I’m taking AP Computer Science and AP Environmental Science. My school system pays for our AP exams and requires us to take the exam. I won’t need any of these classes for my major. Is there any reason why I should study for these exams? I don’t need them for my major and I have no choice to opt out of taking the exam.
Maybe they will help you place out of intro level general Ed requirements at college. If you have already chosen your college, find out about that before deciding to not study.
As @lindagaf pointed out, often the AP credits can count toward your general ed requirements. That would allow a bit more freedom in course choices. Many schools require a 4 or 5 for credit and only give placement for a 3 (no credit), so yes, you should study for these exams.
I looked at the requirements for my Chemistry major and I don’t see either any of those classes. I didn’t see AP Enviro but I think it may not hurt to try to get the credit. I don’t think I’ll need AP Comp Sci at all though.
Unless you are 100% sure you won’t be changing your major, I would advise you to study anyway. And are you sure the AP comp Sci can’t count as meeting some requirement, or meeting some prerequisite?
Coming in with AP credits can help in all kinds of ways – (1)from meeting distribution requirements, (2) placing a student into a higher level class in a subject they are interested in, (3) creating some cushion in the number of credits so that, when you hit a really challenging semester down the road, perhaps in your major, you can take 1 less class that semester, or fewer credits, and not fall behind because you have the “cushion” of extra credits from AP.
Another consideration can be preference in registration, depending on the school. At my kid’s public flagship, your registration date is set by how many credits you have. For second semester freshman year, a kid with 12 AP credits gets to register before a kid who came in with none, meaning better course selection, which can translate to not getting stuck with the Fri 4pm discussion section. That benefit continues all way through school, as a kid who came in with extra credits will always be ahead of those without.
Many benefits, no downsides, from what I can see, to taking the exams themselves.
Also, it does reflect on your high school. So if you think the high school is a good one, studying for the APs will help them in future reports. It also may help you learn the material. Isn’t that why you took the class??
I took the classes because I was interested in possibly majoring in the subject. After the first quarter, all those interests were destroyed. To answer @lostaccount, my high school needs all the help it can get. It’s constantly considered the worst public school in my county. I’m taking these classes online because the school doesn’t offer AP classes. Just getting into college is a big achievement here.
I think I’ll put in the time to study for these exams and give it a fair shot. At least try harder than completely blowing it off.
Even they are not required for your major, you need to have certain number of credits for general electives for your degree. My D fulfilled most of the general electives and humanities by AP credits.
Just wanted to reinforce the idea that even if you can’t get credit, the exam score may help either with fulfilling a prerequisite or with placement. For example, my D took the AP Psych exam senior year even though she was already maxed out on credits that would be accepted by her college. But getting a 5 on that exam satisfies a prerequisite for the Behavioral Economics class she wants to take in the Fall (sophomore year).
“Another consideration can be preference in registration, depending on the school. At my kid’s public flagship, your registration date is set by how many credits you have. For second semester freshman year, a kid with 12 AP credits gets to register before a kid who came in with none, meaning better course selection, which can translate to not getting stuck with the Fri 4pm discussion section. That benefit continues all way through school, as a kid who came in with extra credits will always be ahead of those without.”
This. My kid is at a small private LAC and even though she still needs to take 4 years of courses there, she had enough AP credits that she gets to pick next semester’s courses with the class ahead of her rather than with her actual class. This means things like, choosing a chemistry lecture that’s not at 8am, choosing the popular course that fulfills 2 breadth requirements, etc.
My kids all took the AP tests in senior year and they were all happy with their decisions to do that. It cost us a lot of money but, it helped them in their college experiences.
They were always at the "front of the line"in getting their desired courses. The general ed courses as well as some major courses had prerequisite course requirements, which my kids bypassed.
In addition to what is required for your chemistry major, most schools also have a liberal arts core that must be fulfilled in order to graduate. You should be able to find information about your school’s core curriculum online. In many cases the AP tests can be used for credits towards this liberal arts core, but again you would need to check the school policy online or with the Registrar. If you can use APs towards the school’s core, doing well on the AP exams would give you more time for additional coursework in your field, an ability to take a somewhat lighter course-load, and/or more time for electives in another area of interest.