Hello! If you have already been admitted and plan on attending, are there any benefits to taking AP exams? I would be taking 5 in four days the first week back from April vacation, so I am having a hard time justifying why I would put myself through that if there isn’t anything significant to be gained from it. Thanks!
Unless you plan on pursuing Sophomore Standing, which I probably am not, the only benefit I am getting out of it is that my foreign language AP’s exempt me from the foreign language requirement and Physics C: Mechanics allows me to take Phys 16 instead of 15a, if I so choose.
FWIW, I’m not taking any AP exams this year, since I’m well over the requirements for Sophomore Standing.
Harvard admitted you based upon your rigorous schedule, which includes those 5 AP classes – and those classes culminate in AP tests. So, before canceling out on any AP test, I would call your Regional Admissions Officer and get their okay, as you don’t want to jeopardize your acceptance.
Secondly, if Harvard gives you the okay to NOT take your AP exams, you might want to consider taking the AP Foreign Language exam, if that is one of them. If you score a 5 on the FL AP, you would be exempt from Harvard’s FL graduation requirement: Otherwise you will have to take at a year of FL at Harvard, or pass their placement test. http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k62630&tabgroupid=icb.tabgroup138465. Calc BC might be the other AP to consider taking, as it can act as a pre-req for other classes.
Alright thank you! Those are some good points to keep in mind
Good point, although you still have to take the math placement exam.
The other thing to consider, is if there are any classes that you might want to take that Harvard accepts AP scores as fulfilling the prerequisites, e.g. AP Econ subbing for Econ 10a/10b or AP Psych subbing for SLS 20.
I did to cover my bases, and they said no problem. Now, I only have 2 AP classes, not 5, so YMMV.