I have received a 5 on the AP Bio, Chem, BC Calc, and Physics C: Mechanics exams. Would it be better for me to use my scores to advance into the upper engineering divisions during my first year instead of the entry level classes/weeders? Or should I go through the entry level classes and use them as GPA boosters? I’m worried about advancing too fast and ruining my GPA.
No two high school AP classes are exactly equal, so it’s always tough to give advice on this topic. Probably your best bet is to try to find old exams or homeworks for the relevant classes at your university and see if you can handle them. If you can, it is safe to “AP out of them”, and if you can’t, you are better off taking them. It’s not always easy to find those materials, though.
Also, courses themselves are not “weeders”. People get weeded out when they run up against material for which they are unprepared, when they aren’t motivated enough to put in the work required because either they are used to skating by or else just don’t like the topic, or a combination of the two. If you skip a lower level class that typically gets labeled as a “weeder” when you really weren’t competent in it, then the next class above that becomes the new weeder and you will still struggle.
No easy answer to this. I am going through this process as part of HS course planning with my son. It really depends on the class as well. A further complicating factor for us is that he has the option to take community college classes for high school credit as well as four year college credit. We focused more on what the class is a prerequisite for.
For example, 5 on AP calc can get you credit for calc I and II, but going straight to calc III may not be the best choice for a first college math class. For his AP Chem class, the downstream classes are not Chem II or III, rather materials or something similar so taking the AP credit in this case makes more sense.
You really need to look at the specific course of study for the college and make a fully informed decision.
Agree 100% with the above, but will add that it also depends on the school you choose. Skipping over calc at a serious STEM school (say, CalTech), is different from skipping over calc at a typical public university.
Also, four years of college will go by quicker than you think. Taking classes you don’t need in order to score an easy A is a waste of opportunity, not to mention tuition dollars.
My kid said all BC calc was covered in his first three weeks in calc1 for engineers. It was a bloodbath LOL. It really depends on the program and target univeristy. Try to get info from students or the academic advisor at your target school for your major. Some unis have tests you can do to self assess.
Skipping over Calc at Caltech is no different than skipping over it anywhere else. If you follow the advice of @boneh3ad and @ucbalumnus, you will know whether or not you are prepared to skip a class at ANY school.
My son started in Physics II and Calc III honors at Cal Poly and did fine. He did however spend a little time boning up on important concepts that either were rusty or were brushed over (specifically series in Calc) in HS. Every student in his calculus class scored a 5 on the AP exam. That was the hurdle for the invite. There were scores in the 20s on the first test. Some eventually dropped.
Get old tests and syllabi from several different teachers and see where you stand. Clueless…take it over. A little rusty…see if you can study and become competent enough to be confident. Breeze through it, definitely move ahead.
There are two reasons to do this. Retaking is NOT a guarantee of an easy A. More importantly, being ahead gives you more flexibility in your curriculum, even allowing you to take fewer classes once you start hitting the brutal ones.
Good luck!
Another encouragement to try old exams at your college for the classes you intend to skip. My D actually couldn’t find old Calc exams for her college but she did find them for several other schools. After trying several, she felt comfortable skipping Calc 1 and 2 with AP credit and hasn’t regretted it. She also used AP credit for Chem. She had taken AP Physics but felt her teacher hadn’t done the subject justice and hadn’t taken the AP exam so no skipping there.
If you can’t find school specific tests, then call the department. They will be a little suspicious at first, but after you explain why you want them they will likely comply. My son was able to find Calc I and II syllabi and tests, but not Physics. They emailed several to him.
Most “serious STEM schools” are major state schools. Let’s not get too elitist, here. That said, I don’t necessarily agree with the following response to this statement:
Some schools do tend to teach a “heavier” version of calculus (and their other subjects) than other schools and a high school AP course my not cut the mustard there. Still, there’s no way to know for sure without trying to look at the relevant course material at your university.
