<p>I'm starting at SEAS next fall. I had signed up for a couple AP tests because at the time, I didn't know what school I would end up at and what their policy would be on APs.</p>
<p>But now that I know I'm going to Columbia, I want to inquire about their policy on placing out of classes, which I don't think is very gracious. </p>
<p>Is there any benefit to me taking English Lit, Calc BC, Chemistry, or Physics? Or should I just save myself the ridiculous time and effort..</p>
<p>nevermind, i’ve just answered my question through a little searching (what i should have done in the first place).</p>
<p>for anyone interested, this chart is useful for SEAS students:</p>
<p>[2008</a> - 2009 SEAS Bulletin:Advanced Placement Credit Card](<a href=“http://www.engineering.columbia.edu/bulletin-misc-pages/ap_credit_chart.html]2008”>http://www.engineering.columbia.edu/bulletin-misc-pages/ap_credit_chart.html)</p>
<p>-Lol, looks like I can’t get an exemption from English no matter what, so why am I bothering with all these stupid “synechdoches” and “litotes” for this AP test.
-My 5 in AP World is also rendered useless
-5 in AP Stats? No dice…
-Comp Sci exemption… that’s good.
-There’s nothing next to AP Gov… can’t tell if that means I can place out or not.
-I need a 5 on Calc BC or I have to repeat Calc II?
-I can do Accelerated Physics with a 4 or 5 on Mechanics… cool.</p>
<p>This is interesting, to say the least. At least I found out I can stop wasting my time on the English AP test.</p>
<p>you still get credit. you’re just not exempt from anything…</p>
<p>After completing my freshman year, I was awarded:</p>
<ul>
<li>6 credits for English (3 each for getting 5s in Eng Lang and Eng Lit)</li>
<li>6 credits for History (3 each for European Hist and US Hist)</li>
<li>3 credits for Bio (never took another bio class)</li>
</ul>
<p>Those 15 credits were basically a semester’s worth of slack, they count towards the 127 I needed to graduate, and they let me basically take 4 classes a semester instead of 5 classes a semester for my Junior and Senior years. Which was, to put it lightly, pretty &^%$ing awesome.</p>
<p>My advice is to take the AP’s. They’re about the only thing you can do while in HS at this point which will materially improve your situation once you get to college.</p>
<p>How about college credit? My daughter took 5 college level classes while in HS but not for HS credit. One at UCLA, one at UCSD and three at CC. Will Columbia give credit for these? Trying to decide between Columbia and UC Berkeley. No aid at either so trying to justify paying double the UC rate for Columbia.</p>
<p>Generally speaking, no, although you can consult with advisors and figure out the particular approval process. But typically such credit is only approved in advance - except for the AP exams, which are standardized enough that there can be a standardized policy.</p>
<p>Paying double the UC rate for Columbia is a decision that will swing on the qualitative benefits that Columbia offers, i.e. (1) a smaller more personalized class setting with less of a cattle-herding mentality, (2) you can’t swing a cat without hitting a Nobel Prize winner, (3) greater exposure to a wider variety of intellectual disciplines and expertise in each one, and (4) a lot of areas in which UC Berkeley is good but Columbia is, arguably, marginally better - such as the value of the alumni network, the caliber of your classmates and the benefits you get from being around such inspiring people and engaging in dialogue with them in class, etc.</p>
<p>basically, if your daughter visits Columbia and decides it’s a much better cultural fit and she’ll be much happier there for 4 years, there’s a chance it’s worth paying double. If she loves the atmosphere at UCB just as much, perhaps it makes more sense for her to go there. But there are certainly lots of ways in which Columbia adds value.</p>
<p>credit for college courses completed while in HS is probably not one of them.</p>