<p>AP sign up time, and trying to justify (or not) spending $100 on AP tests that would just earn unassigned credit.</p>
<p>What are the advantages to getting sophomore standing as quickly as possible -- you get to register for classes before freshman and therefore snag more popular classes or class times? How many units do you need to get sophomore standing? Somethign else to consider? </p>
<p>Thx.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Somethign else to consider?
[/quote]
Yeah... whether or not your student will be able to attain priority enrollment. For the first quarter, when you sign up for class will just depend on which orientation session you attended. After that, your # of credits comes into play. There are ways to get priority enrollment, though, where you enroll before everyone. There is the Honors Program, Peer Advisory Network, Academic Advancement Program, Program Excellence in Education and Research in the Sciences, and others probably that I am unaware of. Here's a quick snapshot on how to qualify for Honors:
[quote]
There are two ways you may qualify for the College Honors Program - by GPA and Test Scores OR by Class Rank:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Your GPA and Test Scores (as reported on your UC application):
Fall 2006 Freshman Admits*
* You must have at least a 4.1 GPA (*weighted, capped)
AND
an SAT score of at least 2080 or an ACT score of at least 31</p></li>
<li><p>Your Class Rank:
* You must rank within the top 3% of your graduating class. We will require that you mail to us an official verification of your rank.
[/quote]
</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Here</a> is information about AP credit and UCLA. </p>
<p>Here</a> is information about qualifying for AAP. </p>
<p>Also, PEERS is a program aimed towards math/science majors who are URMs or in circumstances where they would need more help. It's kinda like PEERS but is a 2-year program for math/science students and requires them to take workshops along with their math and science courses for extra tutoring and such. They also encourage math/science students to participate in research and help them connect with mentors and such, among other things. To sign up for PEERS, one needs to have applied as a math/science major and after they are accepted, they'll probably be sent a brochure or application. They apply and so on so forth.
[quote]
What are the advantages to getting sophomore standing as quickly as possible -- you get to register for classes before freshman and therefore snag more popular classes or class times? How many units do you need to get sophomore standing?
[/quote]
Advantages: Yes, you'll be able to register before freshmen who are non-priority students. Yes, you'll be able to "snag more popular class or class times" but it depends on your major and what classes you will need for your course of study. For instance, chemistry lab courses are a bit difficult to get into and so are writing courses. You would also need to consider whether or not the student is taking the class "in season." What I mean by "in season" is that freshmen typically will take their first chemistry class fall quarter; others choose to do it in winter quarter for other reasons. Another example is that it is less common and therefore easier to get into the first physics course of a sequence in spring quarter than in winter quarter. And for your other question:
[quote]
Classification Completed Units</p>
<p>Freshman 0 - 44.9
Sophomore 45 - 89.9
Junior 90 - 134.9
Senior 135 or more
[/quote]
Also, another way to attain priority is to enroll a courses known as "GE clusters" which are 3-quarter long courses devoted to a specific area of study that satisfies several GE requirements and a UCLA writing requirement. The assumption is that a student is committed to that course and that it would conflict would others and so having priority would make schedule conflicts less possible.</p>
<p>Thx, Emmeline. All good info to chew on. I searched UCLA's site to see how the CHP works. Looks like it's only open to students in L&S, not HSSEAS. And I don't think URM applies. So...will look into the other options you mentioned. And take some APs. :/</p>
<p>You also get priority if you're a Regents/Alumni scholar.</p>
<p>For engineers GE clusters weren't recommended, don't have an honors program, I think AAP is for CL&S also (but I'm not sure) and it doesn't guarantee priority, and I believe your S is not URM for PEERS.</p>
<p>Classes also have a priority cap that doesn't let priority students fill up all the classes, so having an early first pass (based on class standing) would help. Second pass is just based on class standing so it's nice to get an early time for that too.</p>
<p>I was in Orientation 101 so I got all my classes then, and after fall quarter I got sophomore standing so I've had very little problems getting my classes for winter, and I had no problems getting my classes for spring. (as an engineer btw)</p>
<p>$100? per test? It was $83 at my school, and my school paid the $3 for us lol</p>
<p>
[quote]
I think AAP is for CL&S also (but I'm not sure) and it doesn't guarantee priority, and I believe your S is not URM for PEERS.
