<p>If we are taking AP Biology or AP Chemistry in our senior year, is it worth it to take the AP test and spend $90, or is there no point?</p>
<p>If you want to place out of the intro level course and think you’re capable of a 5, which is all Penn accepts, then it’s definitely worth taking the test. You’ll have your AP scores back by early July, so you’ll still be able to redeem senior year APs for credit before you plan your first semester schedule. I’m in the same year as you, though, so maybe my two cents aren’t the ones you’re looking for! Either way, best of luck!</p>
<p>well the intro level course is Biol 101, but the AP Biology test with a 5 places you out of Biology 091, and I have no clue what that is.</p>
<p>Biology 091 is not a course, it is simply the number representing the AP Credit. It shows that you got the AP credit on your transcript. They can’t put Bio 101 because that will mean that you took the actual class. They put 091 to say that you were exempt from bio 101 because you had the credit.</p>
<p>It’s worth it because you’ll get AP credit and move onto a higher Bio class</p>
<p>Uh, really guys. You are doing OP a disservice by giving him wrong information. </p>
<p>Getting a 5 on AP chem/bio exams DOES NOT place you out of Chem 101/102, BIOL 101/102. It can count towards total credits needed for graduation, IF your major doesn’t need intro Chem or BIOL</p>
<p>“Should I take the Penn Chemistry Placement Exam?”</p>
<p>IF you never expect to take any further chemistry courses, you do not need to take this exam. Any credit awarded for Chem091 based on previous standardized tests will count towards the total number of credits you need to graduate.
IF your major or program requires a full year of intro chemistry, or more advanced chemistry classes (e.g. organic), you should take the Chemistry Placement Exam. This will determine (1) whether your AP credit corresponds to Chem101, 102, or neither (i.e. Chem091); and (2) which course you should take to complete 1 year of intro chemistry.</p>
<p>[Penn</a> Chemistry: Chemistry Advanced Placement Policy and Placement Exam](<a href=“http://www.chem.upenn.edu/chem/undergraduate/advanced.php]Penn”>http://www.chem.upenn.edu/chem/undergraduate/advanced.php)</p>
<p>Biol 091 can be used as an elective toward graduation but cannot be used for the Biology major or minor. Biol 091 does not fulfill requirements for medical school.</p>
<p>[UPenn</a> - SAS - Biology - Programs - Undergraduate - Manuals - Major Manual - Advanced Placement](<a href=“http://www.bio.upenn.edu/programs/undergraduate/manual/main/06.ap/]UPenn”>http://www.bio.upenn.edu/programs/undergraduate/manual/main/06.ap/)</p>
<p>Yes, to place out of bio or chem you must take a departmental exam for each semester you wish to place out of. That means if you want to place out of a full year of bio or chem, you would need to take the exams for Biol 101 and 102 and Chem 101 and 102 during NSO. I think they also have an exam to place out of bio 121 too. To study for the exams, look at the textbook for the course, not your AP notes. In Chem 101 for example (I took and passed this one), there is a lot of quantum and bonding information that is not mentioned in AP Chemistry at all.</p>
<p>thank you to Poeme and MaxyBoy1993. that helps a lot. on the biology website that you posted, it says if you end up taking Biol 101 or 102 and getting credit, you lose your credit for Biol 091. And it also says that whether you took the AP Chemistry test and got a 5, or if you took it and got a 1, or if you didn’t take it at all, you still have to take the departmental placement exam and if you pass that, then you get credit. </p>
<p>So in other words, is it AT ALL worth it to spend money and take the AP tests, or just study, wait, and take the departmental exam since the AP tests have no weight on anything?!?</p>
<p>Also, since Biol 101/102 and Chem 101/102 are survey classes, have larger class sizes, and the curves are usually harsh, is it a smart move to spend some time over summer studying for these departmental exams and trying to get out of these classes? Is it easier to get A’s in these classes, or is it easier to get A’s in the classes that come after these intro classes (more advanced)?</p>
<p>btw I will be majoring in Biology, so i definitely need Biology and Chemistry.</p>
<p>I Know upenn does not accept calculus AB credit. However, if i get 5 on the exam, am i able to take advanced calculus in the fresman year</p>
<p>
Umm the OP never stated that he was going to be a Bio Major…Oops, my bad. I just went on the basis that he wanted to get credits. I just thought the OP wanted to get credits.
