<p>I'm an international student and I'm planning to take AP courses to earn college credit beforehand. Unfortunately, I know very little about AP nor the curriculum of undergraduate architecture school. So any advice of which AP course and which level I should take will be very much appreciated.</p>
<p>Calculus and Physics B are probably your most useful APs.</p>
<p>Physics, Calculus, and Art history would be benfitial AP's to take.</p>
<p>The Studio Art AP would also be useful, especially as many schools would like to see a portfolio and you'll have to put one together for the AP.</p>
<p>Physics B or Physics C
Calculus</p>
<p>calculus</p>
<p>take physics, but everything you need to know youll learn in your structures class. im doing fine now with just having honors physics (got an A last semester :) ) </p>
<p>if you take studio art for a portfolio, make sure you do it junior year. you need to get your portfolios reviewed first semester...my latest portfolio review was first week of december....so doing it senior year would be a waste</p>
<p>In order to get in to the competitive college…Is it necessary to take physic c instead of physic c, or calculus bc instead of calculus ab .</p>
<p>In order to get in to the competitive college…Is it necessary to take physic c instead of physic b, or calculus bc instead of calculus ab .</p>
<p>i would definitely recommend physics c and not b and calc bc. If you do not have a portfolio, then take the studio art so you can build one (and start immediately on the portfolio b/c i know mine took a while to construct). Additionally, at a number of the schools i looked into like syracuse, you have to take an intro english course, but if you score well on the ap, then you do not. This extra english course is said to add a lot of stress to a freshmen’s first semester. therefore, if you take ap english, it may get you out of an extra english class and cause less stress in your 1st semester</p>
<p>@ patchachantana, no, i dont think it is necessary. They are both AP’s and your GPA will be waited the same for both, and, Physics B and AB are generally (although not always easier) so if you enjoy math but are not a stellar student it is probably better to take physics B and AB calc.</p>
<p>This is what I did. I got A’s in the courses whereas I might have gotten B’s had I taken the harder courses. I got into the school I want to go to so i consider it to have been successful. I think you have to judge for yourself which classes you will be comfortable in and take them, not just take the hardest because they look impressive. IMHO higher grades impress colleges more than more advanced courses.</p>
<p>Thanks,hawkswim09.My son plan to english ap this coming junior year.You talking about studio art portfolio b/c. We do not know what it is. My son also plan to advance art studio this year, and plan to have advace art history in his senior year . We still have some problem choosing between spanish(third year) or advace photography in senior year.Because some college recomend 3 years of foreign language (cornell,michican ann arbor). We afraid that if chooseing photography instead of foreign language will reduce the chace of getting in some schools that recomended 3 years , than 2 years of foreign language.</p>
<p>i would probably take the third year of a language, i know the colleges really look at it and some colleges even require it.</p>
<p>I have a love for photography and i know how hard it must be to not take it instead of Spanish, but he really must take the third year. Four is even better, but alas…</p>
<p>Have you thought about summer school, then he could do both. </p>
<p>My last suggestion, is that he look at the portfolio requirements NOW. Before he choses his next year’s classes he needs to think carefully about how he will produce the necessary art: drawings, photographs, prints, woodworking projects etc. Not all necessary, but all helpful art forms to include in your portfolio.</p>
<p>Thank futurearchitect7 and hawkswimo9 (for your good advice)</p>
<p>Would anyone mind answering my questions? Thank you very much.
Does CP Physics or AP Physics counts as Physics B?
If my school doesn’t offer AP Art History, should I try to take a class like that over the summer?
How important is AP Studio Art? Should I take a similar course over the summer?
When we apply for colleges do they require a portfolio of artwork?</p>
<p>1) Physics B is a quick covering a variety of topics, whereas physics c is a lot more focused and i believe that at most colleges, ap physics c counts more about ap physics b, but I do not know what CP Physics is.<br>
2) I have been accepted to a number of top architecture colleges (syracuse, rpi, mit) without having taken ap studio art or ap art history, however, i was in a visual arts tracking program. if you have not taken art all four years, you might want to take a class that will further develop your portfolio.
3) The vast majority of schools require a portfolio of anywhere between 15-20 art pieces. the top institutions do require them.</p>
<p>to reply to both of you:</p>
<p>1) I dont agree, AP Physics C is seen as the harder course, but it is not regarded as a significant difference, and, will not get you more credit in my experiance. For instance, Syracuse will give credit for both AP Physics tests. Both give you the same credits to the same courses. However, one must get a 4 on the physics B test but only a 3 on the physics C test. Of course, the Physics C test is harder. Again, I believe that it is better to get a better grade in B than a worser grade in C. I bet both are identically weighted by the admissions committee at most universities. </p>
<p>2) I haven’t heard of those two AP art courses. At my school AP Drawing and AP 2-D Design are offered. It is considered better to take the AP Drawing course before applying for architecture. AP Studio Art sounds suitable as well, art history doesn’t seem like it would help you. Personally, I think that its to your advantage simply to spend a lot of time drawing etc. practice is the only thing that will make you better. I took a Drawing course at a local college summer session and I attribute much of my success with the admissions process to that. </p>
<p>3) In your portfolio, the most convincing work is strong freehand drawing. Portraits, buildings and still lifes are all good subjects. I advise that you use very strong freehand pencil or pen and ink drawings at 60-75% of the work that goes in your portfolio. The rest could be a variety of designs, digital, photography, woodworking, sculpture and ceramics. Dont include drafting, or mechanical drawing, it will hurt you. Not all top places ask for a portfolio or at least not 15 pieces. Dont worry if you can only drum up 12, or even 11. Its better to have a few too few, than a few bad ones. These people look at loads of portfolios each day, and you are being compared in terms of quality, not quantity, its just not what they pay attention to. </p>
<p>From my memory: Northeastern + Penn State DO NOT require a portfolio, UofO and CMU ask for only ten pieces etc.</p>
<p>Green Ace, I’m a little confused about your physics question. Does CP stand for college prep or do you mean AP Physics C?</p>
<p>There are two AP Physics courses B (which doesn’t use calculus) and C (which does use calculus). Carnegie Mellon for example doesn’t give credit for AP Physics B, but does for AP Physics C (if you get a 5) Other colleges may give you credit for both. If you just want to show some familiarity with physics any college prep course will do. In architecture school you’ll take Statics which is basically the physics of things that don’t move.</p>
<p>You don’t have to take AP Studio Art, but I’d recommend taking an art course if you haven’t already. It’s not a bad thing to do during the summer if you don’t have better options. (i.e. Job or internships) Many, but not all architecture schools require a portfolio, a high school or college art course will help you have some good pieces to send.</p>
<p>patchatana, (hope I spelled that right), the others who have posted are correct. Your son must take Spanish. It would be a big black mark if he doesn’t. Anyway it could be useful, I have a number of Spanish speaking clients, and wish I’d taken Spanish instead of French and German.</p>
<p>At an open house lecture I attended at CMU we were told by the Director of Admissions that CMU had research showing that taking AP Physics in high school, and doing well, was the best single indicator that a student would do well in college. Of course you have to get accepted first, and to do that, except in a few special cases at CMU, you need to take 3 consecutive years of the same foreign language during high school, and better if it’s four, as it can demonstrate what you are capable of.</p>
<p>Son was accepted at CMU architecture last year without submitting the optional portfolio. He was told portfolio would never hurt, but could help. Don’t know if it’s still the case.</p>
<p>Thank you both mathmom and 4tree. Very good informations</p>