<p>I signed up for AP tests before I found out I got into H. Now I found out that I can only get advanced standing, which I already have all the required scores for. I said on the Harvard supplement that I would take Chemistry and European History, the only two tests that I can still cancel. It's too late to cancel Statistics and English Lit, but I really would like to rid myself of the extra stress of taking Chem and Euro. Do you think Harvard would penalize me for that in any way?</p>
<p>Nah. They don't take your AP scores into consideration at all. In fact, since they get your scores in July, you will already have been enrolled, and most likely, no one will even realize that you canceled your scores.</p>
<p>AP exams are used pretty exclusively for the acceleration of the student, not for the evaluation of that student to get into college. Note how the Common App asks you to list your scores, but they don't require proof of scores? If they cared, such a concept would never fly. So if you don't need the credit and can still back out, I'd back out. (I wish I could, but my schools has a no refund policy. :( )</p>
<p>I was thinking of the same thing. I actually thought I was going to take 5 exams at the beginning of the year and on my application I indicated that I was planning on taking them. At my school, most people who take AP courses don't bother at all with actually writing the exams. I'm writing 3 for sure but the other two I want to cancel because I'm not at all prepared. I'm wondering if this could cause problems. I really don't want to get in trouble for this.</p>
<p>I think it might be dishonest not to take them, if you said, on your application, that you would. You aren't really completing the course if you don't take the exam (and do the studying, which means you learn the material well enough to do the exam).</p>
<p>Our daughter is really stressed, and would sure love to skip them too...but she won't.</p>
<p>The other thing to think about, at least in our school, is that your GPA may go way down. In our school, if you don't take the exam, you don't get the extra points or whatever you get with AP classes. I guess they say they are "weighted." This would go on your final report to Harvard. </p>
<p>I have no idea if that matters. </p>
<p>All in all, I guess, our daughter insists on taking them because it just doesn't feel right, after Harvard originally got a transcript w/AP's on them. And it would feel like being a slacker, esp. w/peers all taking them.</p>
<p>Back in 1969, I skipped my AP's. But that was the '60's, and I was not going to college at all, much to the chagrin of my parents. But it was perfectly ethical to skip them in that situation.</p>
<p>I don't think that the AP exams are as universally required of the AP courses as they seem to be at your daughter's school. Especially after the College Board did a nation-wide audit last year, every AP course now teaches with a certified curriculum, so taking the AP exam doesn't really mean that you got a better education from that course. It just means that you want the college credit for it. Or advanced standing at Harvard. And at my school, they don't care if you took the exam. As long as you did "B" or "A" level work, they'll give you a little boost.</p>
<p>AP exams really weren't meant to be "achievement" tests in the sense of the SAT or ACT. Even on the College Board website, here's their list of reasons to participate in AP:</p>
<p>
[quote]
Gain the Edge in College Preparation
* Get a head start on college-level work.
* Improve your writing skills and sharpen your problem-solving techniques.
* Develop the study habits necessary for tackling rigorous course work.</p>
<p>Stand Out in the College Admissions Process
* Demonstrate your maturity and readiness for college.
* Show your willingness to push yourself to the limit.
* Emphasize your commitment to academic excellence.</p>
<p>Broaden Your Intellectual Horizons
* Explore the world from a variety of perspectives, most importantly your own.
* Study subjects in greater depth and detail.
