<p>I can't seem to find this on their website. Which tests does Harvard accept?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.fas.harvard.edu/%7Eadvising/docs/advancedStanding0708.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~advising/docs/advancedStanding0708.pdf</a> </p>
<p>This document is updated each year.</p>
<p>if you get a 5 on four exams you can do this thing called "advanced standing" to skip a year, which can be nice if you want to go directly to grad school and finish in 5 years</p>
<p>What about AP's not listed. I got a 5 on the AP world history exam, and its not listed in any category (full credit, half credit, or no credit).</p>
<p>I'm about to sign up for AP exams, and I need to know if it's necessary to take all of them. I don't want Advanced Standing, but I might be interested in placement out of intro level classes. Do I need to take AP tests not listed for Advanced Standing? For example, AP Government. Is there any way possible I could benefit from taking that test if I went to Harvard?
Thanks</p>
<p>bump... does anyone know more about this?</p>
<p>pommery, i had this same question. i'm not exactly sure, but i think you can place out of intro classes if you have 5's on the ap's. you won't get credit like you would at other schools - just harder classes.</p>
<p>Thanks. I just called them and they said ANY AP test, even if it can't be used for advanced standing, might be useful for placement purposes. So it looks like I can't get out of any tests. :)</p>
<p>Most Harvard matriculants from my public HS never take Advanced
Standing despite having 12-15 APs by the end of senior year....:confused:</p>
<p>arwen15: this is probably because entering as a sophomore gives you many disadvantages, not limited to inexperience with college life, studies, and handling the work next to seasoned sophomores, but also those things that require experience and time - for example, scholarships, fellowships, etc, that a 4 year student may end up having more qualifications for than a 3 year student.</p>
<p>but IMHO, I think most people who get accepted to Harvard undergrad aren't so keen to leave it as quickly as possible... I'd say, enjoy your full experience. Best 4 years of one's life, so they say.</p>
<p>I've never understood the desire to get out early... this isn't highschool. No one is beating you up and stuffing you into lockers. (Although, I don't think that happens outside of movies, anyway)</p>
<p>My point is, AP can be usful to help you skip over Spanish101 or things like that, but why would you want to rush through college and jump into adulthood... responsibility, a 9-5 job, who wants that any earlier?</p>
<p>Maybe this is just my immature teenage self coming out... but I don't think anyone should want to skip 25% of their college experience. That's a lot of life lessons... and a lot of fun... missed.</p>
<p>"I've never understood the desire to get out early"</p>
<p>well, it's about $45,000 less. i wouldn't do it, though, if accepted.</p>
<p>i have a similar question. i was wondering if the credit would be acceptable, but if i take the AP courses senior year becasue the classes were full this year, will that work??</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Read the explanation at the link provided above.</p></li>
<li><p>Harvard does not give AP credit unless you take advanced standing, and no one takes advanced standing. Given Harvard’s financial aid, or your family’s wealth, it is nuts to substitute a bunch of AP tests for the opportunity to spend a year there. Also, AP courses are NOT the equivalent of Harvard courses. They are often not really the equivalent of good high school courses either – just a stupid scam.</p></li>
<li><p>They say you can use AP results for placement into higher classes, but it is overwhelmingly likely that if you know the subject matter you can talk your way into the higher classes with or without the AP test.</p></li>
<li><p>But obviously taking the courses senior year would work fine, which is to say not really at all. Some students would worry that their 11th grade courseload would look less challenging, and their class rank might be lower, if they did not take available AP courses before their senior years, though.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Actually some people DO take Advanced Standing. Some try to get out in 3 years, others do a combined B.A./M.A degree in four years (not a good idea). But the majority of students who are eligible for AS don’t make use of that option. There are just too many courses a student can take! And having AS puts a real crimp on plans to study abroad and still graduate with one’s class.</p>
<p>You do need a score of 5 on the test to be able to use the AP for Advanced Standing. While some courses require a score of 5 to get in (e.g. Physics 16 as opposed to Physics 15), I believe some students can talk their way into many courses with pre-requisites.</p>
<p>Makes me not care about AP TESTS anymore. lol</p>
<p>It’s my understanding that H doesn’t accept AP’s to skip out of a class. My son did qualify for Advanced Standing, he had 12 AP’s in high school and scored 5 on all of them. Hubby and I told our son to enjoy college and not be in any hurry to graduate. Enjoy being a kid for as long as possible. </p>
<p>Son’s 5’s on his AP’s did act like a prerequisite in some classes. </p>
<p>It’s a nice thing if you are in a hurry to graduate, but if not then enjoy college life.</p>
<p>Would this advise stand for someone going for premed i.e. not to take AS, considering the fact that to finish med school will take a long time to achieve? My daughter will have taken 11 AP courses, six of which she had 5 and one 4. She is taking the exams for the other 5 this June.</p>
<p>I would especially advise high school seniors to take their AP language exams! </p>
<p>Harvard basically has 3 general requirements: Expository Writing (alas, no alternative); General Education (8 credits with some chances to reduce e.g. study abroad or advanced standing); and Foreign Language. Foreign language is the only requirement that can be replaced by a test. Hmm I wonder how that figures into institutional value of language learning experience…
You’ll need a 5 on the exam or a 700+ plus on the SAT II of that language to fulfill the language requirement. You could also get a good enough score on the Harvard summer placement test of that language and then repeat the test in person on campus (to make sure you didn’t cheat). </p>
<p>AP exams typically do not figure into moving past required classes, IME. Yes, if you’re interested in Advanced Standing, then you should be looking into that on the website. Otherwise Harvard offers a number of placement tests over the summer that would help you. As I remember it (now nearly three years ago), these basically help you determine the level of your class but may not drastically change how advanced you are in the material. For example, which introductory physics class should you take? Or which math level are you? There are multiple levels of multivariable calculus, for example. These last two questions can be “answered” by AP tests & subsequent though the level you enroll in is of course a more nuanced and personal decision based on other factors.</p>
<p>Actually, I can’t remember any more which subjects the Harvard placement tests are in. I know there’s math, writing, and some languages. So then AP scores would play a bigger role in helping you decide on your placement first year.</p>