NOT testing out of AP classes

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What would you think of taking AP Bio, but not testing out of it for college? It could be a class that comes easier than most, and wouldn't you miss some stuff if you skip Bio I? Or is there a major advantage in getting to the upper level biology classes.

thanks

Depends on what you want to major in and what you enjoy. If you want an easy A, take bio again in college if you can stay awake while having the same stuff repeated to you.
Some med schools will require that you take a year of biology in college, so if you take the credit you will still have to take biology for a year, just an upper level course. Personally I thought the upper level bio was very interesting so it probably wouldn't be worth going through the same crap again for another year (because intro to bio really isn't much different that AP bio, at least not in the long run). My advice: take the credit and learn some more interesting bio.

I've heard that if the class that you're trying to test out of is a main component of your major, some colleges won't admit the credit, regardless of the score. So you may not even be able to get that credit if you wanted it.

The AP Biology class will probably help(I say 'probably' because I'm a senior in high school, so I don't know firsthand) with freshman biology, since, for the most part, you've already had most of the material.

I took AP Biology last year, and I got a 4. If you want help, feel free to ask.

It's actually a pretty good plan. Don't take AP or IB credits, redo easy classes, buff your gpa a little alongside your premed and major requirements.
I'll be doing that for sure.

Originally Posted by eGatsby

It's actually a pretty good plan. Don't take AP or IB credits, redo easy classes, buff your gpa a little alongside your premed and major requirements.
I'll be doing that for sure.

Agreed.

<--Had AP credits from 13 exams.

I remember in high school, the only reason I took AP classes was to boost my GPA. The higher your GPA, the greater the chances of acceptance and scholarship awards. I would advise against taking the exams so that you don't have to take the classes in college. They may be great GPA boosters in college and probably prepare you better for future exams.

Not testing out of the AP courses is fine. Most colleges and postgrad programs will not accept AP credit towards requirements towards your degree anyways.

Originally Posted by GregtheTruck

What would you think of taking AP Bio, but not testing out of it for college? It could be a class that comes easier than most, and wouldn't you miss some stuff if you skip Bio I? Or is there a major advantage in getting to the upper level biology classes.

thanks

First you need to know the AP policy of the college you chose. They can vary. At my school, I entered with 55 AP credits and all were entered on my transcript as if I had taken the class. I will retake none of these classes. This allows me to take many more upper division courses and pick up an extra degree all within a 4 year program. Some schools (usually the top tier privates) will limit how many AP credits you can use, but at the least will give you advanced placement in the subject even if you don't receive the credit.

IMO, if you took an AP class and scored a 5 on the exam then you should just move on to the next level. If you read the websites of almost all medical schools (the California schools are an exception) this is what they want you to do. Move on, take higher level courses, don't waste your time retaking courses to "pad your gpa". Adcoms will see right through that. Best of luck.

Originally Posted by plumazul

Move on, take higher level courses, don't waste your time retaking courses to "pad your gpa". Adcoms will see right through that. Best of luck.

I will start by saying that this is not necessarily true. When it comes down to it, GPA and MCAT scores are the most important part of any application to medical school, and it is important to take boosts when you can. Freshman year is a time of adjustments, and it can be beneficial to have some easier courses so you are not stressing over both the transition and classes. Moreover, if you do not accept AP credit and instead choose to take the course again in college, Adcoms will never know you had AP credit, so it will not be of detriment to you in the long run.

This being said, if you are someone who will be bored and slack off in a class because you know all the material or are motivated enough to perform well in upper level courses, go for it!

They are easy A's, so it's a good plan. However, keep in mind these are usually weed out classes, so they might be difficult.

The purpose of taking APs is really to gain admission to a good college. If you actually do that, chances are they won't accept any of your scores; they might let you test out if you also take their exams, but they almost certainly wouldn't give you credit for them.

Not a single one of my APs is on my college transcript; only 3 of them let me even skip classes, and in order to do that, I had to pass the final exam from that course. The AP exam was what qualified you to attempt to pass out. In my year, I was the only one to successfully pass out of Bio 101. For chemistry, you got to skip a class, but only if you took a much more difficult Intro course (essentially you took both in the first semester instead of separately.)

I wouldn't have gotten into my college without my APs. However, I got essentially zero credits for 10 5's. Totally worth it.

As someone else mentioned, a lot of colleges won't count the credit if you end up pursuing a major containing that class or field of study. I know my college followed that protocol.

AP Bio in some schools doesn't really cover Gen Bio well enough, and depending on the school its a good refresher and gpa boost. ALTHOUGH if its a weed out class at your school I'd avoid it. just ask around

Originally Posted by EvenStevens

AP Bio in some schools doesn't really cover Gen Bio well enough, and depending on the school its a good refresher and gpa boost. ALTHOUGH if its a weed out class at your school I'd avoid it. just ask around

Some medical schools don't except AP credit. Also Bio is on the MCAT why would you want to base that section off of a high school class?

I know this topic is semi-old, but I gotta ask the question. I'm planning on taking my AP Calc AB test and seeing if I can get credit for the class in college. I'd be able to skip the first semester of Calculus. However, I plan on taking Calculus for Biological Sciences I and II at my college, is it still worth it to take the AP Calc AB test, even though I'm going to take a different Calc course in college? Same situation is going to occur for me in Statistics, however I'm looking towards Statistics for Biological Sciences as well. Basically what I'm asking is, is it worth it to even take it, if I'm basically going to repeat the course over again, because I want to?