* Assume the responsibility of reasoning, analyzing, and understanding for yourself.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Nowhere does it say that colleges heavily consider the exams. In fact, under the "Stand Out in Admissions" heading, it emphasizes the actual courses, not the exams. Colleges want to know that you can handle the material, and your grade in an AP course is much more reflective of that than an exam on a single day.</p>
<p>As I said, we don't care what the colleges' perspective on the AP exams might be. But in our school, grades are weighted with fewer points for standard courses, a few more for honors courses, and the most points for AP courses. Again, in our school - and people might want to check with their guidance office- if the students don't take the AP exams, they lose "AP credit," and significant amounts of points would be subtracted for, say, 4 AP courses for which the student does not take the exams. That means the grade point average would fall considerably, as would class rank, on the final report to Harvard or wherever. </p>
<p>While our daughter usually doesn't care about grades that much, and has never even checked her GPA or rank, even she is worried about a decline that could result in Harvard talking a second look.</p>
<p>I would be interested in what Harvard has to say about this. Maybe I will ask them if seeing an AP class on a transcript means they expect the kid to take the exam.</p>
<p>Years ago, these exams meant you could move ahead, graduate in 3 years, and save a whole lot of money. Nowadays, they don't really mean that much.</p>
<p>p.s.on the positive side, our school does not have school exams for AP courses..the kids take the AP exams, and then they can relax quite a bit before graduation. They do have papers and projects, but no other exams.</p>
<p>Just coming back after checking into Harvard's policies, and I see that if a student gets 5's on 4 or more AP exams, then they can get advanced standing and graduate in 3 1/2 years. So, I was in error,that is still true. I know that Brown will give some exemptions from intro courses and, in physics, for instance,
you can skip the intro course, and, after you have successfully completed the second level course, you get retroactive credit for the intro course via AP.</p>
<p>My son did that. However, none of this is on our daughter's radar screen, and she just wants to finish the year w/out more stress. I am going to double check with our guidance dept., but my online searches show that many schools give "honors" credit, not "AP credit" for an AP course when the student does not take the AP exam, which would seriously affect final grades for some.</p>
<p>Advising Programs: Advanced Placement and Advanced Standing
Advising</a> Programs: Advanced Placement and Advanced Standing</p>
<p>"Using A.P. Exams for Placement or to Meet Requirements</p>
<p>Credit toward graduation is granted for Advanced Placement examinations only if the student activates Advanced Standing, but advanced placement work is acknowledged in a variety of other ways. For example, a score of 5 on an AP exam often satisfies the prerequisite for middle- or upper-level departmental courses, permitting a student to begin advanced work early in his or her college career. Whether or not a student accepts Advanced Standing, a score of 5 on the German, French (language or literature), Italian, Spanish (language or literature), or Latin (either Latin Literature or Latin: Vergil) Advanced Placement tests may be used to fulfill the language requirement. A score of 7 on a higher-level International Baccalaureate exam in certain languages may also be used to fulfill the language requirement. Most medical schools accept a score of 4 or 5 on the Calculus BC exam as fulfillment of their math requirement, but only the score of 5 will count towards Advanced Standing eligibility. Students planning to come to Harvard are accordingly encouraged to study the following information carefully and to take all College Board Advanced Placement Examinations that are appropriate."</p>
<p>"Harvard offers no credit toward Advanced Standing for the following Advanced Placement examinations: Art (Studio & Portfolio), Comparative Government and Politics, Computer Science A, Environmental Science, Human Geography, International English, U.S. Government and Politics; or any other not listed for credit on the following page.</p>
<p>A score of 5 on the following College Board Advanced Placement examinations may earn one full credit toward eligibility:</p>
<p>Art (History)
Biology
Calculus BC1
Chemistry
Economics (micro and macro)
English (literature and composition)2
French (language)3 French (literature)3
German (language)
History (United States)
History (European)
Italian (language and culture)
Physics B4
Spanish (language)3
Spanish (literature)3
A score of 5 on the following College Board Advanced Placement examinations may earn one half credit toward eligibility:
Calculus AB (or Calc AB subscore)1
Computer Science AB
Economics (micro)
Economics (macro)
English (language and composition)2
Latin Literature
Latin: Vergil Music (theory)5
Music (listening and literature)5
Physics C (E&M)4
Physics C (Mechanics)4
Psychology
Statistics
The following College Board Advanced Placement examinations may NOT be used for eligibility:
Art (Studio and Portfolio)
Comparative Government and Politics
Computer Science A
Environmental Science
Human Geography
International English
United States Government and Politics."</p>
<p>"
Footnotes</p>
<p>1 Students may earn a maximum of one credit in calculus. Please note that the Calculus AB subscore (of the Calculus BC exam) is considered the same exam as the separate Calculus AB exam, and one may not receive credit for both the AB exam and the AB subscore.
2 Students may earn a maximum of one credit in English.
3 One full credit will be granted for either the language or literature exam but not for both.
4 Students may earn a maximum of one credit in physics.
5 Students may earn a maximum of one credit in music, whether by AP exams or by the Harvard Placement exam in Music (harmony)."</p>