What does this mean? (from the website)

[bluetree2]

<p>Penn</a> Admissions: Advanced Placement Policy</p>

<p>The AP Policy on the penn website says that a student with a score of 5 on the Lang /Lit test is awarded 'English Freshman Free'. does anyone know what exactly this means? does it mean the student neednt do any english courses during freshman year? </p>

<p>Also, it seems that the same credit is awarded for either test..so taking both lang and lit in this case would be unnecessary, am i right?</p>

<p>Do undergrads at penn have to take any english courses even if their major is in a different area, or are there no such distribution requirements?</p>

<p>Im an international who doesnt know much about the APs so answers from anyone who knows will be appreciated. Thanks :)</p>

[hardworking21]

<p>“Also, it seems that the same credit is awarded for either test…so taking both lang and lit in this case would be unnecessary, am i right?” → That is CORRECT! I got a 5 on the AP English Lang test, and so won’t be taking the English Lit test (credit is identical, and you can only get it once). </p>

<p>I think there are requirements regarding English…I think everyone needs to take 1 semester. Don’t quote me on that, though.</p>

[Keasbey_Nights]

<p>Undergraduates at Penn have to take a writing seminar, and you can’t place out of this with AP/IB/A-level/etc., nor can you place out of it with a writing seminar at a different university.</p>

<p>English Freshman Free will satisfy general elective requirements, but nothing else.</p>

[hardworking21]

<p>Thanks Keasbey Good info to have.</p>

[bluetree2]

<p>@Keasbey Nights- im sorry but what exactly do you mean by general elective requirements? Are they for english majors only or for all undergrads?</p>

[falafel_1]

<p>bluetree2 – It’s a free credit. It doesn’t count towards any major or general requirements. It does count towards the total number of credits you need to graduate.</p>

<p>Let’s say that you finish your major and fulfill your College distribution requirements in 30 credits. [Depending</a> on the major](<a href=“http://www.college.upenn.edu/majors/credits.php]Depending”>http://www.college.upenn.edu/majors/credits.php), you need an additional 2-6 credits to graduate. We call these credits and classes electives.</p>

<p>If you come in with free credits (as in English Freshman Free), they count towards the total you need to graduate. Free credits can help you graduate sooner or take fewer classes.</p>

[bluetree2]

<p>Ohh…that clears up a lot, thank you! are you a penn student?</p>

[bluetree2]

<p>oh and @hardworking21- i forgot to thank you for your reply :P</p>

[falafel_1]

<p>bluetree2 - I was in the College and graduated in May.</p>

[Keasbey_Nights]

<p>I used my English Freshman Free to fulfill an engineering SSH requirement.</p>

[hardworking21]

<p>@bluetree2: Not a problem! Good luck to you! Hope to see you on campus soon!</p>

[bluetree2]

<p>Aww, thanks! I really hope so too :)</p>

[Aloice]

<p>I’m a little confused since I’ve also seen from several sources elsewhere that you CAN actually double count the Lit and Lang freshman free credits like make them two SSH credits or whatever. :S The Penn website doesn’t do a good job of explaining this, either, so are we officially sure that we can’t get credit twice?</p>

[falafel_1]

<p>You get an “English Freshman Free” elective for AP English (Language and Literature), according to [Penn</a> Admissions](<a href=“http://www.admissionsug.upenn.edu/applying/advanced.php]Penn”>http://www.admissionsug.upenn.edu/applying/advanced.php).</p>

<p>[The</a> SEAS Handbook](<a href=“Courses + Requirements”>Social Science and Humanities Courses) suggests that only coursework counts towards those electives.

In the SSH category, a student should choose courses of personal interest which will provide in-depth study (2 or more courses) of at least one subject and which will include several subjects so that reasonably broad insight is achieved in the social and behavioral sciences and in the humanities.

</p>

<p>However, the [Bioengineering</a> website](<a href=“Undergraduate”>AP Credits) suggests you can count AP English towards SSH electives:

Bioengineering students get AP credits in English, History, Environmental Science, and many other subjects. Please see Penn’s AP policy for more information. These credits can fulfill science, social sciences and humanities (SSH) and other requirements, or count in the free-electives category.

</p>

<p>I asked someone I know in the Computer Science (CIS) program, and the course planner won’t allow the “English Freshman Free” credit to fulfill SSH electives. An Electrical Engineering (EE) friend I asked believes that “English Freshman Free” is just a free elective (i.e. worthless). It may depend on the major, and your advisor may be able to override and make free electives count towards the requirement. To be safe, consider e-mailing or calling the engineering office or the department you’re interested in.</p>

[Keasbey_Nights]

<p>

I asked someone I know in the Computer Science (CIS) program, and the course planner won’t allow the “English Freshman Free” credit to fulfill SSH electives.

</p>

<p>Jackie Caliman is the associate director of advising for CIS, and she knows all there is to know about this stuff. Ask her if you can count the English Freshman Free for SSH.</p>

[Aloice]

<p>So I emailed the Penn Engineering office and here’s the reply</p>

<p>"Yes…you would receive English Free credit for a five on both English Lang and English Lit. If you took both and received a five on both, you would get two English Free credits which can be used to fulfill humanities credit. Note: AP English Free credit does not meet the Penn writing requirement.</p>

<p>Ellen Eckert
Penn Engineering"</p>

<p>This is only for engineering though.</p>