<p>if it helps i am going to try and major in business, most likely accounting or finance.</p>
<p>I was wondering when it says you get "elective credit" for your ap score, what that really means and what that does for you towards graduating or fulfilling your requirements towards your degree?</p>
<p>For example, for AP human geography it says geography electives..getting a 3 on physics B gives you 3 physics elective credits...the english lit test gives you elective credit too. </p>
<p>If after I take my senior year tests and get my scores, if I go into Wisconsin with 31 total credit hours and 12 of those hours are elective hours (3 for physics B, 3 for both english tests, and 3 for human geography), what will be the significance of the 12 elective hours? what will that do for me fulfilling my requirements? </p>
<p>If it does nothing i don't want to consider them, but if they go towards fulfilling a group of elective credit i need to graduate, then they are just as important. </p>
<p>Thanks for any help</p>
<p>UW parent – here is what we understand, though my student is in L&S not B school, so he has different requirements for graduation than if you were admitted to B school. In L&S, each student must meet Comm A and B (writing), Quant A and B, and 12 credits each in Humanities (incl 6 Lit), Social Sciences and Nat Sciences (inc 3 each in Bio and Phys Science). AP/IB credits can go to meet those requirements – for instance, my kid placed out of Comm A and B and had 6 Social Science credits from testing. By the end of freshman year, he was done with the 12 credits in Humanities and Social Science. In hindsight, since he is not a math/science kid, I would have encouraged him to self-study some AP tests so knock off a few credits in those. </p>
<p>So, in our experience, credits from advanced testing can meet your distribution requirements. I would encourage you to spend some time on the B school site to review its degree requirements. Unless students are direct admits to the B school as incoming freshman, they apply to the B school in the spring of freshman year, based on their fall semester grades, essays etc. While my son doesn’t know anyone who applied and didn’t get in (or maybe they just didn’t talk about it), it is possible that some students may intend to be B school students but instead remain in L&S. </p>
<p>okay thanks. i was directly admitted into the business school but they still have non-business requirements, hopefully for the social science requirements social science electives will be enough.</p>
<p>@midwestmomofboys, how do you place out of Comm B? I didn’t know that was possible. Both AP English tests only get you out of Comm A.</p>
<p>Will the elective credits that one gets for a ‘3’ on a test count towards gen.eds? I kind of assumed you need credit for a specific class, so a '4’or ‘5’, but that is great if not true. For example, on the AP Micro test, 4/5 gets credit for Econ101, which satisfies social science requirement. Many, but not all econ courses do. The question is if general elective credit will satisfy social science. You can see on their AP chart that getting a ‘3’ on AP English does not get you out of Comm A. Need the ‘4’ or ‘5.’</p>
<p>Having more credits will help you get to higher rank sooner and hence earlier registration priority and a better chance to get into courses you want. 31 credits is sophomore. It may not help 1st semester, but 2nd semester surely. Don’t know how UW handles it, but at many unis the scheduling priority won’t make a difference that first semester freshman year. </p>
<p>at university of illinois, if you get a 4 or 5 on a test then you will get credit hours linked to a specific class. if i got at least a 4 on my tests this year, i would have a total of 38 credits linked to classes at uiuc and at uw madison i would have 36. </p>
<p>at uw tho, 27 on the 36 would be linked to classes and 9 would be “english comp electives”, “literature elective” and “social science electives”. so i don’t know what those electives really mean, if they satisfy requirements for literature or if they are just “there” and i still have to take all the classes to satisfy 120 credit hours to graduate besides the ap credits that link to classes.</p>
<p>I’m sure they count as part of the 120. Just don’t know myself if they count towards any of the breadth/gen ed requirements. If S gets any '3’s on next month’s tests I’ll be calling UW to ask. If you don’t get a definitive answer here, that’s what you should do.</p>
<p>celesteroberts – you are right, I looked at his stuff, and he only got credit for Comm A. He took Comm B so I was thinking it was all done through test credits. My mistake, sry. </p>
<p>It’s hard to keep track of all these details, 'sok. </p>
<p>For my S, thinking that if he gets a 4/5 on AP Lang next month, that next year he can skip AP Lit test as so few universities give really substantial credit for the 2nd test if you take both, and it’s $110!! But just emailed someone in UW admissions to ask if the ‘literature elective credit’ for AP Lit would count as any breadth requirement. If so, then it would be worth it. Will report back what I hear.</p>
