AP Exams

[KittyKat]

I didn't waste money on review books, hardly studied and got all 5s and 4s.

 

Good for you.

Didn't mean to come off cocky. I was trying to express that if you have a good teacher and pay attention in the class, you'll do fine and shouldn't stress testing.

[kamykazee]

Such a different system than what we have here.

 

How so?

 

We just don't have these. I'm still not quite sure how they work - colleges come and offer courses which you can take. You take them then after the course ends you take an exam in it and the result of the exam can help you get into the college that offered the course or?

 

If that's the case then there's no such program here - no undergraduate courses being offered until you actually get into University.

 

Alright third edit, i had to document myself a bit on what i was writing lol, shows how little i know about the educational system :mrgreen:

[DeEliteOne]

I didn't waste money on review books, hardly studied and got all 5s and 4s.

 

Good for you.

Didn't mean to come off cocky. I was trying to express that if you have a good teacher and pay attention in the class, you'll do fine and shouldn't stress testing.

qft

[kamykazee]

I didn't waste money on review books, hardly studied and got all 5s and 4s.

 

Good for you.

Didn't mean to come off cocky. I was trying to express that if you have a good teacher and pay attention in the class, you'll do fine and shouldn't stress testing.

 

Well some don't pay attention or lack the training to pay attention or can't understand it on the go. Although i'd say that some lack the capacity to pay attention because they haven't done so alot :shame:

[blaah]

I didn't purchase review materials and didn't put 100% into all my tests, but somehow came out fine in the end. The school I'm going to takes 3s so I'm set (especially since most of my scores were 3s).

 

I do feel like the amount of time between the end of the course and the test, as well as the length of the course, have their impacts.

 

Junior year:

AP lit: 4 (full year course)

AP macroeconomics: 4 (semester course, second semester)

AP human geography: 3 (semester course, first sem)

 

Senior year:

AP lang: 5 (full year course plus lit prior)

AP physics B: 3 (two years of course material)

AP US government: 3 (semester course, first semester)

AP psychology: 3 (semester course, second semester)

 

My scores this year weren't stellar, but I passed all my tests and (excuses, excuses) I had a terrible case of senioritis all year long :)

[Markup]

How do credits effect the length of your course?

[magekillr]

How do credits effect the length of your course?

 

In university, you need 120 credits for the standard degree in the United States (varies depending on the major; engineering at my school was 132, but my major was 136. I graduated with 156 credits). 12 credits per semester or more are required to be considered a full-time student (the maximum is usually around 19, but you can apply for special privilege to take more; I've known students who have taken 24 credits in a single semester...they're insane). An average course is 3 credits (some courses have labs attached, such as Physics, and are 4 credits; others, such as single labs, are 1 credit; and still others are only 2 credits).

 

So if you come into university with 10 AP courses that count, that's 30 credits (usually), which means almost your entire first year at college is already done. So when you graduate high school, you only need to take three years to graduate instead of four.

[das1330]

Such a different system than what we have here.

 

How so?

 

We just don't have these. I'm still not quite sure how they work - colleges come and offer courses which you can take. You take them then after the course ends you take an exam in it and the result of the exam can help you get into the college that offered the course or?

 

If that's the case then there's no such program here - no undergraduate courses being offered until you actually get into University.

 

Alright third edit, i had to document myself a bit on what i was writing lol, shows how little i know about the educational system :mrgreen:

 

No. Basically AP exams are standardized tests produced by a major nonprofit organization in the United States which test material that is covered in the average corresponding college course. The tests are normed on college students so that they are accurate, and then high schools administer them at the end of the year. They are graded by the college board, and scores are generated which may be used for college credit, depending on which school you go to (generally the more elite the college, the less likely they are to accept AP scores for credit).

 

The classes themselves are taught by regular high school teachers, and they cover the syllabus provided by the college board. The entire thing is analogous in coverage and difficulty to the British A-level exams, if you are more familiar with that system.

 

 

 

How do credits effect the length of your course?

 

Depends on your university. A large helping of AP credits at a regular state university could cut your total time to a degree by 1 or even in some cases 2 years (meaning three or two years total, respectively), depending on what you major in - engineering for instance has many requirements, so you cannot skip much, but a major in, say, philosophy should be easy to accelerate.

 

On the other hand, some (mostly elite) universities accept very few AP scores for credit, meaning that it's basically impossible to graduate faster that way (MIT comes to mind).

[The Dark Lord]

World Hist: 3

US Hist: 3

Euro Hist: 4

[Lenin64]

AP exams are overrated. Just take the courses in college. It's a good refresher, and unless you come in with around 30 or so credits you'll be on a 4-year plan anyway. Besides, if you take the courses in college and do well, they boost your GPA.

The degree I'm in (EE) oftentimes takes 5 years. Because of the 27 credits I entered college with due to AP exams, I'm set to go for just 4 years. So there's that.

 

And all that stuff about writing units and making stuff up is true. I'm pretty sure that's the only reason I got a 5 on Physics despite goofing several times.

[magekillr]

AP exams are overrated. Just take the courses in college. It's a good refresher, and unless you come in with around 30 or so credits you'll be on a 4-year plan anyway. Besides, if you take the courses in college and do well, they boost your GPA.

The degree I'm in (EE) oftentimes takes 5 years. Because of the 27 credits I entered college with due to AP exams, I'm set to go for just 4 years. So there's that.

 

And all that stuff about writing units and making stuff up is true. I'm pretty sure that's the only reason I got a 5 on Physics despite goofing several times.

 

Well, there you go; that's my point ;). I was Aerospace/Ocean...I only came in with six and it took me five (I knew a few who did it in four, and they had a bunch of 21 credit semesters). I could have accepted Calculus credit but I declined them. I regret not accepting those credits because the TA I had was a major hard ass and we didn't get along, and I got a C in the course; second semester Calc I got an A. Oh well.

 

Hint: if your TA doesn't help you on homework despite you having looked at the notes and he/she tells you that "we did that in class," don't write a snarky note at the top of your assignment (in this case, a take-home quiz). It burns bridges :lol: