefit you during and after high school!
As many of you probably know, the pre-medicine track involves a lot of difficult classes, so skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, time management, and active memorization are crucial to being successful in these classes. The application of these skills is especially unique for pre-medicine, because when you go to take the MCAT and similar exams further down the medical path, all of these skills will be vital in both preparing for exams and taking exams.
Most schools that offer Advanced Placement classes will offer classes in all of the four main subject areas: language arts, science, social studies, and mathematics. Of these four areas, science classes are the most important ones because they’ll give you an academic foundation for more advanced science classes down the road, but if you are able, there are many benefits to exploring AP classes in language arts, social studies, and mathematics. Some schools also offer AP classes in foreign language, art, computer science, and music that can allow you to study other subjects outside of traditional core subjects that you’re passionate about at a higher level.
Disclaimer: I know that taking a schedule with lots of AP classes is not for everyone because of various reasons, such as there not being classes available at your school, not having room in your school schedule due to other classes or extracurricular activities, or the fact that taking lots of AP classes can take a toll on your mental health. Ultimately, I would recommend doing whatever is best for you!
I have always had an interest in literature as well as science, so I felt that taking AP classes in English would be a good opportunity for me to continue developing my reading and writing skills. My school allowed me to take the prerequisites for these classes my freshman and sophomore years so that I could take AP Language and Composition my junior year and AP Literature and Composition my senior year. These classes place a heavy emphasis on the importance of rhetorical analysis and close reading, which I found to be very beneficial when tackling higher-level texts and when needing to write a paper. Although these classes were filled with hours of homework each week and challenging standards for my writing, I truly enjoyed the chance to continue building my time management skills as well as learning new strategies to advance my writing. I anticipate that when I inevitably need to write a lab report or research paper in the future, I will be able to look back on the skills I learned in these classes.
One reason I always considered myself to have a love-hate relationship with math was because of the dreaded word problems that I would inevitably face in assignments and tests. Little did I know, those word problems were actually the best kind of problems for me to focus on, because in higher-level classes of all areas, many problems are designed in this way. These problems require critical thinking and analysis skills that can only come from a deeper understanding of the material, which I believe has helped me in my junior and senior level classes because I am able to analyze the question to find how to solve it. For example, when I took AP Calculus AB, I encountered many problems where the correct path to solving the problem was hidden within the words of the question, instead of briefly given above it, and I had to investigate the given information to find the best way to solve the problem. Although it was hard at first, it started to feel like mathematical ‘detective work’ (a concept I’ve heard repeated by multiple physicians that I’ve interviewed when it comes to using test results and history to diagnose a patient).
Social Studies was always my least favorite subject in elementary and middle school because I thought that what already happened in the past in regards to politics couldn’t compare to the millions of biological processes happening in my cells every second of every day. However, I signed up for AP US History and an AP US Government because I knew that they were similar to science classes in that it required memorizing large volumes of information, so it would be a good opportunity to develop study habits for this kind of information. These included utilizing Quizlets and creating mnemonic devices for myself to memorize important dates and events. In this, I found that these classes were not all about World Wars and the scandals of past presidents and how the Constitution and the three branches of government came to be, but they also included the origins of various social movements and the invention of various scientific advances that scientists and doctors still use and continue to modify today. My advice to you would be to find a way to connect the more boring parts of these classes to something that you’re more passionate about; for example, I wrote my final paper on Clara Barton’s work as a nurse during the Civil War and her founding of the American Red Cross, instead of a politician or general like everyone else.
In addition to the benefits that I’ve already mentioned, AP classes also offer options for students to earn college credit while still in high school so that students can bypass some general education requirements for college. This is a way of planning your high school schedule that I would strongly recommend. There is even the possibility that you could enter college as a sophomore if you earn enough credits. It varies from college to college, meaning that some colleges will take the credit that you earn just by taking the class and you don’t need to take the exam if you choose not to, while others will need you to complete the AP Exam and earn a score of 4 or 5 for the credit to transfer. Some schools will accept a score of 3 as well, so be sure to check with your desired college’s requirements.
I advise you to confirm the different requirements for schools you’re interested in well before registering for any exams, because it is easier to register for an exam then drop it because you don’t need it or don’t want to take it than not register for an exam because you initially thought you didn’t need to take it and find out later on that you in fact do need to take the exam. Also, it’s much easier to sign up early and then drop it if you change your mind, because the College Board, which is in charge of administering AP exams, is currently offering full refunds for students due to the pandemic.
All in all, there are many things to learn from taking AP courses, especially in non-science fields. These classes will help you learn how to study and manage your time, which will help prepare you for upper-level high school and college classes. It may be a difficult road, but know that there are always people around to support you, and the reward of knowledge and college credit will be much worth your time! Good luck, and happy studying!
- By Hannah Pallister
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