Beside people who want to exempt class in college, I don’t see the beneft of taking AP exams.
I thought college decisions were made before AP test dates.
I studied AP Cal and Chem on my own and took it on 11th so I could actually write it on my transcript or something
So, now I am trying to decide if I should self study and take AP Physics C and Computer Science in my senior year, since I want to prove to UT that I am engineering thirsty. (Our school barely provides AP).
Does AP exams on senior year influence my admission to UT,or other colleges, in any way??
You said it yourself that skipping college classes was a benefit of taking AP tests. I don’t see why not, as UT is pretty generous with AP credit.
No.
The reason to take AP tests is to get advance placement. If you are “engineering thirsty,” you may wish to take AP tests in history, human geography, psychology, government, etc. so that you can get credit for some breadth classes at $100 a throw (cheaper than college tuition), or at the least, place out of the freshman cattle-call versions and take the smaller-class-size seminar advanced courses in the topics.
You are right to think strategically. Use the APs to make your college experience more pleasant.
I agree with @ItsJustSchool. Consider taking the AP tests for credit for some of the courses that are “Texas Core” required courses. I would add English composition and literature to the list - which I think might be known as English 3 and 4. Claiming AP credits for these non-major courses will save you money and time. All the required History courses too. Econ, Government, APUSH, AP World or European History. Check the Core requirements.
And it is fine if you don’t take these also. Then you can use some of the core courses to get easier A’s in your schedule of hardcore math and science and engineering.
You can also use it for free elective slots, if you want to save money.
AP tests (well, passing them) is always beneficial. I’m a UT student. I took AP tests all 4 years, was able to use them to exempt out of all the required core classes for the university, which put me almost a year ahead. Your grade on the tests won’t influence decisions but being in AP classes senior year will, since it shows you are challenging yourself and not slacking off senior year.
Taking the actual test in 12th grade won’t affect your admission, but you can use the credit. Actually, I didn’t need the credit from quite a few of my APs and wouldn’t have taken the test if my school didn’t force me to.
BTW, I tried checking if my APCS credit would count for anything at UT, and it looks like it won’t even count for GE credit as a ChemE major. Not sure if it counts for other engineering majors.
Taking the classes themselves will affect your admission, though, so go right ahead. I’ll warn you against self-studying unless you are REALLY motivated or already know the material, though. I “self-studied” Physics C this year with my school’s approval… I ended up not studying until the last minute, and probably didn’t pass the AP test :’)
@imthereal Thanks for the advice! I am a international student, and I think my SAT is not yhere yet for Cockrell. I wanted to prove to UT that I could self study AP math and science and get 5, which I already did(Korea’s 9th grade education was enough to take AP Cal and Chem Physics lol), so getting a low AP socre is not a concern. I just signed up for the Linear Algebra MATLAB class offered by UT in edX.org. I just hope that UT will see my passion…regarding medium SAT score
Hey guys on a sorta related note I’m wondering if I should pay the $15 to transfer my AP World History exam to UT. I got a 5 but I’m not sure if it even counts for anything at all. I have credit for both semesters of US hist. Does anyone know if AP World counts for any graduation requirements? I’m a Electrical Engineering major.
Don’t forget that senior year will include college applications, scholarship applications, a nice case of senioritis, and some celebrating. Self-studying extra classes on top of a full school schedule may be too much.
@3boystogo Extra work outside of school is not really a concern to me. Now Im just curious what kind of computer language I should take,
Why don’t you get the SAT math score up? Seems like a better use of time. the SAT math section does not go past Algebra 2 - an occasional pre-call question. If you can take those advanced math classes and score well on AP tests, I see no reason for a SAT math score that is just average. UT has a formula that they use to prioritize candidates. Class rank and SAT score weigh heavily in that. They look at other factors but it sounds like you are capable of increasing the math score.
@leekuu – From what my advisors have told me, the World History credit (HIS 306N) can count as an elective. Although I sent my AP World History score to UT, I have not claimed the credit yet.
@gettingschooled I just keep missing 1 on every single SAT, I have a 800on Math2c but not this lol.
If you are just missing 1 question on the SAT Math section then your math score is fine.
Missing one question on SAT Math messes with your score for real, lol. I missed 1, omitted 0, and ended up getting a 770.