Taking AP Classes, Should I test out of class in college or Not???

[deleted421268]

Say an individual was taking AP Bio and they scored well enough to test out of it in college. Should the individual get out of the general Bio class that he tested out of by passing and doing well on AP Bio Test, or should he still take it because it will be review and an easier A in college since your familiar with material? What would you guys do?

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[I'm No Superman]

The real question is, do you want to sit through a semester of Bio 1 and lab again or just move on to Bio 2. The easy A is nice, but if you can do just as well in higher level classes, why bother?

 

[deleted421268]

The real question is, do you want to sit through a semester of Bio 1 and lab again or just move on to Bio 2. The easy A is nice, but if you can do just as well in higher level classes, why bother?

Yea I'm planning on taking AP Chem and AP Calculus before I graduate high school and this is a question that pops up in the middle of my mind. Honestly what would you guys do in this situation?

 

[Cephal0pod]

With two tough subjects like chem and calc, I personally would go ahead and take the intro class. Getting a solid GPA your first semester is a good plan, and it would make sure you had a solid foundation for the next level of coursework. Just my .02.

 

[I'm No Superman]

Yea I'm planning on taking AP Chem and AP Calculus before I graduate high school and this is a question that pops up in the middle of my mind. Honestly what would you guys do in this situation?

Well what I did was take AP Chem dual enrollment through a local university and got A's in Gen Chem 1 and 2. If this option is available to you for either calc or chem and you are sure you will get and A do it.

Pros: Don't have to take it in college, counts towards your GPA

Cons: If you don't do well in it, it still counts toward your GPA.

If you can't do that, and you find the material to be easy, take the AP test. If you have a really good comprehension of the material, there really is no need to take it again in college.

The third option would be to take the class and take it again in college. If you want to go this route, don't take the AP test, it would be a waste of time.

For Calculus, some schools will let you move on to calc 2 without taking the AP test and give you credit for Calc 1 when you finish the course. I'm not sure but I think that it costs more than the AP test to do that.

Also, this is just my opinion, I'm sure there are a lot of people that would tell you to retake for the easy A. So essentially, it all comes down to whether you think it's worth it or not.

 

[deleted421268]

With two tough subjects like chem and calc, I personally would go ahead and take the intro class. Getting a solid GPA your first semester is a good plan, and it would make sure you had a solid foundation for the next level of coursework. Just my .02.

So your saying NOT to test out of Chem and Calc if I score well in both these AP classes?? I often hear people complaining about how big the intro classes are, is this a problem as well with intro classes?? Want to hear more opinions thanks guys.

 

[deleted421268]

Well what I did was take AP Chem dual enrollment through a local university and got A's in Gen Chem 1 and 2. If this option is available to you for either calc or chem and you are sure you will get and A do it.

Pros: Don't have to take it in college, counts towards your GPA

Cons: If you don't do well in it, it still counts toward your GPA.

If you can't do that, and you find the material to be easy, take the AP test. If you have a really good comprehension of the material, there really is no need to take it again in college.

The third option would be to take the class and take it again in college. If you want to go this route, don't take the AP test, it would be a waste of time.

For Calculus, some schools will let you move on to calc 2 without taking the AP test and give you credit for Calc 1 when you finish the course. I'm not sure but I think that it costs more than the AP test to do that.

Also, this is just my opinion, I'm sure there are a lot of people that would tell you to retake for the easy A. So essentially, it all comes down to whether you think it's worth it or not.

What you did was take AP Chem, and you didn't test out of it in college. Then you found your General Chem 1 and 2 classes to be easy and got A's in it. Is this correct?

 

[I'm No Superman]

What you did was take AP Chem, and you didn't test out of it in college. Then you found your General Chem 1 and 2 classes to be easy and got A's in it. Is this correct?

No, I had the option to take AP Chem as Chem 160 and 161 with labs. I got an A both terms, which translates into an A in both classes in college.

I'm still in HS btw.

 

[eccentric jet]

I disagree with the first reply. Unless you have a bunch of AP credits (I had like 6 when I started college) and can manage to graduate a semester early and save money (which I didn't do anyway), there really is no reason to skip actual college courses.

It will be to your advantage to start off on the right foot, solidifying your knowledge base and getting relatively easy A's while refreshing important material. If your ultimate goal is taking a test like the MCAT, it is definitely to your advantage to reinforce basic principles at the college level. At the very least, you will have a few courses first semester that you can manage to do well in with minimal effort, which will help with your social life.

I cashed in some of my AP credits first year and looking back, there are very few benefits to doing so, especially if it's the field of study you wish to pursue. College is a lot different than high school in so many ways, even in terms of learning basic sciences. Do yourself a favor and if it's a field you might want to major/minor in, retake the credit.

 

[HolySmokes]

I'm gonna go ahead and start clarifying some of the points being made here.

The real question is, do you want to sit through a semester of Bio 1 and lab again or just move on to Bio 2. The easy A is nice, but if you can do just as well in higher level classes, why bother?

