<p>I earned a 5 on the AP Language exam last year and therefore do not have to take English 1010. English at my school is very rigorous; I wrote a twenty page research paper last semester, and alumni from my school often say that freshman English at college is just as hard as AP Lit, if not a little easier (AP Lit is taken during senior year at my school). I do not really like English, and I do not want to take English 1010. However, I know that college English is different from AP Lit and Lang, no matter how rigorous the program. In your opinion, should I sign up for English 1010 at Orientation?</p>
<p>My son was advised at Honor’s Weekend to take English even if he placed out of it. He is not a fan either, but he has decided to heed the advice based on the same theory as yours. If you’re unsure, you could always take it second semester, but he decided to go ahead and sign up for it first semester.</p>
<p>I placed out of it. I felt there was no reason to take it, nor was I advised at honor’s weekend not to place out.</p>
<p>What would be the point of taking it if you placed out of it and you don’t like English? My D is taking the AP English test next week and is praying to get a 4 so that she never has to take an English course again. We were there honors weekend and when she signed up for her classes they advised her to not register for English first semester and then she can take it 2nd semester if she doesn’t place out. Unless your major requires more English courses I see no reason to take it.</p>
<p>I also see no reason to take it. What’s the point of the exam and getting credit (or more to the point Tulane giving credit) if you just ignore it? There is no reason I can think of for you to take it. If you have to take an English course to fulfill your distribution requirements (and I don’t think you do, other liberal arts courses can be used), then take a more interesting upper level one, like the Science Fiction course my D just finished and raved about.</p>
<p>I seem to remember that some medical schools want to see a semester of English on the transcript, even if you could have tested out. So, if you (or your student) wants to go on to some sort of graduate or professional school, check with several about what is expected as far as coursework goes. I know my daughter will be taking chemistry, biology, and English no matter how well she scores on those AP tests because it will help her chances at getting into medical school.</p>
<p>I would def not retake. I had AP credit and watched all my friends overloaded with essays for that class. Writing 101 can be a ton of work (really depends on the professor).</p>
<p>For pre-med, you need 2 semesters of english total. Writing 101 counts as 1 semester, and you’ll just need to take 1 higher level english later on.</p>
<p>bajamm - Yes, med schools and many majors require english. However, if you place out of a lower level english and take an upper level course, it looks much better on a transcript and, as Fallenchemist said, it’s much more interesting. My daughter took the AP credit and next semester she’s taking an upper level honors english course.</p>
<p>I don’t know how many credits your daughter is going in with or what her major/majors will be but, if she’s planning on double majoring, it doesn’t seem beneficial to waste her time on an intro english course. My daughter went in with many AP credits (about 30 I believe) and with her majors (Public Health and Neuroscience) she still has to carefully select her courses in order to enable her to study abroad during junior year.</p>
<p>You all are likely right about the premed and English. My broader point was about checking your intended grad school program and what they may require. It may be that testing out of a lower level English class and taking a higher level one is OK for everything, though I’d rather a student be sure than to guess.</p>
<p>It’s not a guess. Med schools want demonstration of an “expository” writing course, and virtually any English course will count for that. One semester is nearly always sufficient, along with the AP credit. Chemistry is the exception when it comes to AP, the med schools require 2 semesters of freshman chem with lab, then the 2 semesters of O Chem with lab. But intro biology can be placed out of as well, as long as you take some higher level biology with lab. It is true that quite a few pre-med students with AP credit choose to take intro biology anyway, but they don’t really have to. At least at the med school’s I have looked at for their requirements, which admittedly is far from exhaustive.</p>
<p>Just to add to this, (if I remember correctly) the pre-med advisor told me that if someone does take Writing 101, that their Honors Thesis class would count as a second english somehow. </p>
<p>I would seriously just take the AP credit, as I said Writing 101 is a time sink. I listened to friends complain about it on a weekly basis :(</p>
<p>Again, as a broad idea for other grad schools then premed… what do graduate programs other then premed require? Econ, dentistry, political science, whatever and whatever… if a student does not know what is the norm for their area of interest it is in their best interest to find out. just sayin…</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! I most likely will not sign up for it, but I’ll see what the students at orientation say.</p>
<p>bajamm, of course you are right that if one knows what program one is likely to be going for after undergrad, it is best to find out every detail possible. But grad schools certainly won’t care if you retook freshman English, no matter what the major. In fact, med school would be the only possible post-grad plan that might care if you took the freshman English offered by your school, and in fact they don’t. They only want to know that you took and did well in some course that required writing papers in the style of a typical English paper, and naturally an advanced course along with the AP credit meets that need.</p>