How Much Do Colleges Care?

[Algophiliac]

Just a quick question about AP exams. I signed up for the chemistry and physics exams, but will most likely be retaking these classes in college anyway, and yes, I am a high school senior. Will the colleges care if I do poorly on the exam? Will this affect placement or anything else in terms of retaking the class?

No, I'm not trying to be lazy. I simply feel as though I should spend more time studying subjects in which I can obtain AP credit as opposed to subjects that, from my current viewpoint, don't really matter in terms of AP scores.

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[ksmi117]

I don't think doing poorly will matter. Then can't like put you in a lower placement just because of AP. I still think you should try your hardest, but it's not gonna hurt you no matter what happens.

 

[Algophiliac]

I don't think doing poorly will matter. Then can't like put you in a lower placement just because of AP. I still think you should try your hardest, but it's not gonna hurt you no matter what happens.

Thanks. I'm still going to give it everything I have, but I'm completely stressed and overwhelmed right now, if you can't tell. I hate how this is going to reflect badly on me, but the aforementioned subjects, along with two others, are really driving me insane right now.

 

[Obnoxious Dad]

Stop going berserk.

If you have been admitted to your top choice college and financial aid is not riding on the outcome, flunk the placement exams. I'm serious. My kid placed out of calc 1 and and no interviewer even mentioned it at her med school interviews.

You might impress your parents and super nerd friends by placing out of math and science courses but you'll wish down the road that you had padded your grade point with easy A's. You want the highest GPA you can muster.

Turn on the tube, go ride your bike or hit some golf balls.

 

[Gallix23]

Just a quick question about AP exams. I signed up for the chemistry and physics exams, but will most likely be retaking these classes in college anyway, and yes, I am a high school senior. Will the colleges care if I do poorly on the exam? Will this affect placement or anything else in terms of retaking the class?

No, I'm not trying to be lazy. I simply feel as though I should spend more time studying subjects in which I can obtain AP credit as opposed to subjects that, from my current viewpoint, don't really matter in terms of AP scores.

Nope, don't stress at all on the AP exams. If you do good, great, you may get come college credit. If you do poorly, just shrug it off and do good in the class in college. I have never heard of a college acceptance rescinded or whatever due to AP tests, I mean that would be kind of ironic

As long as you do well in the class itself, the test won't matter, so don't stress

 

[Algophiliac]

Thank you guys. I'm just insanely stressed out right now and can't imagine that it's actually OK to fail something. I can't understand how everyone else seems to handle stress soooo much better than me. *sighs* I guess I'll just have to concentrate on the subjects I need and screw the rest.

If I do fail calc (HIGH PROBABILITY), should I take it freshman year in college while the information is still fresh in my mind, or is this a recipe for disaster since I seem unable to handle the goddamned subject? Self-disgust is through the roof right now.

 

[Gallix23]

Thank you guys. I'm just insanely stressed out right now and can't imagine that it's actually OK to fail something. I can't understand how everyone else seems to handle stress soooo much better than me. *sighs* I guess I'll just have to concentrate on the subjects I need and screw the rest.

If I do fail calc (HIGH PROBABILITY), should I take it freshman year in college while the information is still fresh in my mind, or is this a recipe for disaster since I seem unable to handle the goddamned subject? Self-disgust is through the roof right now.

Hahah, relax, I'm sure there are tons of people just as stressed as you that just aren't showing it on here (I myself have through the roof anxiety at times and bouts of panic about all the changes that are going on )

I'm debating the Calc thing as well. I would imagine that it would be better to just get it out of the way freshman year, but it really depends on how you feel. When you say fail, do you mean the class or the test? If you mean the test, how well are you doing in the actual class?

 

[Obnoxious Dad]

Hahah, relax, I'm sure there are tons of people just as stressed as you that just aren't showing it on here (I myself have through the roof anxiety at times and bouts of panic about all the changes that are going on )

I'm debating the Calc thing as well. I would imagine that it would be better to just get it out of the way freshman year, but it really depends on how you feel. When you say fail, do you mean the class or the test? If you mean the test, how well are you doing in the actual class?

Flunk the placement exam. Ace the course.

No one will know that you flunked the placement exam. It won't hurt you but the A you get in calc 1 will help a lot. You want to fill that transcript with As.

 

[Crazyday]

You can also decide to withdraw your test scores after taking the test (before receiving the score of course) if you feel like you did horrible.

Some med schools list Calculus I as a prerequisite. Additionally, some of these schools prefer to see that you took the course in college instead of as an AP exam. So it might be to your benefit in multiple ways to take the course in college instead of getting the credit from AP, as it can also be a GPA booster.

 

[Salvorix]

Your question has already been answered, but I'm going to quickly chime in. The teacher who wrote the recommendation for the college that I am attending (he was a former professor there for 39 years and retired to be near grand kids) knew that I got a 2 on the exam that he taught (Chemistry) and still wrote me a great rec and obviously I got in. Your AP scores really don't matter. I'd recommend taking the courses in college even if you get a 4 or a 5 unless they are courses that you have absolutely no interest in. Any graduate school pre-reqs or courses counted towards your major you should take in college anyway.

 

[Crazyday]

That'd be nice to have a teacher that was a professor at the college you wanted to go to for 39 years. Talk about an influential LoR.

 

[Salvorix]

Lol true, he was head of the Biology department and had degrees from Harvard and Columbia. I guess getting a 2 on the AP exam of the course he taught didn't really sway him much but I suppose I got an A- in the class and that's all that counts . I got a 34/100 on the final, in fact our whole class bombed so he just decided not to count them towards our grade. What a fun class!

 

[Algophiliac]

The problem is that I'm not sure if I can master this material enough to get an A in the course. If I couldn't do it in high school, how can I expect to make it in college? I realize my mistake now...I got behind too quickly and never bothered to catch up, and well, this is the result.

Some medical school do not require calculus, but are there any medical schools that require more than just calculus in terms of math requirements? For example, do any medical schools require or strongly recommend taking a statistics course?

 

[Crazyday]

I'm pretty sure HMS and Hopkins require Calc II, but they're the only ones that require past Calc I as far as I know.

I've heard of one med school that "strongly recommended" statistics; there might be more than one.

 

[Algophiliac]

I'm pretty sure HMS and Hopkins require Calc II, but they're the only ones that require past Calc I as far as I know.

I've heard of one med school that "strongly recommended" statistics; there might be more than one.

Ohhh, which one would that be?

I think I can manage to do fairly well in Calc I, but Calc II has been hell, so that's good news.

 

[Crazyday]

I forget which one specifically. Seems it was one of those "UCXX" ones that I can never remember the last two digits of.

 

[EyEnStein 07]

It kind of matters to top schools. They want to see you know your stuff, and good scores (4 and 5) make your application look stronger. It will probably not hurt your chance of admissions to city schools or state schools. Best advice...if you do poorly, dont submit.

 

[Algophiliac]

It kind of matters to top schools. They want to see you know your stuff, and good scores (4 and 5) make your application look stronger. It will probably not hurt your chance of admissions to city schools or state schools. Best advice...if you do poorly, dont submit.

I'm not quite sure how I'll do right now! I just took a practice exam (yes, serious insomnia atm) and passed...but the last two I took I failed miserably. Hmmm.

Unfortunately, my major requires both semesters of calc. Drat. And medical schools know the actual score you get on your AP exams?! Wuh-oh!

 

[Hiroshi]

If I do fail calc (HIGH PROBABILITY), should I take it freshman year in college while the information is still fresh in my mind, or is this a recipe for disaster since I seem unable to handle the goddamned subject? Self-disgust is through the roof right now.

I took the AP Calc Exam as a Junior, and passed. But seeing as how I took AP Statistics this year and basically wrote essays about null hypotheses, alternate hypotheses, and all that I've lost a little bit of my touch on real mathematics. I'll be retaking Calculus as a freshman.

Some med schools list Calculus I as a prerequisite. Additionally, some of these schools prefer to see that you took the course in college instead of as an AP exam. So it might be to your benefit in multiple ways to take the course in college instead of getting the credit from AP, as it can also be a GPA booster.

Does the bolded apply to all credits transferred? Because I'm thinking of transferring my AP Bio and AP Language (and any others I pass this year) to next year.

 

[Sabin]

Just a quick question about AP exams. I signed up for the chemistry and physics exams, but will most likely be retaking these classes in college anyway, and yes, I am a high school senior. Will the colleges care if I do poorly on the exam? Will this affect placement or anything else in terms of retaking the class?

