<p>Hello everyone, I got in ED but Im not sure if I should take the AP tests. Almost all of them are not related to the area I plan on studying, so is it still worth it? I read up on WashU's cluster system regarding credit distributions and it seems a little confusing.</p>
<p>Another question: if I had indicated on the CommonApp form that I would take the AP Tests, would I be in trouble if I actually didnt't? Would the adcoms even find out?</p>
<p>It depends- which tests?</p>
<p>For example, don't even bother with AP Chem.</p>
<p>Well I already took AP Chem, Bio, Stats and Euro last year. This year im supposed to take Calc BC, Gov, English, Physics B, Spanish, and Art History. Should I? I really dont want to spend $80 per test and all that time studying if theyre not gonna help me much in college.</p>
<p>Unless you are a natural at AP English, I wouldn't suggest taking it because you need a 5 to get any credit and you would probably still have to take the required writing class.</p>
<p>Also, I'd take into consideration that they only award a max of 15 credits, so that would be like only 4-5 AP exams depending on the class.</p>
<p>But in the Common App section where you self report your AP scores, if you say you will take these AP Tests in May of 09, will you get in trouble if you dont? Or do the admissions people not even see that?</p>
<p>They won't care if you don't end up taking the actual test- so long as you continue with the class.
You'll have to decide whether or not you can use the credit (ie for art history you'll need to take a further class to get back credit). However, unless you're engineering, don't bother with AP English since you'll have to take writing regardless.</p>
<p>Ok, just what I needed to know. Thanks for your help!</p>
<p>definitely take Calc - it's an automatic credit (6 units) for a 5...
As long as you take at least 1 class in other areas at WUSTL, you might get credit as well (like Gov).
Art History is very much worth it if you have any plans to study art.</p>
<p>FHN_Dent - The Olin School of Business awards up to 30 credits from AP exams. All other schools limit AP credit to 15 hours I think (just saying in case someone reading this is planning to enroll in the business school.)</p>
<p>^And engineering is unlimited (no maximum).</p>
<p>Nice, I didn't know that. Maybe I can cheat the system and enter into the business school, get more credits, and retransfer to art/sci haha.</p>
<p>On another note, depending on how you are doing in calculus..it may be in your best interests to take calculus I in college and skip the AP exam. </p>
<p>Also, my perspectives are based on what I've seen from the art sci AP policy, I haven't really looked at any of the other departments' policies.</p>
<p>Hey, I also got in to Washu Ed. I got into Olin and am also wondering which AP's I should take between calc, art history, gov, physics, english and spanish. I am for sure going to take calc, but I don't know if any others would help especially with me going into Olin. I was wondering if taking physics would maybe get me out of some Freshman science class or something?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>^ I've been wondering the exact same thing. I will also be a freshman at the business school next year (accepted ED obviously). I'm in almost the exact same boat as you. I'm taking five APs, but I'm not sure which ones would be beneficial for an incoming freshman at the business school. Like you, I will take Calc BC for sure (if we get a 5 we get credit for Calc I and II which will fulfill our gen-ed math requirements, so no more math if you don't want), but the others I'm not sure about.</p>
<p>From what I understand though I can't say for sure, it is almost worthless to take the AP Eng Lit or AP Eng Lang exams. The art/sci policy is that 3 units of elective credit hours are given for a 5 on either exam. It's only elective credit, so you can't test out of the required Writing course by taking an AP Eng exam. That is the policy for the arts/sci school, and I would venture to guess that it's the same for the business school.</p>
<p>As for AP Spanish I'm not sure - I'm actually considering taking that myself. I'd really like to know what score is required for credit at the business school and whether it's even worth taking. </p>
<p>Yes, there is a gen-ed requirement for science at the business school. However, unlike the other schools, we don't have to take a rigorous course like gen-chem or physics. You could probably test out of the science requirement by getting a 5 on the physics exam, but if you don't, no big deal. You can take a relatively simple science course at WashU like "The geology of national parks" to fulfill the science requirement.</p>
