For those wanting to apply to med school and take the MCAT, there’s really no choice but to take biology and chem the first year–unless you do a post-bac to bone up after you graduate.
My student did plenty of Honors and AP STEMs, with credit-worthy scores on the latter (5s and 6s.) But those credits were not accepted at his school. Even if they had been, he hadn’t studied chem in so long he wanted to review. There’s been some repetition in bio, but that has been good for his confidence and his GPA.
I do think schools are different in their level of support. I’ve read some sad threads on CC of students in labs struggling with broken or outdated equipment. They cannot accomplish what they need to–and that’s considered part of the “weeding out” process! However, I don’t think any school should set up any student for failure: That’s a fundamental breach of trust.
Choosing a school that takes its responsibility to provide adequate lab equipment and responsive professors (including preHealth advising) is critical to student success. STEM is arguably the most challenging road, and ambitious students deserve the best possible institutional encouragement and resources.
CC is a very useful place for figuring out which programs do well by their students. Where else would you hear about it from the users’ point of view? Thanks for your post OP.