<p>You may have been admitted directly to the business school but you were also admitted to the university as a whole. This means you can change majors/school/college later if you wish. </p>
<p>The credits given for AP test scores varies. A 5 or 4 can give you specific UW course credits. A 3 will usually just give you general- elective- credits that count in your credits towards graduation but don’t meet a UW course prerequisite like the better scores can. Those elective credits will help you get advanced standing sooner. This means being able to register for classes sooner than you otherwise may be able to. The credits do not become part of your record until you complete your first semester (meaning they won’t help with earlier registration for second semester even though you may magically have sophomore standing by then). Those generic elective credits help satisfy the number of credits needed for graduation.</p>
<p>It is worth striving for the better AP test score to get specific course credits. It does not mean you wouldn’t take the introductory UW course as well. Son got 5 credits for AP calculus but took the entire Honors Calculus sequence from the beginning and got credit for both. Same with Honors Physics and AP Physics. The UW courses for those vary enough that you aren’t getting double credits for the same material. AP credits free up time for courses of your choosing, or can help you graduate earlier although I would recommend planning on graduating in the usual number of semesters and taking courses you otherwise wouldn’t have room for in your schedule. This could mean taking another advanced course in or related to your major instead of needing to take a course just to meet breadth requirements. This could include grad level courses at undergrad prices. Those new to UW will understand after they have experienced time at UW- you won’t want to rush to leave!</p>
<p>You don’t get your AP credits until end of first semester? That’s weird. They don’t do it that way at my D’s schools… My D got her credits during the summer before she started college, as soon as CB sent the results. Is that common, to hold the credits back for a full semester like that? Is there a link where that policy is explained? If not, I think I’ll be sending more email questions to admissions.</p>
<p>It is how it works – not sure the underlying reasons, but you “get” your credits added in after first semester freshman year. So, everyone starts at 0, but after first semester, some students may have the 15 credits they just earned from the fall semester and others may have 35, from retro, AP/IB credits plus fall semester. </p>
<p>It isn’t weird at all- could consider your D’s school weird for doing things the way they do instead. The credits go on your UW transcript but you need to finish a semester first. If a student never actually finished a semester UW would be stuck with a weird AP only transcript for the student. Don’t waste time questioning admissions with this- it won’t change anything. As with all things different schools do things differently. </p>
<p>All entering freshmen register at the same time so having/not having the AP credits is irrelevant. The only disadvantage can be not getting advanced standing in time to register as a sophomore for second semester (they start online registration earlier than freshmen late in the prior semester) for classes that fill up. One could always register for any courses requiring sophomore standing between semesters (or get a prof’s permission earlier).</p>
<p>I wouldn’t expect to change anything, just like to know the facts about how things operate since there is a pretty good chance S will end up there. If 2 people attest to it, I’m willing to believe. So how does it work if you need to register for a course 1st or 2nd semester semester that has an AP credit course as a prereq ? Do you have to get waivers from the depts or does advisor handle it?</p>
<p>I don’t suppose kids in honors get any scheduling priority at UW?</p>
<p>In 2012, when my Honors kid registered as a freshman, Honors students could reserve a spot in their first choice FIG. That was a big deal for him because there are only 20 spots and he had one FIG he really really wanted. So he knew he was in that cluster of 3 courses, and only had one more to choose. Worked for him.</p>
<p>Unless they have changed procedures in 2 years, Honors students do not get dibs on earlier SOAR dates than other students. However, they are eligible to enroll in the Honors only option for courses (courses marked “H” as opposed to those marked “!” or “%”), which non-Honors students at least need consent for (I think that is how it works). So, if you want an Honors seminar or an Honors section of a lecture class, the pool is smaller of students able to take that class and chances of getting into it generally better. </p>
