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Should I take Honors Organic Chemistry and AP Chemistry together?

I will be going into 11th grade next year, and I'm interested in going into Pre-Med.
Here is my schedule for next year:

Hon. Pre-Calc w/ Trig
AP US History
AP English 3
Hon. French IV
AP Chemistry
String Orchestra
(Gym)

I have space for 1 elective, so I was wondering if it would be better to take Organic Chemistry next year or senior year... if not, I can take Hon. Anatomy and Physiology instead. Based on how much coursework / content there will be, do you have any advice or recommendations?

I am planning on doing AP Chem + Org. Chem together and AP Biology + Anatomy/Physiology together. Any thoughts?

Thank you!

#high-school-student #chemistry #AP #Honors #organic-chemistry #courses #sophomore

chemistry ap courses sophomore high-school-student organic-chemistry honors
Thank you comment icon Hi! I ended up taking all of your advice and I paired my AP Chem class with Anatomy & Physiology so that it's a good mix of subjects. Thank you all so much for your help! I truly appreciate it!! Samruddhi
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Raquel’s Answer

There are a lot of variables that affect what course load is good for you. You certainly can take both organic and general chemistry in at the same time, however I would recommend that you take the AP organic chemistry your senior year and the honors anatomy & physiology this year. The reason that I would recommend this is that general and organic chemistry are two VERY different courses, you want to be able to learn each of them really well and since they are both chemistry it can be easy to try and mix them together while taking them at the same time. I have taken a lot of chemistry courses and all of my teachers say to keep general and organic chemistry separate. Taking a chemistry and biology at the same time will provide you with classes that are different from each other so you can make sure you learn the material well.
This is my personal opinion so you can obviously take the two chemistry classes together and two biology classes together if that is what is best for you. The main thing is that you learn the material for all of these classes well, it will help you in the classes you take in college as well as for the MCAT, so it is important to build a good foundation now.
As a side note, AP classes are great, but it is important to know that most US medical schools do not accept them as college credit.
Best of luck in your medical school journey, you seem to be off to a great start!
Thank you comment icon This is really helpful! Would you know if Pre-Med colleges accept AP Credits? Also, some of my classes are "College in High School" classes that have dual enrollment in a local college - would those be helpful? Thank you so much! Samruddhi
Thank you comment icon Most university’s accept AP credit, the problem you may run into is whether or not the medical school will, many no longer do and want you to take the actual college level course. Any classes that are “college in high school” will not have any trouble counting for medical school. Raquel Davis
Thank you comment icon Great, thanks! A lot of my classes are CHS (college in high school) so that sounds good! Thank you again! Samruddhi
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Jennifer’s Answer

Hi Samruddhi! It depends on a lot of factors, like what those teachers will be like for those classes and what people generally say about those classes at your school. Classes highly depend on what teaching style the teacher has, so I would recommend asking others who have taken those classes already. You could also consider your personal strengths - are you more of a problem solver/math person or are you better at memorization? Each class requires certain skills and it's best to consider those as well. In terms of the class combinations, AP Chemistry and organic chemistry are not really related at all and the content doesn't depend on each other (but still requires much problem solving), so I think that combination would be fine. AP Biology and anatomy might require more memorization, but if that is something you are ok with, then that is another option for you. Alternatively, if you want a balance of memorizing and problem solving, anatomy + AP chemistry would be good. Hope this helped!
Thank you comment icon That's a really good point - I'll definitely keep that in mind! Thank you so much! Samruddhi
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Yasemin’s Answer

Hi Samruddhi ! Wow those classes are amazing! I honestly think that combination is okay, I do agree with mixing it up if maybe you want to do AP Chem and AP Bio and then Organic Chem and A&P as well. However as long as you can handle the course load it's fine. I noticed your comment about AP credits and dual enrollment and I had both at my high school too! I think colleges will count those credits as long as you take the AP exam and pass. For dual enrollment if I am thinking correctly then those credits should directly transfer for your grade. I took English Comp 1 and 2 my senior year and it was through my local cc and therefore my credits transferred and I was okay to not take the classes as a freshmen in college. I would definitely speak with your adviser because they really have the information for transferring credits as well as bringing it up with colleges you are interested in. I know that sometimes in a specific major like Biology or Chemistry you may take the courses again or similar ones due to being in that major vs just getting Gen. Eds out of the way. I hope this helps! Keep up the good work!

Best of luck future doctor!
Thank you comment icon Hi Yasemin, thank you so much for the advice! Samruddhi
Thank you comment icon You're welcome! Yasemin G.
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Larry’s Answer

At the college level, AP Chemistry is at least equivalent to first semester general/freshmen chemistry. Most schools will give credit for at least one semester of general chemistry if you score a 4 or 5 on the AP exam. I am curious about your HS organic chemistry-very, very unusual to offer this. Perhaps it is some sort of hybrid course? General chemistry would be required before taking organic chemistry in college, so I would advise putting your full efforts into AP Chem as you have a very full schedule already

Larry recommends the following next steps:

go to your local college or community college webpage and see the topics covered in general versus organic chemistry
talk to the teacher of organic chemistry to find out what will be covered
most colleges do not have a major called "pre-med", just a course of study that could qualify to be accepted. Again many colleges have a pre-med advising program where you couuld find more info!
Thank you comment icon Hi! Thank you for your advice! I'll definitely talk to the organic chemistry teacher and take a look at local college websites! Thank you again! Samruddhi
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