<p>I know the courses a college will require you to take will vary from college to college, but I'm asking for a general answer. I know English is usually a mandatory course in college. So what are the ones you usually have to take? I'm asking so I can figure out which AP tests I'll be needing to take later.</p>
<p>It varies alot between different colleges. Brown, for instance, has absolutely no core requirements, whereas other schools can have quite strict ones. An English class is normal; often one can take a different class if you get a 5 on the AP. Otherwise, check with your school. Sometimes AP credits can be used for "humanities electives" and similar broad categories.</p>
<p>Some have none, most have something. Typical are minimum required hours in humanities, social studies, science, math, at least one writing course, and for many foreign language (although language requirements can often be met by completing a certain number of years in high school). Many also have "cultural" course rerquirements -- take a course on cultures different from yours. Note that, except for the writing course, "English" is not necessarily going to be required. There are often a large variety of classes you can take that can satisfy minimum humanities requirements. That is usually true for most requirements.</p>
<p>Many many schools have a foreign language requirement that you can get out of with a decent (4 or 5) AP score. That's the most useful AP to take, I think.</p>
<p>As has already been pointed out, there are some colleges with open curriculum systems, with Smith and Brown being two good examples, but common General Education Requirements (GERs) are:</p>
<p>3-6 math credits
4-12 science credits (with labs)
8 foreign language credits
3-6 social science credits
3 philosophy and religion credits
6-9 English credits
6-9 history credits
3-6 humanities credits
3-6 writing-intensive credits (can frequently be combined with any of the above)</p>
<p>Really depends on the college, though. If you request catalogues, you'll usually find charts in there that will explain to you what the GERs are for each degree program.</p>
<p>Here are the AP</a> Credit Policies for most schools. I dont know what the requirements are at the Ivys, etc., but a 4 or 5 and sometimes a 3 on the following AP exams satisfy GE requirements at most second and third tier schools:</p>
<p>AP English Lang & Comp Some schools dont accept credit, but a 4 gets you out of one semester of English and a 5 out of the entire freshman requirement at some schools.
English Lit & Comp see above.
Spanish, French, German, etc. ** satisfy the foreign language requirement at most schools.
**Calculus AB satisfies the quantitative reasoning requirement for humanities majors at a lot of schools.
Calculus BC satisfies the quantitative reasoning requirement for humanities majors at a lot of schools plus give you credit for one elective course.
Chemistry suffices for two lab sciences at a lot of schools
Biology - suffices for two lab sciences at a lot of schools
U.S. History accepted almost everywhere for the equivalent requirement. Sometimes itll also satisfy the requirement and count as one elective course.
European History - accepted almost everywhere for the international perspectives requirement of its equivalent. Sometimes itll also satisfy the requirement and count as one elective course.
World History - accepted at a lot of schools for the international perspectives requirement of its equivalent. Sometimes itll also satisfy the requirement and count as one elective course.
Psychology satisfies one social sciences requirement at most schools<br>
Art History satisfies the creative dimension requirement at most schools.</p>