<p>Hello ,
I am a senior from a highly regarded public high school. At my school 99% of students pass the AP exam and 85-90% are in the 4 and 5 range. To say my school in general is rigorous is an understatement. I start with this not to brag or be snotty but because I have a question about college courses. At Lehigh the course counts for credit with a 4 or 5 (right?). Should I take the introductory classes again though, in Chemistry or Math?
AP's I took or am taking: (ones that I already took with the scores next to them)</p>
<p>AP Chemistry :4
AP US History: 5
AP Lang & Comp: 5
AP Psychology: N/A
AP Lit: N/A
AP Gov. & Politics: N/A
AB Calc: N/A</p>
<p>My son was a freshman last year in BioE. He scored 5 on his AP for Calc (AB and BC) and Chem. He elected NOT to use his credits for fear that the rigor of the courses at college level would be higher. In retrospect he made the right decision NOT to use Chem credits (especially as a BioE) but he probably should have used his Calc AP credits and passed on Calc 1 thru 3. To date he has aced Calc 1 and 2 so at least he got a nice boost in his GPA.</p>
<p>If the class is in your major it would be advised for your to take the introductory courses at the university even if you have had the AP course in high school. </p>
<p>I’m a current freshman and will tell you to take every credit you can get. Unless you really feel uncomfortable about a subject which is key to your major, take advantage of your opportunity to get ahead. I came in with enough credits that I can graduate a semester early, pick up a minor or two, or take a bunch of classes just for the sake of learning it. My only regret about AP tests was not taking every single one. You never know what score you’ll get. It’s really a case by case thing (how comfortable you are with it, how important the material is later, what the alternative would be), but in general they open up so many opportunities.</p>
<p>*Protip: Don’t take the Lit test. You already have a 5 in Lang, which for Lehigh gets you out both English 1 and 2. A score of 5 on Lit would get you the exact same credit. So would a 750+ on the SAT Writing section.</p>
<p>yeah thanks New Divide :), the reason I am taking Lit is actually to have just another accelerated course under my belt, because English is easy for me, and because I wanted the AP Lit teacher. But thanks for the help! The fact that Lehigh divides the Chem into two, really makes me feel sooo much better. I want to relearn certain parts of chem I struggled with, but I could still get out of an intro class. </p>
<p>Another question: do you feel like the professors at Lehigh are happy with their job? Do they want to know their students? Do they teach well in general?</p>
<p>“To say my school in general is rigorous is an understatement. I start with this not to brag or be snotty”
This statement makes you come off exactly as that. Also, almost every student at top universities come from rigorous high schools so high AP scores are expected. </p>
<p>As stated above use all the AP credits you get. I love all the professors I have this semester. That being said, there is good and bad everywhere. I have heard some bad stuff about some professors but this is applicable to any school. Overall though, I am definitely happy with the quality of teaching here.</p>
<p>Ratemyprofessor.com can give you a good picture. The quality of teachers varies as with anywhere, but in general you’ll find the professors love what they teach and the TAs truly want to help.</p>
<p>Ratemyprofessor? Yes, that is an interesting site. But, if you don’t know the professor and the class it can be misleading. A professor that teaches a huge introductory course that has a strict grading curve designed to make it a weed out course will have a much higher percent of angry students. Ratemyprofessor should really almost have averages for negative complaints. Haha. The kid who gets a C in an introductory biology course and has just lost any hope of ever going to medical school will certainly take the time to write a pretty nasty review about the poor professor who taught the class. Yep, there are classes like that in college. </p>
<p>When my son was applying to Lehigh I looked up every professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Lehigh. I read every review. And I read reviews of Mechanical Engineering Departments at other schools too. What struck me as wonderful about Lehigh was how much the kids enjoyed the classes. They seemed to enjoy that a class was hard, challenging and had hours of homework every night. They reminded me of the pride marines take in how hard their work is. I thought, wow, I want my kid surrounded with kids who love to work hard. </p>
<p>My son did spend hours on his homework. He even left us during a Parent’s Weekend to go and study for a test the following week. Haha. He was on the Dean’s List both semesters he lived in his fraternity. But, he never complained about the hard work - because there were always kids studying even harder than him.</p>
<p>first of all I am asking for help… so no I am not trying to be snotty… I said that I was not trying to be snotty to say that in general I feel like I have been challenged. I do not try to be snotty and I do not think I am better than others, in fact I find the stress I have been put under is a little excessive. I am trying to say this is where I am coming from (I don’t know how much this helps, but I want to give as much info as possible to get the best help in return). (Many people look down upon public high schools) I was trying to be blunt to get my question answered, not because I think I am superior.</p>
<p>Thank you though for telling me you enjoy your professors, because for me thats really what matters most. </p>
<p>Ratemyprofessor I have looked at, my only issue is that those can be from students who love/hate the class there is not much in the middle. </p>
<p>And kikkydee thank you for telling me about your son’s experience. I also love students who do not shy away from their schoolwork no matter how rigorous. I am glad the students at least mostly enjoy the professors!!
Thanks again you all :)</p>
<p>sorry if i came off a little aggressive, because I was trying to avoid people thinking that I thought I was superior. Thank you @rfav32, though for your input. I get defensive when people misread me. </p>
<p>Hey, there is an article on Huffington Post right now about Ratemyprofessor. </p>
<p>“Several professors at the University of Alabama recently experienced a range of emotions while reading student reviews about their own teaching techniques, homework assignments and exam styles.” The Youtube article was created by The Crimson White, The University of Alabama’s student news organization.</p>
<p>And I do agree that the website gets mostly responses from students from the positive and negative extremes, but there are usually much more of one type over the other, which is critical in judging the overall attitude. It’s almost never 50/50 positive and negative reviews. It’s been very useful for me.</p>
<p>yeah I saw that video!, and alright thanks!, I am just trying to get a good feel for the atmosphere. (I suffer from generalized anxiety disorder) I stress about these big decisions on a day to day basis. thanks again.</p>