<p>Again, I could be wrong, but I thought my kid got “credit” for his AP/IB credits when it was time to register for second semester freshman year. I am pretty sure – though could be confusing it with later semesters – that he got a registration slot that was in the middle of the regular sophomore registration window and was able to get all the classes he wanted, at decent times. </p>
<p>As a parent of Honors student at UW, I will add that I prefer the way UW does Honors. At a number of other midwest flagships, Honors is bases on automatic gpa/stats alone, and it brings perks like Honors dorms, etc. Those schools tout it in terms of benefits separating kids from “non Honors” students. At UW, it is a program which all admitted students are invited to apply to, not a separate college, and UW does not try to create a separate pool of kids with a different experience than other, non -Honors kids. </p>
<p>The idea underlying Honors at UW is that it is a program which provides students with opportunities for deeper examination in courses they are interested in. This could include an Honors discussion section which is led by the prof teaching the course, or an Honors only class with smaller enrollment. Taking section with the prof is huge – an opportunity to work directly with incredible researchers in their field of interest. Honors optional classes involve extra work to deepen the study in that course. To graduate with Honors in the Liberal Arts, a student needs to complete basically breadth requirements in Honors courses – showing a range of Honors work. </p>
<p>The idea is that all UW L&S students are capable of this level of work, but only some choose to pursue it. </p>
<p>Don’t worry about signing up for courses with prerequisites. Not having the AP credits on the yet to exist transcript is not an issue. The SOAR advisor will be sure to agree to it- the professors advising students, especially in Honors, know many tricks to getting what is wanted/needed as opposed to what is stated in the timetable. The computer seems to allow it as well. It may be a large institution but people still run it and professors are interested in students. Some students will sign up for a class before they know their AP scores and later change to another course if indicated. btw- many students who pass the AP calculus exam still should start with the first semester UW course as UW’s version covers more than the AP version- some who try second semester calculus will struggle. Likewise even getting a 5 on the AP calc exam does not mean boredom in the Honors Math sequence which is theory (versus problem) based.</p>
<p>Students learn quickly how to work the system to their best advantage. Computers will not let a student in a full class but later someone may drop it and the first day of class the professor may be able to override the computer. Beats having to walk from one end of campus to the other and explain to the TAs manning registration tables in each departmental building how you really need to get that section of the Honors course in your major- especially in January.</p>
<p>I finally got an answer from admissions about the elective credit, though it took me several emails to pin them down on an answer. Must have worded my question VERY badly.</p>
<p>The general electives may not get the comm A/B or quantitative reasoning A/B gen ed credit, but they WILL give you breadth credits, so they are good for something. The AP Lit should give you ‘L’ credit and you need 3 credits of that in business school. Then the physics will give you 3 credits of ‘physical science’, and you need 6 credits of sciences. If you have more ‘L’ credits from some other AP class or classes you need to take at UW, business allows you to use the extra as ‘humanities’. In general, you look in the course catalog to see what sort of breadth requirements the dept’s courses mostly are tagged for and it is usually the case that the elective credit will get the same tag. But you can call the dept to check. If you enroll at UW, that will all be handled at registration, of course. Admissions claimed I could see this myself in the course catalog, but I can’t find elective credit listings so far…</p>
<p>The human geography, it says on AP sheet that with a 4/5 you get social sciences. I wonder if that means the 3 doesn’t earn any breadth. Not sure I trust admissions on this. Probably need to call depts about each course to verify if you want to know now.</p>
<p>Social science is a breadth requirement, at least in L&S and perhaps in B School as well. The online course listing tells you what breadth or other requirements a course counts for, though in terms of specific AP scores, that could take some unpacking. In the online course guide (under Academics), click on the course, and you will see what breadth etc requirements it counts for. It also shows whether is elementary, intermediate or advanced. If you have questions, as a parent, feel free to PM me. </p>
<p>You can get your AP and foreign language ‘retro’ credits by taking that foreign language in summer school right after H.S. graduation, - convenient for Madison locals.</p>