No, I'm not trying to be lazy. I simply feel as though I should spend more time studying subjects in which I can obtain AP credit as opposed to subjects that, from my current viewpoint, don't really matter in terms of AP scores.

No they don't care. They probably prefer you pay them to take it at their university.

I was in the same Boat. I was soo happy to earn a 4 on my AP Chem exam, until I realized I'd have to take it again anyways

 

[Algophiliac]

Thanks, everyone! I've decided to stick it out to see what I get.

Is it a good idea to take calculus NOT during freshman year? I realize being out of touch with math for a year may not be ideal, but I feel like I just need a break from calculus, then maybe spend the summer of freshman year reviewing and jump into it again...or even take it later than that. Opinions?

 

[Crazyday]

I would personally take it while it's still fresh. It's more likely to be an easy A now than if you wait 2 years without having any math and then trying to jump back into it. I'd get it out of the way now so you don't have to worry much (if at all) about math through the rest of college.

 

[Algophiliac]

I would personally take it while it's still fresh. It's more likely to be an easy A now than if you wait 2 years without having any math and then trying to jump back into it. I'd get it out of the way now so you don't have to worry much (if at all) about math through the rest of college.

My issue is that it would take up space (not really being a pre-req for anything) and prevent me from exploring other interests freshman year. If the Dean allows me to take more credits, I will take calculus, but if not, then it'll have to wait and I hope I can manage that.

 

[Algophiliac]

Okkkk, looking through my schedule tells me calculus might not be happening until junior year unless I ditch classes I'm dying to take to explore other options. Has anyone ever done something like this? I'll still be keeping my algebra sharp with chemistry and physics classes, but...

 

[i am the moon]

While exploring other options is great, I think it would behoove you more to take the calculus class while it is still fresh and get a better grade. I do think it's great that you're keeping your mind open, though! (And don't forget to take your general education requirements. Some of my senior friends are now taking English 101 in summer school because they didn't think to take it freshman year.)

Apropos of the AP scores: I echo everyone else. Don't stress about it. It's nice that I placed out of certain classes, but it's not something that I thank god for every night before I go to bed. All medical schools do require that you take calculus I, though. And I think I remember reading on some medical school's site that they do not like for you to replace your med school prereqs with AP scores, but I could have just dreamed it.

 

[Algophiliac]

While exploring other options is great, I think it would behoove you more to take the calculus class while it is still fresh and get a better grade. I do think it's great that you're keeping your mind open, though! (And don't forget to take your general education requirements. Some of my senior friends are now taking English 101 in summer school because they didn't think to take it freshman year.)

I'm not really sure if this is a good idea--I'd like to know what to do with my life by the end of freshman year, at least. And even if I retake calculus at the college level, the chances of me getting an A the second time are STILL microscopically low. In fact, the best time for me to take calculus would probably be the following summer, since I can focus more intensely on one subject during that time, but medical schools probably look down on this as well.

I made the mistake of taking two classes I HATED senior year of high school--and I regret it to this very day. I don't think I should be making the same mistake again, no matter how practical it seems. I think the best time for me to take calculus is during a light semester or in the summer...because honest to god I will hate freshman year if I have to do this over again.

Apropos of the AP scores: I echo everyone else. Don't stress about it. It's nice that I placed out of certain classes, but it's not something that I thank god for every night before I go to bed. All medical schools do require that you take calculus I, though. And I think I remember reading on some medical school's site that they do not like for you to replace your med school prereqs with AP scores, but I could have just dreamed it.

Hmmm, I'm wondering if colleges would know if I cancelled some AP scores, or would it be as if I had never taken the exams at all?

 

[i am the moon]

If you're willing to do summer classes, it might be fine to take pre-calc in the summer. Just keep in mind that summer classes are REALLY fast-paced.

Just my suggestion, though.

Anyway, I have no idea about the canceled grades. Good question.

 

[Algophiliac]

If you're willing to do summer classes, it might be fine to take pre-calc in the summer. Just keep in mind that summer classes are REALLY fast-paced.

Just my suggestion, though.

Anyway, I have no idea about the canceled grades. Good question.

Ooo, but what about calc? Fast-paced, singly-directed focus is just the thing I need for calculus--or else I prefer to do everything else and never get to that damned subject.

Does anyone know? I'd love to cancel anything I might be doubting will end up perfect, but if colleges know and automatically assume the worst...