<p>I've seen the arts/sciences and engineering AP credit policies, but I can't find anything about the business school. I'm taking 5-APs right now but I'm wondering which ones are actually worth taking. It would be really nice to see a list of AP exam score requirements for credit at the business school. Hopefully the biz school is more lenient than the others.</p>
<p>Having extra credits lets you register for classes earlier (greater chance of getting into the class you really want), so even if you don't need the class, the extra credits it brings you will still help you (and continue to help you at each registration time).</p>
<p>For the Olin students (WUSTL13 and guitarman89):</p>
<p>I took 7 APs total in high school and managed to pull in 24 credit hours here at Olin. That means I'm almost 2 semesters ahead of some of my classmates and I might be able to graduate in 3 years if I wanted to.</p>
<p>The AP policy is a little confusing. But as far as I can tell, the Olin school follows the ArtSci school in giving out credit:
<a href="http://college.artsci.wustl.edu/sites/college.artsci.wustl.edu/files/APPolicy2008.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://college.artsci.wustl.edu/sites/college.artsci.wustl.edu/files/APPolicy2008.pdf</a></p>
<p>For the B-school, any tests that says they will give you credit for a specific class means that that AP credit can fulfill a distribution requirement (this is not-so for the ArtSci school). That means AP Biology will fulfill a distribution requirement while AP US Gov will not. That means I don't have to take a science class EVER at WUSTL if I choose not to.</p>
<p>IMO, Art History is not that useful because even with a 5, you have to take a 300 or 400-level Art History class in order to receive credit for it. But if you that's something you want to do (it's not for me) then it might very well be worth it for you to the AP test.</p>
<p>Definitely take Calc. Doesn't matter if it's AB or BC. A 5 on the BC means you won't have to take Calc 1 or 2 at WUSTL and automatic placement into Calc 3. Math at WUSTL is nice because even if you don't have the AP scores to give you automatic credit, you get back credit for completing the Calc 1-2-3 sequence.</p>
<p>I didn't take Physics but it looks like you need a 5 on the B test or a 4/5 on the C test to get credit (and fulfill distribution requirements).</p>
<p>I don't think AP English is that useful. =/ Writing 1 is a pain and there's no way to get out of it (unless you're an engineer).</p>
<p>Definitely take Spanish if you are going to continue with Spanish in college.</p>
<p>^ Yes he is right. I recently found out that the Olin b-school follows the same policy in giving out credit as the art/sci school.</p>
<p>I think the Business school has the same credit policies - they give the same amount of credit for each AP but they accept more credits than Arts and Science. I thought it was 21. English is worth taking because if you get a 5, you get an extra 3 credits after taking the required freshman English if you get a B or better.</p>
<p>Extra credits are always good for advanced standing for example - you can get sophmore standing in your first or second semester and register for classes earlier. You can use the extra credit for a double major, etc. You can take things you want by placing out of requirements that you're not interested in.</p>
<p>Business school takes 30 credits.</p>
<p>And I disagree on AP English Lit/Lang. Yes, you do get 3 more credits of an English elective that can help with your class standing but I don't think those credits are that useful. For business school students, these 3 credits do not fulfill any requirement. For ArtSci students, these 3 units do not cluster with anything and chances are, you probably won't need them. Please note that this is just for the AP English Lit/Lang. I would not pay to take these two tests but if there's another reason--ie. AP Scholar, free tests, etc--then taking it won't hurt.</p>
<p>So, it seems that the most useful ones to take would be calc and physics. If taking physics could get me out of having to take science ever again that would be quite nice. I have already taken both chem and bio as well, so with physics it should fulfill any science credits that I would need</p>
<p>Maybe you already have the science requirement satisfied with the bio and chem. You have to take a lot of electives and you need business requirements which can be satisfied with APs. Like history APs.</p>