AP credits at MIT

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>I have already taken AP English lang and got a 5 on it. Should I take AP Psych, AP Calc BC, and AP English Lit? I'm pretty sure about taking BC, but unsure about lang and psych. Would I get 18 unrestricted units for 5's on both lang and lit, or does only one of them count? And are these general unrestricted credits really helpful for double majors? I'm considering a double major in CS and Math. </p>

2

<p>The cost is also a big deal for my family, so I only would take these exams if there’s a decent chance of them helping me substantially. </p>

3

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The former. You would get 18 units total, 9 per class. They can help you get early sophomore standing or graduate early, but I have not personally found them to be useful.</p>

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Nope. Or at least, I don’t know why they would be. AP credit is only helpful for collecting enough units to graduate. And at least I have never had to think about whether or not I have enough units to graduate and I am 6-7/18 (computer science and molecular biology and math double major), which is close to 6-3/18 (computer science and math double major).</p>

4

<p>What would you be taking instead, and what are the factors driving you to those classes? (Do AP exams offer waiving fees for financial need?)</p>

5

<p>@PiperXP Oh, sorry for the lack of detail - I’m a senior and am currently enrolled in these classes. I would not qualify for a AP fee waiver, and I doubt my school would cover my costs. </p>

<p>Also, I have received 5’s on five humanities exams. I’m still a little confused by MIT’s system, but if I’m understanding it correctly these scores plus a 5 on Calc BC would be enough qualify me for me sophomore advanced standing even if I don’t take Psych and English Lit (that is, if I meet the other requirements - 4 GIRs plus 37 additional credits earned during fall semester I believe, for a total of 96 credits). Can you confirm this? I’m not even sure if sophomore status is something I would want to pursue if accepted by MIT, but I want to give myself all possible options. </p>

<p>So essentially I have two questions: 1) is sophomore standing worth pursuing? and 2) is what I have currently enough to get sophomore standing during spring semester freshman year? </p>

6

<p>@megalomaniac7 You also need to take a CI subject during fall semester. Assuming you complete most of your GIR’s during fall semester (either by taking the class, or ASE-ing, or other credit), you should be eligible for early sophomore standing.</p>

<p>You may want to pursue sophomore standing if you want an early start to your major, or wish to take more than the freshman fall limit of 54 units, or wish to graduate early. I didn’t pursue it mainly because I didn’t feel like I needed to, and I was unsure what to major in. If you haven’t already, please see <a href=“http://web.mit.edu/firstyear/2017/academics/soph_stand.html”>http://web.mit.edu/firstyear/2017/academics/soph_stand.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

7

<p>^ Quick correction, sophomore standing would mean that you could go past the freshman spring limit of 57 units. You can’t do much about freshman fall.</p>

8

<p>Heads up: you would also lose your spring semester A/B/C/no record.</p>