<p>This might be a pointless thread but I am still going to post it.</p>
<p>I am taking few AP and IB exams soon, and I am just wondering,
getting a 5 on few AP exams and 7 on IB exams.</p>
<p>Do they really help you in your work load in Columbia? or do they dont really matter?</p>
<p>you need something like 124 credits to graduate from columbia. between your core and your major you’ll have anywhere from 1/2 to 2/3 of that 124. the rest you accumulate by taking classes outside your major/core. That’s where the AP/IB can help. You can get 16 credits max at Columbia which essentially is equivalent to a semester. Graduating in 3 years is extremely possible at Columbia with AP credits and no-study abroad.</p>
<p>I am never going to graduate my college in three years. I really do not want to shorten my college experience. That said, do the college credits still matter? does it reduce my workload? or does it not? saying that I am going to graduate in four years.</p>
<p>The biggest help it’s been to me as far as workload has been to fulfill my language requirement, so I don’t have that hurdle to climb. </p>
<p>But in general, it’s more useful as proof of a certain degree of achievement, especially in scientific areas, and helps you get placed into higher levels. I suppose if you were interested in math, for instance, it would be a huge help to have taken Calc BC, because it means you can skip to the upper-level courses you need more quickly. But then again, you can’t skip intro courses in physics (although you can take a higher level, albeit one which increases, rather than decreasing, your workload) or bio. I think you can skip to a higher level in chem with the right APs. And certainly, preparation in languages helps you skip to a higher level.</p>
<p>Also, if you’re planning to graduate in 4 years, having the full 16 AP credits does give you the option of taking 12-15 credits, rather than 16+, a few more semesters. </p>
<p>So, all in all, having the AP credits gives you a little more flexibility, and does give you the option of taking fewer classes at Columbia overall, but doesn’t really directly decrease your workload very much, as far as I can tell.</p>
<p>Thanks for your post. I have a follow-up question thou.
Okay, let’s say I took 5 APs that give me three credits each. So, 5 x 3 = 15 credits.
So, automatically, does that mean I get 15 credits toward the graduation credit count?
(regardless of what class it is? like whether it is related to my major or not?)</p>
<p>There’s a list online somewhere on Columbia’s website that gives you a list of approved AP tests AND you must score at least a 4 or 5 on them. But it doesn’t matter what major you ultimately decide to choose.</p>