I’m very curious about which one of my AP test scores Berkeley will accept: I know this information is available online, but people at CalDay were saying that, apparently, Berkeley is making major adjustments to their AP test policies.
My scores:
European History - 4
US History - 5
Calculus AB - 5
Statistics - 4
Environmental Science - 4
I’m also about to take the Calculus BC and French exams: my practice scores seem to project that I’ll probably get a 5 on the BC exam and either a 3 or 4 on the French exam.
Additional information: I’m majoring in applied mathematics, and was expecting to be able to skip Math 1A and Math 1B and start with sophomore level mathematics courses (as was very well-explained in the Freshman Math FAQ on this forum).
I was under the impression that of my exams, only European History and Environmental Science wouldn’t count for any credits at Berkeley, but I’m very worried about these apparent “changes”-- if someone could confirm if there will indeed be changes in Berkeley’s AP test system and what those changes are, it would be greatly appreciated.
I don’t know about the changes, but I would point out that generally, credits don’t matter if you intend to stay for a standard eight semesters - you’ll rack up enough credits to graduate just taking a standard courseload. For applied math, I’m pretty sure that the only exams that’ll really be useful are Calc AB and Calc BC, since a 5 on each will let you skip 1A and 1B, respectively.
My understanding is that passing AP tests will help you with the credits that you need to graduate but not necessarily fulfilling certain requirements.
@StevenToCollege It depends on the College and your major. Some majors (e.g., Integrative Biology in L&S) will give you general unit credits but will not fulfill any requirements, just like you stated. Some majors will let you bypass prerequisites with APs. Check the departmental website of the major you are thinking of going into.
Credit units are based on UC systemwide policy. Subject credit is determined by the campus or division within the campus.
Berkeley L&S is somewhat unusual in that subject credit is determined by department with respect to students in its major(s). This can lead to situations where, for two majors that have some of the same prerequisites, one accepts AP scores for those prerequisites, but the other does not. For example, both of the large biology majors (MCB and IB) require similar lower division prerequisites, but MCB accepts AP scores for some of them, but IB does not accept any AP scores. Since you will be an applied math major, the only relevant AP score you have is calculus AB (and possibly calculus BC if you get a 5).
At the L&S level, AP scores are not accepted for the 7 course breadth requirement, though they are accepted for reading and composition, quantitative reasoning, and foreign language requirements: http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/requirement/summary.html .