[AP</a> Biology](<a href=“http://www.college.upenn.edu/freshmen/apbiol.php]AP”>http://www.college.upenn.edu/freshmen/apbiol.php)</p>
<p>You might want to consider taking the honors survey classes (eg Chem 115) given your AP experience. I am pretty sure you would find taking 2 or 3 honors science courses more than sufficiently challenging. The reality is that most high school AP courses are not truly equivalent to real courses at Penn. If those courses are important to your major, you don’t want to short change yourself. </p>
<p>My son is a science/math guy and quite frankly the only AP credits he actually got credit for were English/Humanities given that he didn’t think it wise to entirely skip the intro science courses. For math, I think they let you take whatever you can chew and give you a retroactive waiver for any class below the level of calculus you end up passing.</p>
<p>so basically don’t take the ap tests for bio or chem?</p>
<p>In your case, I wouldn’t. Save the cash for other things.</p>
<p>I’d say its worth it if you can get into a better class. If you need some study assistance, here’s a good website for [AP</a> Biology Notes](<a href=“http://etestnotes.com/apreviewguides/courseselect.html]AP”>http://etestnotes.com/apreviewguides/courseselect.html). Hope it helps! :)</p>
<p>Alright, but since you can always take the Departmental Exam in Biology 101/102/121 and Chemistry, I guess it’s not worth it to spend 90 bucks per test for AP Biology or AP Chemistry.</p>
<p>@MaxyBoy1993 and 212DAD, based off your experiences, which APs (like 212DAD said english/humanities) are worth taking during my senior year to try and get out of those classes at Penn?</p>
<p>Definitely take the language AP if you are planning to take one this year. If you get a 4 you are exempt from the language requirement. If you start from the beginning with the language requirement it takes four semesters. AP Psych, and Micro and Macro could get you waivers for the intro course. Other than that, they’re pretty much all just elective credits for English and history APs.
If you are planning to major in Biology, you’ll probably want to start with Bio 121 in the fall or intro Chem. There are honors classes in Physics, Math, and Chemistry which you may want to look into if you are very interested in those subjects. They cover the material with a much higher emphasis on theory and only have about 20-30 students in them.</p>
<p>when u say language AP, do you mean English or a foreign language (like spanish or french)? I assume you are talking about foreign languages, and if you are, then there is no way I can get a 4 of that AP test haha. But I heard you can take a placement test once you get to Penn, and maybe skip 2 or 3 semesters of the language, and just end up taking 1 or 2 semesters to fill up the requirement. is that true?</p>
<p>I already got a 5 in AP Psych, but they say its just a waiver for psych 001. But that means I get no credit units for it, so what good does that test do for me? </p>
<p>If the rest are mostly elective credits, is it worth it to take, for example, the AP English Language or Literature test? I am asking this in terms of the actual course at Penn. Because for Math 104, everyone says to take AP Calc BC and get out of the class because Math 104 is too difficult and the curve is terrible. Are there any classes like those that are worth getting out of using AP tests (english/humanities/anything else)?</p>
<p>I think I’m interested in Math and Chemistry a lot more, so i’ll definitely look into the honors classes for those subjects. Do you happen to remember which numbers were the honors courses for those classes? Thank you for all your input Poeme. You’re so helpful!</p>
<p>He definitely means language AP. However, it is true that you can get exemptions if you take the departmental exam or even the SAT Subject test (you only need…a 650 for French so pretty low).</p>
<p>AP Psych is only worth it if you want to get into higher level psych classes w/o taking intro.</p>
<p>AP Calc BC is useful for 104. Everything else isn’t of much use in my opinion. Language AP, though, is extremely useful.</p>
<p>Honors math is 116 and 260 I believe. For chemistry it is 115 and 116.</p>
<p>Thanks that’s really helpful!</p>