[/quote]
Yes, that's true that it doesn't guarantee priority once you're in the program but if you have a reasonable excuse for absolutely needing to have priority (example, having a time-consuming job), they will evaluate you and decide whether or not you should have priority. Also, you do not necessarily have to be an URM for PEERS - you can just have financial issues or even something that might have hindered your success that would give them a reason to say you need extra academic support.</p>
<p>"you can just have financial issues or even something that might have hindered your success"</p>
<p>Well, we DO have financial issues (as in, there's never enough) and Nintendo HAS hindered my S's success at times, but that's not what you mean. Ha.</p>
<p>Yes, AP test inflation has hit our school. Three years ago it was something like $80. Last year it was $100. This year it's actually $103.50. Geez.</p>
<p>Sorry, forgot to ask -- how many units do most people take per quarter? Sophomore standing after one qtr is rather impressive,no?</p>
<p>13 units is pretty normal.</p>
<p>oh dang. and i though $85 was bad for APs</p>
<p>Oh, well I had 44 units coming in w/ AP credit, and passed the 45 mark after one quarter</p>
<p>if you get priority then the sophmore/junior/etc. will not make too big of a difference if you get high demand classes on your priority pass (before everyone else). However, if you don't have priority, its a huge advantage to even have one year's standing ahead of you. I had sophomore standing for winter/spring quarter and definitely got some classes were full by freshman pass. bottom line, the unassigned units are very useful if you're like me and aren't in honors etc.</p>
<p>Woot, I'm coming in with 62 units. Are there any other perks for counting as a sophomore?</p>
<p>62 units, how did that happen?</p>
<p>holy... crap!!! 62??
for you the only perk is that you'll be a junior... a... LOT... quicker... holy moley.
i got 36 units through 7 APs... how many APs did you take?!?</p>
<p>biology 3-5: life sci, unassigned, 8.0
chem 4-5: chem, GENERAL (not intro), 8.0
comp sci a 3-5: com sci, unassigned, 2.0 (4.0 if ap comp sci ab)
macroecon 4-5: econ, 2 , 4.0
microecon 4-5: econ, 1, 4.0
lang 3: engl, unassigned, 8.0 [meets SA req]
us history 3-5: hist, united states, 8.0 [meets AH req]
calculus ab 3-5: math, calculus, 4.0
physics b 3-5: physics, general "b", 8.0
psychology 4-5: psych, 10, 4.0
statistics 3-5: stats, unassigned, 4.0</p>
<p>88244884844
=88888244444
=40+2+20=62</p>
<p>I hope I did that right...</p>
<p>You are getting a great start in terms of units. Just make sure you do not exceed the unit cap.</p>
<p>But, there are people who do have more units coming into freshmen year (not me).</p>
<p>I know some people already in junior standing by the end of 1 or 2 quarters at UCLA. :)</p>
<p>^^^Yes, I know of some too. It's scary, but possible...</p>
<p>hehe, it's nice being friends with those people since they can help you get those highly popular classes :P</p>
<p>unit cap? is that the one that will kick you out after 216 units? or something like that? how strict is that, anways? but I don't think AP credit will count against you...</p>
<p>For the graduation unit cap, UCLA will only factor in AP credits if you need them to satisfy the minimum of 180. Otherwise, the credits won't be looked at if they'll bring you over the maximum of 216. Basically, AP credits can only help in that sense.</p>
<p>yah... karch... nice work!
and all of your hard work will, like ekn said, only help you not hurt you.
and you won't EVER have to worry about competing with your fellow '11ers for classes, that's for sure! ;)</p>