Do AP Credits count towards Core?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
1

Would any of the following count towards the core:
American History (5)
European History (5)
Calculus AB (5)
Stats (5)
Physics (5)
US Gov (5)
English Lit (5)

In particular, Core requires 6 quarters Natural and Mathematical Sciences. Would calculus, physics and stats count towards 3 quarters?

2

Here’s the link to UChicago’s website about credit and placement:

http://collegecatalog.uchicago.edu/thecollege/examinationcreditandtransfercredit/

3

A 5 on the Calculus AB gives you one quarter of calculus, and the Stats 5 will give you one quarter of core math (but no actual statistics credit). The Physics 5 should give you 2 quarters of introductory physics. So potentially that handles all of your math and physical science core requirements. However, neither the Stats nor Physics AP test will give you credit towards any class that is required by any major. So the core credit you get will only be fully valuable if you plan to major in the humanities. If you have to (or want to) take another introductory calculus, physics, or statistics sequence, you will lose (and not care about losing) the corresponding AP credit.

4

A few comments:

-I think that Calculus credit is also “restricted” in some instances. If one wants to earn credit for Math 153 (the last quarter of standard calculus), one must take the O-week calculus placement exam. AP-derived calculus credit thus also seems most useful for majors outside biological sciences/physical sciences divisions.
-Based on an admittedly small sample size, the prevailing wisdom seems to be that starting with Math 151 is the right approach for most students who wish to take calculus, regardless of AP or placement test results. 151, particularly, is proof-heavy, and exposes even good students to foundational material that was not covered in AP.
-Statistics credit is fairly valuable. One gets credit for Stat 220, with the caveat that the credit cannot be used for either the Statistics major or minor (and that the credit goes away if one takes either Stat 200, 220, or 234). My understanding is that Stat 220 credit derived from AP can be used to satisfy math/statistics requirements in other majors–one example is Geophysical Sciences.