<p>When you are given AP credits, are the grades for those AP classes calculated as part of your GPA?</p>
<p>My understanding of the advantage of taking AP classes/college courses in high school is that it saves you money and allows you to skip introductory courses; what are other benefits?</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>The only grades calculated in your HS GPA are the grades you get from your HS.</p>
<p>Another advantage of taking AP’s is that it shows that you can handle harder material and more work, especially if you do well on the exam. I can’t think of anything else other than that and being able to skip intro classes…</p>
<p>AP credits do NOT count in your college GPA.</p>
<p>Another benefit of AP classes is that they factor into your WEIGHTED high school GPA. For most classes, an A is worth 4.0, but for AP classes, an A is worth 5.0.</p>
<p>not all high schools weight grades in APs. neither of the high schools i went to did.</p>
<p>not weighing AP grades is absurd. how would ranking be possible without it? ur schools probably didnt rank im guessing?</p>
<p>Yeah neither of te schools I went to rank.</p>
<p>AP courses at Tufts, if you take the credit and the requirements that go with it, are listed on your transcript along with the grade you received on the exam. You have to look at individual department policies to see what an AP credit gives you. A 5 on the Biology exam will get you out of one of the introductory biology courses, your choice. A 5 on AP Chemistry will get you out of both chemistry 1 and 2 (if I remember correctly), but many people still take the courses and lose the credit. A 5 on AP Spanish Language gets you out of Spanish 21 and means you only have to take one more Spanish language class. But a 5 on the history AP’s will only give you credit (e.g. you can get out of having to take some requirement courses or take fewer classes in a semester) because the history department still requires a full 10 + classes for the major. </p>
<p>Here’s a good source for more information (292 pages of everything you ever wanted to know): <a href=“http://uss.tufts.edu/stuServ/bulletin/Tufts%20Bulletin%202008-09.pdf[/url]”>http://uss.tufts.edu/stuServ/bulletin/Tufts%20Bulletin%202008-09.pdf</a></p>
<p>If you are looking to graduate early and save $$$, then AP credits are extremely helpful. Also, in ceretain cases, if you are looking to double or triple major, getting those basic distribution and foundation requirements out of the way through AP credits, is almost a must.</p>
<p>guildsman said that many people who get a 5 on Chem still take the course and forfeit the credit. I was just wondering why that is, and whether it is particular to Chem or whether, for example, it happens a lot with Physics too.<br>
Is there a sense that taking advanced standing in such courses might put you in a position where you are at the back, instead of at the head, of the class?</p>
<p>^ i think this is the case. Also since college courses tend to go more in depth than AP classes, students usually decide to forfeit their credit and take the college course as a refresher. People generally do forfeit the credit for chem, as well as physics i believe. I think more ppl generally opt out of the into bio courses bc they are weedout classes and tend to be harder.</p>
<p>When you get to Tufts, you get credit for MOST AP exams if you score a 5 (or sometimes a 4) up to 8. APs do not impact your GPA, though you can earn credit towards graduation and fulfillment of the distribution requirements.</p>
<p>This is a very limited sample size, but the only other person I know of that had credit for AP chem was in my Chem 2 class in the fall (we both skipped chem 1). However, everyone I know who had physics credit skipped the corresponding physics course(s).</p>
<p>I was wondering if I got above a 760 on the SAT Writing section, is that the same as an AP score of 4 on AP Lang? or is it only the same in terms of getting exempt from 1st semester of college writing, and not in terms of getting 1 acceleration credit?</p>
<p>Any thoughts on what to do if you get a 5 on BC Calc, in terms of whether you should go into Math 13 (by using both credits) or whether it’s better to just go into Math 12 (thereby forfeiting one of the two credits to which you’re entitled)?</p>
<p>I got a 5 on BC calc and went straight to calc 3 and did very well; my other friends who were in the same situation generally did pretty well, too. Unless you feel like you didn’t deserve a 5 or if you took it as a junior and didn’t do math this last year then it’s worth going straight to calc 3.</p>
<p>^ That’s very helpful. Thank you!</p>
<p>^ By the way, any thoughts on which profs are best for Calc 3? I think the choices this fall are Nitecki, Gonzalez, Hague and Browne. I had read some pretty good reviews on Gonzalez somewhere.</p>
<p>As an addendum to WCASParent’s question: Anyone able to talk about the Math department in general and any professors in particular? Thanks.</p>
<p>I love, love, love Todd Quinto. Mary Glaser and Kim Ruane are awesome. I’ve heard students describe Fulton Gonzalez as “funny as hell” and I’ve watched him juggle (literally juggle, like with balls) calculus principles.</p>
<p>Oh. And if you’re serious about math, look into the proof based sequence for calculus (Math 17 and 18). It’s more conceptual and a little less applied, but since the course is taught using the creation of proofs, you gain a much more powerful understanding of the material. Downside: it’s much harder work.</p>