<p>My son has taken 7 AP exams - with a score of 5 in each. He is scheduled to take 4 more in May, but we are trying to decide if it is worth it. He is also in at Caltech. If he chooses that, then he definitely wont take them because they give no credit.</p>
<p>I have read the MIT page for AP credit. My son will get direct credit for Calc BC and Physics C. He will get no credit for Chem, Stat, or Comp Sci AB. This leaves his APUSH test and he will get 9 units of General Elective Credit. </p>
<p>For the four tests he is could take in May, all will give GE credit. If he took all 4, and got 5s in them, then he would have a total of 45 GE credits. </p>
<p>How much unrestricited GE credit can someone apply to graduation requirements?</p>
<p>There is no limit to unrestricted credit. On the other hand, these credits may not be of much help as each department has significant requirements of their own to major. I suggest you check out the department web sites of interest as each details the minimum requirements and they vary quite a bit. </p>
<p>GE credits also don't apply to HASS classes (humanities). Our D had 45 GE credits from her AP classes and she estimated that it may only save her one or two classes at most. Most students at MIT end up with way more credits than they need to graduate unless they double major.</p>
<p>One of the few benefits of lots of GE credits is the ability to apply for sophomore standing spring semester freshman year. You don't end up graduating early but you can take more classes ( no limits on units) and you can pick your major earlier if you really know what to want to do. You also can take a hard class as "experimental" and drop it after the final if you get a poor grade. </p>
<p>In short, AP credits are not that helpful at MIT.</p>
<p>If he is thinking of a double-major, though, those 45 units could be tremendously helpful -- there's no way I could have double-majored without my 27 AP units.</p>
<p>There's no way to pass out of the CS req. That being said, there is no actual CS "requirement." </p>
<p>But if you want to major in course six, you have to take 6.01, 'Intro to EECS I.' I can see no way a student could possibly persuade the faculty of letting them out of this class short of doing outstanding work at an AI-Robotics lab (like the one at MIT!). Simply put, you cannot do many of the things we learn in class because unless you're loaded with $$$, you can't blow thousands of dollars on the expensive robots and equipment we use. But you wouldn't want to skip it, I can already tell that the class is a gem (once some of the rough corners are polished).</p>
<p>I came into MIT with 54 units of GE credit and received a letter offering me sophomore standing for the spring semester. In that regard, I consider my credits to be useful. Also, like what Mollie said, I've heard that for double majors, all of our extra GE units will come into use.</p>
<p>can someone explain to me the GE units and how its different from your HASS requirement and all that other stuff? what are teh actual credits you need to graduate?</p>
<p>First, you have 17 General Institute Requirements (GIRs) which include 6 science classes, 8 humanities (HASS), two restricted electives in science (REST) and one institute lab (LAB). By definition, since these are requirments you get NO UNITS for these classes. The lab and REST classes are specific to each department. The HASS rules are very complicated and no GE credits apply towards them. </p>
<p>Beyond the GIRs each department has very specific graduation requirements detailed on the web site. As an example here is the one for biology which requires 180 units (beyond the GIRs).<br> MIT</a> Department of Biology: Majors Requirements</p>
<p>Double majors typically need 270 units beyond the GIRs. </p>
<p>GE credits cannot be applied towards any of the required departmental subjects which constitute the vast majority of the graduation requirements. Few departments have any overlap in their required subjects making double majoring very difficult even with large amounts of GE credits. I don't have the actual numbers but my understanding is that less than 10% of MIT students double major.</p>
<p>ok so cellardweller. to clarify... you have to take the GIR classes, but on top fo that there are the 180 units you need to graduate depending on your major. and that is what your general 9 units per AP test can go towards i assume?</p>
<p>That's right. In additon to the GIRs, you will typically have around 10 classes from a required list in your major and another 5 or so unrestricted electives towards which your GE credits can apply. </p>
<p>If you try to double major you may have as many as 20 required classes in addition to the 17 GIRs if there is little overlap between the majors. Even with a lot of GE credits you would end up a with a very full schedule which may be difficult to complete in 4 years.</p>