Hi all, I’ve never done well with physics, and just received a B in AP Physics junior year. However, all of my other classes are A’s. I plan on going into medicine at T20 colleges, will this affect my chances too detrimentally?
I am confused by what you wrote. Are you a rising senior? What do you mean by “I plan on going into medicine at top 20 colleges”?
Getting a B in AP physics will not prevent you from getting into college or medical school. My advice is to apply to a mix of safety, target, and reach schools - if you want (“top 20” colleges are reaches).
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One B when everything else is A’s will not matter. First, get into some undergraduate school. To become a doctor, you don’t have to go to a top 20 undergraduate school. What matters is good grades, good scores on the medical boards, demonstrated interest in a medical career. (Become an EMT while you’re at college, for example.)
No one on the medical school admissions committee will care what your junior year AP physics grade was.
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I agree with the others; don’t stress out about one B.
Make sure you apply to a range of schools (not only T20s) and discuss your budget over 8 years knowing medical school may be $100k per year by the time you get there. Consider saving on undergrad if it allows you to reduce or eliminate med school loans.
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Are you saying you want to go to a T 20 undergrad AND a top medical school?
Regardless…your high school grades won’t be looked at one bit when you apply to medical school. Medical schools care about what you did in college, not high school.
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I am assuming that you are a high school student in the US.
Pretty nearly no high school student can expect to get into a “top 20” university for their undergraduate degree. Getting one B in AP physics will not prevent you from getting into a top 20 school. Most likely something else will prevent you from getting into a top 20 school, such as the fact that they have vastly more qualified applicants than they have spots in their incoming freshmen classes.
However, there are a huge number of universities that have very good premed programs. You can get into a strong medical school with a degree from any one of at least 200 (if not 300 or 400) different colleges and universities in the US. A single B in high school will not be a problem at all when applying to most of these very good colleges and universities.
Then when you apply to medical schools, they will not look at your high school grades at all. They will look at what you did as an undergraduate student in university, and at your medical experience, and at your references, and at your MCAT score.
There is a lot of other advice that one could give regarding getting into medical school in the US. However, for now just lets say that one B is not going to stop you.
By the way, one daughter had one B in high school, and was 5 for 5 in university admissions. I was happy when she got her B because it made the point that you do not need to be perfect. She just got admitted to a very good PhD program. Her sister had several B’s in high school, several more B’s in university, several more B’s in graduate school, but is still very much on track to be “Dr. TwoGirls” in just slightly less than a year from now (a DVM in her case).
Don’t worry about it. Learn from it.
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I’m guessing you are an international student. In the US students do not study medicine directly after HS so you will not be “going into medicine at T20 colleges”
First of all, you don’t go into medicine in college. You study whatever you want in college, and do your premeds, and then you apply to medical school.
One B will not keep you out of a great college. Meanwhile, the best college for a pre-med to go to might happen not to be a T20 private. It may very well be their in-state flagship, because med school is so expensive that it is a good idea to keep college costs as low as possible. Also, it might be easier to achieve a 4.0 GPA at a less selective college.
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Premed is an intention and the courses you take are not “medical” in any way. You take General biology with Bio majors and need to be among the top 20%. You take Chemistry with Chemistry majors and must be among the top 20%. Etc. The premed pre-reqs are a set of 12-14 classes where you need to do very well. The hardest one is Orgo, which you’re recommended to take as a Sophomore or junior, NOT as a freshman.
These classes generally include 2 semesters of English (freshman composition, English for professions, communication, literature…); stats or biostats; calculus 1; General Physics 1&2; General Chemistry 1&2 w/ lab; Orgo 1&2 w/lab; Biochemistry ; Sociology ; Psychology ; a diversity- focused course; General Biology 1&2 with lab; sometimes also cognitive science or Neuroscience; a language spoken by people in the US; anatomy/physiology.
In addition to these classes, you choose a major which will help you pivot to a Plan B and where you’re pretty sure to get straight As. That major can be anything though if interested in biology take the Bioinformatics or Biostats option - but math or music majors do better results-wise than Bio majors.
And that’s just one part of it, as was ecplained above.
So, your B in HS physics will not matter at all. 
Keep learning, keep getting involved in your community, enjoy HS and don’t worry about that B.
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Note that earning straight A grades in college is typically more difficult than earning straight A grades in high school.
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