<p>Since AP season will be upon us in a few days...</p>
<p>If you go to the PDF link at Courses</a> & Programs of Study, it gives a description of awarding AP credits on page 5.</p>
<p>I'm a bit confused on elective credit. It states that "credit for no more than six general electives may be gained...." Does "six general electives" mean six quarters of credit? or is there some other credit-counting method?</p>
<p>By this definition, I'm assuming that my AP US, Euro, and Eng. Comp scores from last year already exceed the maximum amount of elective credit allowed, so taking the AP exam for Music Theory or Computer Science would do me no good. </p>
<p>And...for Econ, elective credit is only awarded for both Micro and Macro, right? I guess it doesn't really matter since it's only elective credit....</p>
<p>Did I interpret all this properly? And does any current student know how Chicago's own placement tests work?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Elective credit means credit that doesn't count toward the core requirements or your major.</p>
<p>So does gaining elective credit just mean you'll be able to graduate early, and that's it? No other advantages? Or is it more like you free up room to take more classes that appeal to your interests? I'm fine either way - I'm definitely utilizing my entire four years at UChicago! :P</p>
<p>Yes, you'll be able to graduate earlier.</p>
<p>(You can also most likely graduate early with zero AP credits-- if you take 4 courses per quarter and stick to one major, you will probably be done a quarter or two early).</p>
<p>If your AP credits count towards core, you won't have to worry about those aspects of core, which would free you up to take other classes. The "elective credit" is just there to help you graduate earlier. </p>
<p>I have no idea if that clarifies or not.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, unalove and phuriku...I guess I should clarify a bit more. This is specifically about elective credit. Here's what I've interpreted so far.... Please correct/comment/otherwise modify:</p>
<p>1) The "no more than six electives" statement seems to mean elective credit for six quarters, right? (And not credit for six separate AP exams, each with a few quarters of credit?)</p>
<p>2) Are the "3 quarters elective credit" (awarded for "other", US/Comp Gov't, and Macro/Micro-econ, Comp Sci AB) the credits that will be counted in the 6-elective maximum? (Or does the 6-max apply to Bio/Chem/Calc/other specific tests, as well?)</p>
<p>3) If I already have 5s on US, Euro, and Eng. Comp from soph/junior year, then I should have 9 quarters of elective credit already, right? And since the max awarded is only 6, I should not take Econ and Comp Sci next week. Is there any other reason (other than "to gain testing experience") to spend $71 and three hours testing next week?</p>
<p>4) Would having more elective credit from APs make a double major easier? (especially if the 2 majors are completely different, like Chem and Political Science.) From what I've heard, it seems like most of the major requirements can't be satisfied by AP credits....</p>
<p>Sorry about the earlier confusion!</p>
<p>Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>Take the AP exams, just in case. You might switch majors, in which case they might be helpful.</p>
<p>I've always interpreted the credit that either you get credit for one (or multiple) "real" courses through an AP score, or you get one "elective" credit for a 4 or 5 on another AP. As a rule of thumb, the quantitative AP's translate into "real" course credit, while the others (English, history, etc.) translate into elective credit.</p>
<p>You also get credit through placement tests you take during O-Week. <em>cue PSA about the power of placement tests-- those babies are your friends</em></p>
<p>AP credit shtuff will also be bludgeoned to death throughout O-Week, where you will get this magical printout that shows what you've already accomplished towards your degree.</p>