<p>I was wondering, how exactly are all those credits going to affect one's standing towards a degree? For example, I received a 5 on the AP Calc AB test...according to the UW-Madison "Advanced Credit Guide," this is equivalent to 5 credits, Math 221. Does this mean that I automatically have these 5 credits when the semester begins? </p>
<p>Furthermore, for my senior year, the AP's I plan on taking are
AP Calc BC
AP Java (compsci A)
AP Spanish Lang (fifth year)
AP Chem...and
AP Physics B</p>
<p>Looking at the advcredit guide, I could earn the following credits / course equivalent upon receiving at least 4's on the AP tests for all of those classes</p>
<p>AP Calc BC - 10 credits / math 221 and 222
AP Java - 3 credits / CompSci 302
AP Spanish - 4 credits / Spanish 204
AP Chem - 3 credits / chem 103
AP Phys B - 8 credits / phys 103 and 104</p>
<p>adding these up (plus the 5 i earned from the calc ab test), that makes 33 credits in total...does this mean I would begin college with a sophomore standing? would it go towards a degree for my intended major? (something in engineering, most likely electrical). </p>
<p>I know i should probably be asking these questions to an adcon or someone similar, but i like CC and the people that post here; you're all very nice and helpful</p>
<p>You will receive credit for your AP courses after your first two semesters (freshman year). I know a few upperclassmen who became juniors after their first year because of AP and language credits. This is a real advantage because you will be able to register sooner than those with sophomore status.</p>
<p>Also, you can't recieve credit for both Calc AB and BC. So it is either 5 or 10 credits, not 15.</p>
<p>I'm going to Madison this fall, and I recently got a letter from the Office of Admissions that says I have "28 transferable degree credits" from my AP test scores, and a class I took at a local university.</p>
<p>Part of the letter I got says The number of these credits that will actually apply to your degree will depend upon the credit rules of your UW-Madison school or college". I would contact the College of Engineering to see what could be applicable to your degree. </p>
<p>I don't see why you wouldn't start as a sophomore; I was told I would when I went to SOAR. Although, certain programs/classes might consider your actual grade points, from actually taking a class, which you don't have.</p>
<p>Im in engineering. Nothing is applicable really. You pass the calc test, you get put into a higher calc. Nothing happens if you pass the chem test. Im not real sure about physics. You have junior standing a lot earlier with ap credits though. Physics B wont give u credit towards a degree in engineering.</p>
<p>You don't get the credits until you complete a semester, you have to register as a freshman. The big advantage is having an earlier registration time for later semesters. These credits can be great for meeting prerequisites and breadth reqs. They may not mean an earlier graduation as it may take all 4 years to get the major finished, especially a senior Honors thesis. Also, if you were to start with an Honors math/science sequence you may still keep the AP credits, but wouldn't be further ahead. Regardless of how the rules for credits play out the AP courses are worth it for getting the best preparation for your college work.</p>
<p>I know that most of those won't replace the classes required for a degree in engineering...but could they go towards the "elective credits" that i would be required to take to earn the degree? </p>
<p>If not, aren't all first year students in any university are usually required to take basic core classes, i.e. math, chem, english, etc., couldn't some of these credits apply here?</p>
<p>AP credits will help you with your breadth reqs and electives. There are no specific core courses reqs for UW. Getting AP chemistry credit will satisfy a Chem 103 req, for example. If you were in L & S many other AP credits could satisfy the social science and humanities reqs if you had them. Instead of making everyone take the same courses most American colleges/universities allow freedom in choosing specific subject matter. The U of Chicago has a Core Curriculum, but UW lets you choose which science, humanities, social science (to include one meeting the ethnic studies req) you want- the number of credits needed depends on the school/college within UW. When you get accepted to UW you are accepted to the whole university, not any particular school/college- this means it doesn't matter what your proposed major is, and you can change majors after being admitted any time.</p>
<p>You do not need the AP exam to satisfy a language req- you only need the number of HS years of a language. You would have to check with UW for the fine details on taking a language taken in HS, I don't know if AP credits earned allows you to take the next course or if the placement exam is still required- I suspect they would want the SOAR placement exam results (no placement exam needed if you do not take that language at UW), obviously you would lose the credits if you repeated the course for which AP credit was given (confused? don't worry- an obscure issue unlikely to happen).</p>
<p>It often happens that people repeat content they have AP credits for, there can be overlap in a UW course. Consider any HS AP courses as the best course you could take for being well prepared for your college courses. AP courses may seem tough in HS, but they are just the most basic/elementary level of a college course. Even AP calculus will not compare to some beginning calc courses- such as the theory based Honors sequence at UW (I wouldn't be surprised to hear that the regular calc sequence offers more material, also). There is a reason some, especially the most elite, colleges will not give credit for AP exams- they want you to get the more rigorous material they offer in their beginning courses in the subject. All colleges are not created equally, the material covered is not uniform, some offer more/less for any given course.</p>
<p>Addenda- you can't use your grades from HS AP courses/exams to help your UW gpa. This could make a B at UW count more if you used a lot of AP credits to meet reqs for a school/college- you won't have the A's you would have had by taking the course at UW to help your gpa.</p>
<p>I remember my son's HS Calculus teacher said that the Calculus BC exam material doesn't cover everything in the courses that it replaces. Perhaps because we're local, the HS Calculus teacher has a close relationship with the UW Math dept. and he taught the material not covered in the BC exam, so students would be ready for Math 234.</p>