<p>This year I've had a really laid-back outlook on AP exams, and didn't plan on taking them seriously. But recently I've been getting worried about the fact that you can place out of introductory courses if you do well on the APs. I'm worried that if I don't get 4/5s on APs, I'll be bogged down with intro courses for a while, and will miss out on the opportunity to take other, more interesting classes. </p>
<p>Did/does anyone else have a similar situation?
If you didn't do well on your APs and couldn't place out, what do you think of intro classes?
Are APs worth it?</p>
<p>I can't relate to your situation exactly, because I was never laid back with respect to AP courses. However, I can say that doing well (ie 4 or 5) and getting out of introductory courses RULES!!!!!!</p>
<p>For one, many introductory courses (such as chem, bio, and calc) are used to weed out freshman, so not having to deal with those courses is great. On top of that, you can use the credits gained to cut down degree time and/or take lighter courseloads, both of which are also huge pluses.</p>
<p>In my opinion, if you're taking an AP class, you might as well study hard for the exam and try to get a 4 or 5. The benefits far outweigh anything you might gain from taking the corresponding introductory course.</p>
<p>Not to mention, if you get straight 5s, sure doesn't hurt putting that on your college applications (that'd be pretty impressive I assume, though if you didn't wish to include them, colleges won't look at that stuff until you get accepted). If you're a senior, all you've got to worry about is wasting time in college when you could be going on to do greater things ;).</p>
<p>It depends on what the high school class was like, from what I've heard. The only college class I took in high school was probstat, and there's no class I'd take to build upon that. It's stuff like sciences I'd want to look at the college's curriculum for. If, say, your AP Chem class transfers, make sure you're up to speed with the school's Chem I material. You don't want to be in Chem II and not know what's going on.</p>
<p>"I'm worried that if I don't get 4/5s on APs, I'll be bogged down with intro courses for a while, and will miss out on the opportunity to take other, more interesting classes." </p>
<p>You hit the nail on the head, right there. Do what you can to pass them; it'll help in so many different ways.</p>
<p>APs are definitely worth it. It makes college a lot more entertaining if you don't have to take a ton of intro general education courses and can jump right into what you are interested in.</p>
<p>I actually like gen ed classes because they're typically easy and there's still enough room to take your major courses plus a few electives. If you know you're going to have a tough subject some semester, just take some gen eds. And for my sake next year, they will be a great way to meet freshmen!</p>
<p>But if you're an english major, you might want to concentrate on that in college and not have to take science classes (or vice-versa) plus if you're good at the subject, what's the point of taking an intro course when you're ready to jump ahead?</p>
<p>umm something that should be noted... a lot of med schools dont count credits earned through ap tests towards their course requirements for entrance..</p>
<p>AP credits didn't count for me as much as college credits taken in high school did. For me, this has given me the opportunity to graduate in 3 years... and that is in an engineering program. I don't know if I WILL graduate in 3 years, but the because of precollege credits, I have that option. My credits put me in advanced math courses and filled all of my elective credits. </p>
<p>... plus, remember all the tuition you'll save.</p>
<p>If you're doing anything engineering related it is pretty damn stupid to skip courses. I have heard of people with 5's on calculus AP exams that got very low grades in the college course above that. It is crucial that you get everything right before you go deep into a major; many people tend to forget that the basics are most important, not finishing quickly. High school AP courses as I was told by many people are nothing compared to college courses.</p>
<p>I'm going into chemical engineering this year and I am not taking the AP chemistry exam because it is crucial to start strong; do you really think a high school course is comparable to a college course for something as extensive as engineering?</p>
<p>Also, I'm sure getting an A in the class will help boost your college GPA; you will most likely need it.</p>
<p>And one more thing; isn't it a bad idea to skip weed out classes? If you can't handle that, than how can you handle the more advanced topics?</p>
<p>I was mostly talking about the AP level courses that imitate the college courses of the same material; how can you expect to advance past weed out classes if you can't handle those?</p>
<p>In my experience, weed out intro courses are harder than upper-years courses. This is why they are called 'weed out' courses; they cut down the freshman class to a managable size and cull students from the more difficult programs, such as pre-med and pharmacy. In upper years, profs tend to take it easier on you (especially in terms of curving grades), since the school has nothing to gain by making these courses difficult.</p>
<p>Additionally, an AP can be much harder than the intro course it replaces, depending on your teacher. I just finished my sophomore year, and I have yet to take a course that was as difficult as AP chem (our teacher was absolutely insane with the labs : ( ).</p>
<p>In my experience, weed out intro courses are harder than upper-years courses. This is why they are called 'weed out' courses; they cut down the freshman class to a managable size and cull students from the more difficult programs, such as pre-med and pharmacy. In upper years, profs tend to take it easier on you (especially in terms of curving grades), since the school has nothing to gain by making these courses difficult.</p>
<p>Additionally, an AP can be much harder than the intro course it replaces, depending on your teacher. I just finished my sophomore year, and I have yet to take a course that was as difficult as AP chem (our teacher was absolutely insane with the labs : ( ).
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<p>May I ask what school you go to, and what major you're in? I find it highly odd that a sophomore chemistry course (probably organic?) is easier than a highschool AP course; or am I hugely mistaken? </p>
<p>I know that there are exceptions with certain majors, but my main point was regarding engineering. I know people usually get into calculus 3 (multivariable?), and I just dont see how, for example, taking a highschool calculus course could possibly be enough to go onto calculus II. I may be mistaken, but, for example, isn't it a good idea to retake chemistry in college so you're 100% ready if you're doing chemical engineering? Those are the types of situations I'm talking about; if you specialize in a specific subject/field, I think it's detrimental to skip basic courses in the same subject. </p>
<p>I do agree, however, that if you're doing, for example, aerospace engineering, that a highschool AP level chemistry course is enough because it is nearly useless for the subject; I just don't understand why you'd want to skip something you'll be possibly doing for the rest of your life.</p>
<p>Depends on the school. I know of tons of people who passed the AP who cant do half the things they teach you in college calc. They also don't know many of the bio concepts. You may think you are "getting out" of things, but your screwing yourself. NO high school course goes as in depth as a true college course especially in bio, chem, and calc. You may think you had it hard, but try the college version, then proceed to cry. In my university chem is the weed out, people who passed the AP took it anway and had an extremely hard time, same for the bio folk.
You may think you know everything because you past that test, but you don't know half the things they teach you in college. This is from my experience though. There is one thing for sure though, you won't be bored in any college science classes because they are too labor intensive, and in general hard.</p>
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Depends on the school. I know of tons of people who passed the AP who cant do half the things they teach you in college calc. They also don't know many of the bio concepts. You may think you are "getting out" of things, but your screwing yourself. NO high school course goes as in depth as a true college course especially in bio, chem, and calc. You may think you had it hard, but try the college version, then proceed to cry. In my university chem is the weed out, people who passed the AP took it anway and had an extremely hard time, same for the bio folk.
You may think you know everything because you past that test, but you don't know half the things they teach you in college. This is from my experience though. There is one thing for sure though, you won't be bored in any college science classes because they are too labor intensive, and in general hard.
Yesterday 11:53 PM