Why bother? Because that easy A will help your GPA. Having that cushion is great, especially for freshman who are still adjusting to college. Also, taking intro classes with everyone else is a great way to meet people who have similar interests. I would never recommend anyone use their AP credit to skip a class in college.

Well what I did was take AP Chem dual enrollment through a local university and got A's in Gen Chem 1 and 2. If this option is available to you for either calc or chem and you are sure you will get and A do it.

Pros: Don't have to take it in college, counts towards your GPA

Cons: If you don't do well in it, it still counts toward your GPA.

This situation is not usual. Most schools that offer AP classes will only offer them through the high school and will not count as dual credit as far as GPA is concerned. If you get an A in the AP class, it will do nothing to your college GPA.

OP, I highly recommend taking AP classes in high school. It will give you a good foundation with no real repercussions for doing poorly. If you do well (which you should certainly try to), then retake the class your freshman year. It will be an easy A and will help pad your GPA. The more classes you take your freshman year that you've already been introduced to, the easier the transition from high school to college will be.

 

[I'm No Superman]

Like I said, a lot of people have differring opinions on this. I personally don't want to waste my time in an intro class I've already tested out of when I have a really good grasp of the material. That being said, it is nice to have the GPA buffer. If you think skipping those classes will hurt your GPA, then don't do it.

 

[eccentric jet]

Superman, my advice to you, if you are going pre-med when you start college, is also to not skip the intro courses. No matter how well you do in AP high school courses, college level courses are different, and believe me you want the "easy" As for GPA purposes and the material re-hash for MCAT purposes. The material in advanced level courses is not as applicable.

Basically, if applying to medical school is your goal, leave your AP credits behind because they don't mean anything for your medical school application. Own the material, ace the classes, and you have plenty of time to take the upper level stuff later.

 

[Lil Mick]

If you can, I'd recommend skipping the intro classes if you're willing to take upper division courses. Med schools don't generally accept AP credit for pre-recs but will accept upper division courses in that subject area (ex. skip Gen Chem and take PChem). If you don't like that idea, retake the courses in college.

 

[I'm No Superman]

Superman, my advice to you, if you are going pre-med when you start college, is also to not skip the intro courses. No matter how well you do in AP high school courses, college level courses are different, and believe me you want the "easy" As for GPA purposes and the material re-hash for MCAT purposes. The material in advanced level courses is not as applicable.

Basically, if applying to medical school is your goal, leave your AP credits behind because they don't mean anything for your medical school application. Own the material, ace the classes, and you have plenty of time to take the upper level stuff later.

I actually don't plan on testing out of any pre-reqs, only History, Calc and (maybe)English classes. However, I'm not sure whether or not to retake Chem 1 and 2, or just skip to Organic Freshman year. My Chem teacher thinks I'll be fine, but sometimes I consider retaking it.

 

[deleted421268]

If you can, I'd recommend skipping the intro classes if you're willing to take upper division courses. Med schools don't generally accept AP credit for pre-recs but will accept upper division courses in that subject area (ex. skip Gen Chem and take PChem). If you don't like that idea, retake the courses in college.

Can you eleborate on why you recommend skipping intro classes??? Im High school sophomore atm and will be taking AP chem and Ap Calc later during senior year. I'll refer to this thread when I make the decision on to skip intro classes or not. Also will talk to counselors for more insight If I had to make this decision now I'd probably take the intro classes and NOT skip the college classes.

 

[I'm No Superman]

Can you eleborate on why you recommend skipping intro classes??? Im High school sophomore atm and will be taking AP chem and Ap Calc later during senior year. I'll refer to this thread when I make the decision on to skip intro classes or not. Also will talk to counselors for more insight If I had to make this decision now I'd probably take the intro classes and NOT skip the college classes.

You've got time to figure this out. I suggest talking to your AP teachers after you've been in the class for a while and ask what others have done in your situation.

 

[Lil Mick]

Can you eleborate on why you recommend skipping intro classes??? Im High school sophomore atm and will be taking AP chem and Ap Calc later during senior year. I'll refer to this thread when I make the decision on to skip intro classes or not. Also will talk to counselors for more insight If I had to make this decision now I'd probably take the intro classes and NOT skip the college classes.

Especially at state schools or competitive pre-med schools, intro classes are generally large with a harsh grading curve (i.e. test questions coming from captions under the small diagram on page 369 of your biology book). It's a lot of work to get an A in those courses, and it's a struggle to get enough time with your professor (or even TA at some schools) to know each other well enough when you need a letter of recommendation.

Having credit can also free up some space in your schedule so that you don't have to take as many classes. This is important when you are interviewing for medical school, as you don't want to be in the situation where you have to take 18 credits while missing half a semester for interviews (my situation in college). Not fun.

In addition, I personally hate repeating material, especially basic stuff. My favorite classes and the classes in which I excelled were the upper division/grad classes I took during undergrad. Those courses will also teach you how to approach the discipline, which is generally a help when you take the MCAT (more so than cramming formulas, although you will need to know formulas). Reading physics journals and taking upper division chemistry helped me score close to perfect on that section.