<p>Heya. I took AP Chem last year and got a 5. I remember very little. What is the deparment's placement exam like? How much would I have to prepare over the summer? Is it worth taking the placement exam?</p>
<p>There’s an AP chem test? I knew there was a Chem 2 test</p>
<p>There’s really no need to review over the summer. Just skim through your AP prep books during orientation. The placement test is all MC for intensive, and there are short problems for orgo. That was when I took it a year and a half ago. You can also get into the higher level chem classes without placing into them, but you have to talk to the professor first. Don’t worry too much about it.</p>
<p>I just don’t remember anything…</p>
<p>If you took an AP test and got the necessary AP credit score, is it still necessary to take a placement test in that subject? (ie. Comp Sci, Chemistry, Calculus, Physics, Biology)</p>
<p>Or, do you have to take the placement exam, but get the credit anyways?</p>
<p>Jooter, it depends on the test. For chemistry, you have to take either intensive gen chem or freshman orgo to get AP credit (for 3 and 6 points, respectively). For history APs, you just get the credit without having to take anything. In some cases, you’re also exempted from some intro level classes. There’s a lot of variation in this. Check this website:</p>
<p>[Programs</a> of Study | Columbia College](<a href=“http://www.college.columbia.edu/bulletin/programs_of_study]Programs”>http://www.college.columbia.edu/bulletin/programs_of_study)</p>
<p>demeter: So say I meet the perquisite AP score, but it is in one of those where I need to take a class and pass to get credit. Would I be able to directly enroll in that class without having to test in for it? Is the testing to allow you to place out of that class you would otherwise have needed to take for AP credit?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>If this is chem, then yes, you do have to take the placement exam. Your score tells you whether you place into intensive gen chem, freshman orgo, or neither. However, if your score doesn’t qualify you for either class, you might be able to convince the professor to let you enroll (but this depends).</p>
<p>If you’re talking about calculus, there’s no math placement exam, so you just take the class that you need to get credit for the AP test (whether it’s calc II or higher).</p>
<p>If you’re talking about foreign language, you don’t need to take the placement exam if you have the necessary score; just enroll in one of the 3000 level classes. The placement exam is for those who didn’t do well enough on the AP to skip the whole language requirement and need to find out how many more semesters of that language they need to take. (You can still place out of the language requirement without taking the higher-level class, though. You just don’t get AP credit if you don’t.)</p>
<p>Ack, I’m just worried that I’d place into neither of the two advanced chemistry tracks… can anyone post an exam or something?</p>
<p>You’ll be fine if you just glance over the material during orientation week. Like I said, even if you don’t place into either, you can convince the professor to let you enroll (I know people who’ve done this). If you got a 5 on the AP exam, then presumably you once knew enough to do well in intro chemistry, and you just need some refreshing. I remember that the orgo half of the placement exam asked about Lewis dot structures and formal numbers (or whatever the heck they’re called). The intensive gen chem MC questions asked about pretty basic stuff. </p>
<p>There’s really, really no need to be worried about it now.</p>