<p>Definitely take the AP exam. Whether the subject comes easily to you or not, going through the trials associated with an AP class only to opt not to test really negates the value of the class. It can also send the wrong message to admissions officers if a course is listed as AP and you didn’t sit for the exam, especially if you had good grades in the class. Universities won’t stop you from taking a course you’ve already recieved credit for and many students do repeat for clarity or grade point’s sake. IMO you shouldn’t be able to do well on the AP exam if you don’t understand the material very well</p>
<p>Bearcats</p>
<p>What a thread. Buddy, it may not be tomorrow or the next day but I assure you that someday you will realize that the bum sitting on a street corner has more to offer the world… Do this, try to pretend for a minute that youre not bearcats and read what you wrote. If my hunches werent overbearing to begin with you gladly confirmed, in fact touted to the world that behind the shallow, ignorant, scared comments; there really is a dainty rich kid just like youve portrayed. Good job, youre elite! Ha. “my uncle makes more money than you” lol… good one - I got a kick out of that</p>
<p>bandgeek05, admissions committees will not give a second thought to the fact that you took and AP class but didn’t take the exam. AP exams have no bearing on college admissions. In fact, they will just see that you took the AP class, which was probably the hardest available, and then just be “impressed” since you took the hard route. The value of AP classes is mainly that the teach intro college material. Most of the time, the AP class is not as rigorous as the associated college class, which is why you have to have a good to great score on the test to test out of something usually. At any rate, definitely take the class and then whether you take the exam or not is really up to you.</p>
<p>well, one thing I’m really concerned about is that even if you get a 5 on an AP exam, that doesn’t necessarily mean you know the material and can take the next level course in college. For example, my AP Calc teacher said that in order to get a 5, you need to get 60% of the points on the test. I don’t consider 60% to be a good grade at all, it means I know slightly more than half the info and if I go to Calc II, I will probably be behind those who took calc I in college (aka, a real calculus class)</p>
<p>Just wait until you get to college and a 40% on an exam is an A…</p>
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<p>I know from personal experience that you don’t have to understand calculus in order to get a 5 on the AP Calculus AB exam.</p>
<p>Take the exams.</p>
<p>There are many schools that grant BS/MS in 5 years. Here’s one [Civil</a>, Construction and Environmental Engineering - Scholars (B.S./M.S.) Program](<a href=“http://cce.eng.ua.edu/undergraduate_programs/scholars.asp]Civil”>http://cce.eng.ua.edu/undergraduate_programs/scholars.asp) </p>
<p>By having those AP credits you might be able to complete both in 4 years. That’s potentially worth upwards of $100K (the $70K you’ll earn that 5th year and the $30K you didn’t spend.)</p>
<p>Also, if they think you need more knowledge than you have proven to have (by taking the AP class and passing the test) they’ll not grant credit. For example, here’s the MIT policy: <a href=“http://mit.edu/firstyear/2013/subjects/ap.html[/url]”>http://mit.edu/firstyear/2013/subjects/ap.html</a></p>
<p>I appreciate the comments of most posters on this thread. My son has 5 AP courses this year, his senior year, one of which is AP Calc AB, and while I want him to sit for the exam, I’m concerned that if he places out of Calc I, he’ll be devastated by both the ramp up in difficulty and quantity of coursework associated with college in general, and Calc II in particular. </p>
<p>What I find interesting is that one of the schools he’s applying to, his top choice, Illinois because we are in-state, requires entering freshman, regardless of what AP courses were taken, to take placement tests over the summer in a variety of subjects prior to meeting with a counselor, who will then have something a bit more tangible from which to suggest the courses to register for. I think this is a great idea, and it will certainly provide him with yet another measure of whether or not he is truly ready to place out of Calc I, or any other college courses he might otherwise need to take.</p>
<p>On the other hand graduating a semester early, with that approximate $60 grand pricetag is tempting too.</p>
<p>By the way, he’s interested in Astronautical Engineering and is applying to Illinois, Michigan (admitted), Wisconsin (admitted), Purdue, Notre Dame, and UIC (safety, admitted).</p>
<p>My undergrad school had a similar placement test exam over the summer deal for math, and I thought the test was a joke. I got a 5 on both the AB and BC exams, and my school placed me into Calc 3. Comparing my knowledge going into the class versus my friends that had to take Calc 1 and Calc 2 at college, I’d say I was actually better off. My AP class was taught a bit more like a high school course with lots of practice problems and a ton of homework. In college we’d get one assignment a week with maybe five problems on it. I’m still one of the few people I know that still remembers the unit circle and how to do integration by parts.</p>
<p>Personally, I wish they’d teach those fundamental classes in college with a more hands-on approach to learning the material instead of just throwing a few problems at you every week which may or may not be graded by a TA.</p>
<p>Bearcats…hmm…hmm. Listen to yourself. Ur an idiot. Even with me being a HS student, you sound like a stuck up, rich, preppy boy from the northeast that is given EVERY little thing he wants from his rich mommy and daddy. If my life depended on whether I thought you have struggled in life I would bet on a big fat no. Get a life.</p>
<p>But back to the OP. I personally would still sit for the exam. I mean your going to put yourself through hell for no end result. Well I guess being prepared for college is a “result” but all the engineers I have talked to have said that AP high school courses still don’t compare to the colleg levels. So in reality the “result” won’t be satisfying. Bite the costs of the test and give yourself something to be proud of/look back on. </p>
<p>"Michigan (admitted), Wisconsin (admitted), Purdue, Notre Dame, and UIC (safety, admitted). "
Your son is SO lucky. He has been accepted to multiple top tier schools… something I can only hope happens for me within the next few months. Congradulate him for me. That is quite an accomplishment.</p>
<p>It never hurts to sit in for the exams. Even if you don’t intend to use the credit, you can still see how well you were able to master the subject. As far as whether to use the credits or not, I say that you should. As others have said, this will give you the opportunity to take not only more electives, but be almost assured graduation in 4 years (though this is not always the case). However, if you do not feel comfortable with your ability in the subject even with a good AP score, then definitely take the class. Maybe take a sneak peak at the classes that you would be opting out of, if they seem overwhelming then you probably don’t have a good enough foundation and should definitely take the class.</p>
<p>Classroom work is very important for any job. It gives the foundation to base your work off of. If you go to an elite job and do mediocore work, how long do you think you are going to be staying there for? I’m sure employers will notice the lag that you would produce. Although, on the job experience is also extremely important for anyone. It gives real world connections for what you learn in school. Something that just can not be given in a classroom. However, a person will probably not fare very well without the collegiate foundation.</p>
<p>To the OP’s question: Yes, I know several kids (in engineering and other majors) who took all of the AP classes in hs and then re-took them in college. Results were straight A’s during a year of adjustment. Some who exempted classes did well too, but many did not.</p>
<p>i dont like bearcats…</p>
<p>“For example, my AP Calc teacher said that in order to get a 5, you need to get 60% of the points on the test.”
My Calc teacher said something similar, but he said his goal was to have a 90% of us capable of earning a 5 without a Calculator. I hope my Language exam is like that, I absolutely HATE the class.</p>
<p>omg, bandgeek, i think we might be the same person haha. im a band nerd too, i can do math easily, and i absolutely hate english/language classes</p>