What? That makes no sense. “AP Calculus BC” is typically the equivalent of “Calculus 2” at a university. The main difference is that BC takes a year and Calc 2 takes a semester.
Agree with others who suggest trying the college’s old exams of courses that you are allowed to skip with AP credit. Then you can better determine whether you are ready for the next course, need to review a few topics, or should retake.
If the course to be skipped is not an important prerequisite of some other course, then you may just want to use the AP credit and have space for a free elective sooner or later.
Regarding Caltech, its “calculus” course is proof and theory heavy; it does not use AP scores, though it is one of the few schools that expects frosh to have had (regular) calculus before. But it is not representative of the vast majority of colleges where students may study engineering.
I was not in any way suggesting anyone with a 5 can skip levels of Calc at Caltech. What I was suggesting is that any student who gets the old syllabi and tests and comprehends the material and can pass the tests, could skip, at any school. It was in no way a statement that Calc is the same everywhere. It was an endorsement of the methodology used to decide whether or not to skip ahead.
With that said, it’s a poor example since Caltech uses their own internal placement exams to determine what Calc, Physics and Chemistry courses students start in.
From my experience, I would probably skip out of as many intro classes you can.
I go to a huge state college, and at least here, intro calculus and E&M were nearly identical to the AP test The textbook that my public high school used for AP Physics C was the same one my college in a different state used for intro E&M, and the homework was so similar that I recognized that some of the same problems being assigned in both classes. The curriculum varies by school, so check the syllabus to make sure it lines up with what you’ve taken, but I really doubt you would be missing out on any material.
Getting an A in those classes would likely be easier since you’ve seen the material, but it would be no guarantee. I wouldn’t retake those classes unless you are dependent on GPA for scholarships or med school admissions or something Use those extra hours instead to space out your degree plan. The plan normally calls for 16-17 hours a semester, every semester, and in engineering that’s just brutal. A lot of students end up taking five years to complete the degree plan at that pace. I used high school credits to space out my semesters to 13-15 hours each and it’s still a full plate - I’d hate to be taking another class right now.
Take those credits, lighten your class load, and use that time to get better grades in your major classes, or get involved in research if you want to do grad school. That would be a much more productive use of your time than grinding for As in material you’ve already covered.
I would heartily encourage OP to use AP credits to skip classes outside their major prerequisites but to look skeptically about skipping anything they would expect to build upon. I placed out of several such courses but chose to take a few anyway and am glad I did. The people who skipped Calc 2 tended to suffer badly in Calc 3. It is better to take a lower level class you could have skipped than to repeat one or more higher level classes because you were underprepared.
Again, thus is very individual. My son started in Physics II and Calc III at a school known for grade deflation and has absolutely thrived. He did however get old tests and syllabi and then spent a little bit of time in the summer reviewing and strengthening the areas he felt needed work. There were students in his Calc III class that did get hammered, likely because no one gave them @ucbalumnus’ and @boneh3ad’s advice.
Agreed with lots of what people have said above but will also suggest you consider the type of student that you are. The transition to college can be difficult and starting with a couple of courses where the work is familiar can help with a successful transition into college. As mentioned above taking credit for courses not tied to your major or that don’t build on the foundation is very helpful. I know there are lots of people in engineering who are successful taking the credit in math and physics but it isn’t the best strategy for everyone. My son had the unusual situation of having to pull out of his second semester due to illness. He got a 5 in BC calc and considered taking the credit to make up for some of the time lost. He tried to follow along with the class from home but got to a point that he wasn’t comfortable with the work and ended up taking the class. He had no regrets and it seemed that having that very solid foundation set him up for future success in the program. Taking the credit to avoid wasting time on a class you feel solidly proficient in, especially if you’ve taken practice tests and done well makes sense. Taking the credit to avoid being “weeded out” doesn’t make sense. If your proficiency is such that you fear being “weeded out” then you probably need the class.
Yes math and Statistics can be skipped. Social sciences and humanity classes can also skipped if you’re STEM major.