<p>I posted this earlier, but here it goes:
Next year I plan to major in Chem engineering. I am already taking the AP Calc and English exams, and I want to study for one more.
Should I take the AP chem exam or the AP US Gov and Politics?</p>
<p>I am in the ap chem class now, but haven't learned much thus far and would REALLY have to buckle down and study this semester in order to pass. Since my major is chemistry related, will I have to take intro chem in college anyway? Or would it be better to take intro chem anyway (to review and to achieve a higher GPA?)</p>
<p>Anyway, I am not in AP Gov class, but I took US History last year and would surely be able to get a 4 or 5 if I study, as history/gov are my strong points.</p>
<p>So should I sign up for AP chem or AP gov? I have to sign up for one soon and I need help! Thank you so much!</p>
<p>*Oh and just to add to that, for the colleges that I've applied to, the amount of credit rewarded is roughly similar.</p>
<p>When you say that you need to buckle down this semester to pass - do you mean the exam or the class itself? Is there a reason you aren’t learning much in AP Chemistry? You should probably take the Chem exam considering that its your major - I don’t see what use Gov and Politics will have for you other than perhaps eliminate a general ed elective your Freshman year.</p>
<p>I’m getting an A in the class, but it’s so easy and the teacher is not super great, so I’m not learning much at all. I am a senior by the way, so my AP scores really don’t matter to colleges. I was wondering if it would be worth it to study hard for the exam and take it, or would it be more beneficial to take intro chem at my college anyway.</p>
<p>You’re more than likely going to have to take the Intro to Chem course regardless - even if you get a 5 on the exam. A lot of schools are losing respect for AP classes and many are speculating that APs really don’t hold a candle to actual college courses – I remember reading a study done on AP Psych students entering Duke where not a single student was able to pass the equivalent Intro to Psych Final Exam despite everyone having gotten 5s on their AP Psychology Exam which was supposed to be a parallel.</p>
<p>It’d be different if you were, say, an English Literature major, then AP Chem would count for something – since you probably wouldn’t have to take a science your Freshman year – but as a Chem-based major, the school probably isn’t going to take AP Chem as a serious replacement for their own Chem course. </p>
<p>Ok thanks, that is helpful. So is it not worth it to take pour the time effort and money into this exam in your opinion? I am going to call my potential schools to see if they know the policy on these intro courses and ap exams.</p>
<p>I mean, by all means, still take the exam - it’ll be a good gauge of your performance in the class and your mastery of the material – you should always try on exams, even if they don’t mean anything, because it’d just be demoralizing to log onto CollegeBoard to see that you got a 2 or a 1, even if you know it was just apathy at play. </p>
<p>As for money – your AP exam is, what, say 90 dollars? Right? Unless money is super tight - I’d say its worth it. Maybe it wouldn’t pay for itself in terms of eliminating an entire college course; but how else are you going to spend that money? Idk if that’s faulty logic - but when I complain about blowing money on SAT score reports, I just tell myself that if I wasn’t spending the money on score reports, the money would be spent on something really stupid like shoes or food or whatever. </p>
<p>Take the exam, try your hardest, and see how it goes – I’m no expert on the policies of Chemical Engineering Programs at schools; you could very well get an intro course waived but yeah - go and check to make sure, but either way, I still think you should take the exam.</p>
<p>Okay thanks! Hmm I think that internally I know I should probably take it, but the senioritis is REALLY starting to kick in :)) </p>
<p>Oh my God - I know. I am contractually obligated to take all of my AP exams (the state subsidizes the exam as part of a grant, so I only pay 10 per exam – but I am required to attend mandatory prep sessions twice a month on Saturday and I have to take the exam - if I don’t, I fail the corresponding AP class) – otherwise, I’d probably not even bother with them. </p>
<p>My GPA and class rank went up first semester considerably to the point that I’m very satisfied – and knowing that second semester doesn’t matter nearly as much since its really just “Don’t fail” season; I’ve given up. I passed in the lousiest project I have ever created for AP Literature and I’m pretty sure that its like 25% of my grade - so buh-bye A, lol. I sometimes just lay in bed and stare at the ceiling, acutely aware of the mountain of homework in my bag that I won’t touch until the very last minute. </p>
<p>Oh wow I can so relate to that ha ha! I have a mountain of homework accumulating right now (especially since I missed school today) but instead of starting I I’m procrastinating on here ! 
Senior probs.</p>
<p>Oh - I don’t have any school tomorrow because of a professional teacher day – all of my long weekend homework will be done on Sunday night at roughly midnight; LOL. I did, however, successfully write, edit, and submit a scholarship application a couple hours ago, so I’m proud of myself for finding the motivation for doing that (granted - the deadline was tomorrow and I had over two months to do it… whoops). </p>