River asked 1 year ago
Hi! I’m an incoming freshman at U of M. I was wondering what those of you who had AP credit did to satisfy the general chem lab requirement. Should I just take the lab class by itself, or do the lab credit that I’ll get for orgo/biochem count? Is taking the lab course by itself a bad idea, and when should I do it?
I know that upper level labs can count (that’s what I’m doing for bio), but I don’t plan on taking chem classes besides orgo and biochem.
Thank you for putting together this amazing resource!
Arjun Batra answered 1 year ago
Hi River,
Thanks for your question! Provided you scored a 3, 4, or 5 on your AP exam, AP Chem credit can satisfy one of your two required semesters of inorganic chemistry (Chem 130)- based on the LSA Newnan Advising website (linked below).
In addition to this, it will satisfy Chem 125 and 126, the two required semesters of inorganic chemistry labs- based on the admission site guidelines (also linked below).
However, Newnan also advises that “some schools will not accept A.P. credit for chemistry” and insist that chemistry courses be taken on a college campus. So if you do need to take another course to fulfill the gen chem requirement, they suggest CHEM 245/246/247 (Biomedical Analytical Chemistry), but this is an issue for farther down the road in your college career.
*****A word of clarification though, AP Chem only fulfills ONE semester of general chemistry, so you will have to take another general chemistry course at Michigan, whether it’s CHEM 230 or CHEM 260. Organic chemistry and biochemistry labs do not fulfill general chemistry lab credit.
And of course, when in doubt, ask your pre-health advisor!! They know the most up-to-date information on pre-health reqs.
Welcome to UMich!! We’re excited for you to join our community and look forward to advising you further! If you have any more questions, don’t hesitate to follow up!
Best,
Arjun, PMH Advisor
Links
https://lsa.umich.edu/advising/plan-your-path/pre-health/pre-health-academics/choosing-courses.html – NEWNAN PRE-HEALTH ADVISING SITE
https://admissions.umich.edu/apply/first-year-applicants/ap-ib-credit/ap-guidelines – UMICH ADMISSIONS AP GUIDELINES