I’m planning on majoring in Gov, possibly dual majoring in health science on the pre-med track as well. I’m also taking AP Bio, AP Lit, AP US Gov, AP 2D Art, Multivariable Calc and Linear Algebra DE, and French 4 DE. This does sound quite packed but Art, Gov, Lit, and Bio are all pretty easy classes at my school, and the teachers are lenient graders generally.
I’m a mid-tier student (I think, and if anyone wants additional context I have a Chance Me post under my profile as well) and while AP Macro/Micro is kind of interesting to me, I also haven’t taken many classes that could be directly connected to medicine, such as Anatomy. I’m kind of hesitant though because not only am I super indecisive, but Anatomy at my school is a far easier class. On one hand, throwing in Mac/Mic might look like I’m just stacking on APs for no good reason, but on the other, I’ve heard it can fulfill some useful course requirements compared to Anatomy, which isn’t even an Honors level class at my school, and the lessons are super simple.
If it matters, I’ll be applying to mostly moderately- to highly selective schools, but nothing Ivy Level, and the schools I want to get into right now the most are William and Mary and UVA. What do y’all think?
No. Take AP Macroeconomics & Microeconomics. You could earn college credit towards your degree in government (approx. 2/3 chance of scoring “3” or higher on the exams). The ‘regular’ Anatomy sounds more like a filler ‘coloring class’ & won’t benefit you much in fulfilling college premed requirements. You can review the saved notebook from a friend to gain the exposure. Take real Anatomy in college.
My general thought is to take the class you want. Your schedule is quite rigorous either way.
As a rule unless someone is a science whiz I don’t love the idea of doubling up on sciences – it can be a lot with all the labs – but you know the school/teacher demands better than anyone.
Social Science is a core course. You already have five sciences. Four was enough - you don’t need more. So get your social science up to four.
If you are mid tier, either way it won’t matter though - and if you think think taking anatomy will help you know if you want medicine, that’s fine. If you are doing it for college admissions, don’t.
But given your extensive coursework in each area and you said you are mid tier, given all you’ve taken as shown on your chance me, it won’t matter either way.
You could end up with college credit for AP Econ, and it could be a good foundation for future econ, which is essential to the study of government. This would be my recommendation.
The only reason to take Anatomy would be if you need to lighten your workload. But there are presumably a lot of classes that could fill that role.
Would note that some schools require a 4 for credit - OP would need to check what their target schools’ policies are. For example, a quick google suggests UVA requires a 4 or 5 with a few exceptions that allow a 3, but OP should dig deeper on this.
I am also of the opinion that macro is a good choice for someone wanting to major in government.
From the first post it sounds like both classes have a reputation for being quite easy at OP’s school. I would go with the one that actually interests you more than what might “look” good for premed or “look” like just stacking APs. I personally wouldn’t take a class just because it might give college credit, but I would certainly view that as a bonus if it’s something you’re interested in doing anyway.
@tiramisu0 , are you instate for VA, given the colleges you’ve described as top choices?
Sorry for such a late response! But yes, I am. Some of those colleges have changed from that list and I’ve scored a 4 or 5 on all my exams, so I think I’m pretty solid on staying?