Hello! I’ve recently been admitted to UC Berkeley as an Applied Mathematics major, and I have some questions about how my AP credits will transfer and if they will be of use to me. I know that these credits will not count toward GE requirements, but I am confused about what they will actually do?
These are the AP scores I have received:
AP World History: 4
AP US History: 4
AP Calculus AB: 5
AP Physics 1: 4
AP Lang: 5
I am also taking AP Calc BC, AP Literature, AP Studio Art, AP French, and AP Physics Mechanics and E/M.
Are there any UCLA courses from which I can be exempt with these?
Any help, even partial, is appreciated. Thank you in advance!
So far, you will have 23.8 credits towards graduation. If you get 3+ on al your 12th grade exams you will end up with 37.1. That’s a really good number, it will allow you to have sophomore status (sophomore status is 30-60 university credits), which will help in registration. The math will be below in case someone wants to correct me.
There are 3 types of credits to consider:
- Void or null credits, which are temporary credits that will eventually be useless
- graduation credits, which helps towards graduation
- subject credits, which help with both graduation, and subject requirements
The AP Physics 1 is an example of a void credit. Should you get 3+ in both Physics C Mech iand E&M you would only get 5.3 credits max for the 3 courses, ie your Physics 1 credit will become voided. The same is true with Eng Lit, a 3 or 4 won’t do anything for you since you got credit already from AP Lang (more on this later).
Graduation credits are definitely good. They help you will registration priority (May change in the future) and allow you to potentially graduate early. Even if a lot of the credits are not subject credits, they can function as electives. But yes, there’s a good possibility you’ll end up at over 120 credits when you graduate. It also allows you to take a lower load per semester.
The best credits are subject credits. They fulfill requirements (as well as give you graduation credits for the most part). The main ones that are useful:
The 5 in the AP Lang allows you to skip the first required Composition class
Should you get a 5 in AP Lit you would also be able to skip the other required Composition class. Note that if you decide to take the composition class(es) at Berkeley your AP credits will be voided.
The 5 in AP Calc allows you to skip out of Math 1A, the first Calculus class
If you get a 5 on Calc BC you will be able to skip out of Math 1B as well.
A 5 in Physics C Mechanics probably gets you subject for Physics 7A (this varies from department to department in L&S, perhaps a 4 will give you subject credit). Do note that you might get subject credit for things like Studio Art and French, but it is somewhat useless unless you plan on taking a more advanced course in these areas.
Here is the math in your graduation credits:
WH - 5.3
USH -5.3
Calc AB -2.6
Physics 1: 5.3 (see below)
Lang - 5.3 (see below)
Assuming you get 3+ in your 12th grade AP exams, the incremental credits you would gain:
Calc BC -2.7
Lit - 0 (5.3 is the max for the 2 Eng courses)
Studio Art - 5.3
French - 5.3
Physics C Mech - 0
Physics C E&M - 0 (max 5.3 for all Physics classes so you are maxed out already, credit wise. But if you intend to take more advanced Physics classes you still want to do well on the exams nevertheless.)
Hope this helps!
Thank you so much for the thorough answer!
As mentioned in your other thread on the UCLA site, you most likely probably will find that by the time you graduate, the only APs that was useful would have been the Math and English ones. It might let you graduate a semester early but you’d have to be pretty vigilant about keeping track of your credits, and most students probably aren’t.
But you will get sophomore status right away, so that’s worth something.
Here is a previous thread with information that you will find useful:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/21547888/#Comment_21547888
Short answer for your scores, assuming L&S applied math major:
3-5 on calculus AB, 3-4 on calculus BC = can skip Math 1A
5 on calculus BC = can skip Math 1A and 1B (but you may need to self-study some introductory differential equations; see https://math.berkeley.edu/courses/choosing/high-school-exam-credits )
4-5 on English language, 4 on English literature = can skip R&C A
5 on English literature = can skip R&C A and B
French = see http://french.berkeley.edu/undergraduate/placement-guidelines/ for placement in French courses
Other:
Physics = no course credit, but department recommends Physics 5 series (honors / for physics majors) if you want to take physics after a strong background in physics in high school
5 on world history = GLOBAL/IAS 45 for some majors (so taking this course may be somewhat duplicative of your AP course)