2009-09-12, 10:46 PM
(This post was last modified: 2009-09-12, 10:51 PM by xLeviathan.)
Spaz Wrote:If it's something you're studying after a bachelor's, then it's typically something that you'll have taken more advanced courses than the AP versions for. ie, if it's something that needs calc, you'll have taken calc III and IV. If it needs bio, you'll have taken more than just bio 101. The AP courses will just let you get to the more advanced courses faster.
I know to go higher for 2 things (other graduate programs, I don't know, but they may follow suit):
A. Masters or more in Mathematics
B. Medical school
Both of which want to see all the classes you've taken, even the lower ones, in a college classroom. For the 2nd one, the only AP they may accept is outside the realm of BCPM (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics). So even if you only cleared Calc I. for example, but are required to take up to 3 or 4 (See: Chemistry vs. Biology degree), they still want to see that 1 and 2 inside a college classroom. Kinda a copy-pasta' from here but whatever:
Quote:*Advanced Placement Credit: Most medical schools have policies regarding advanced placement (AP) credits. One of the problems with AP credit is that there is no grade available to evaluate the student’s performance in the class, and no grade available to compute into the GPA. For these reasons, many medical schools will not accept AP credit to fulfill the requirements for science and math, and only occasionally for English. Likewise, CLEP credit is seldom accepted.
Usually, if a medical school requires a certain number of hours of subject X, they want you in a college classroom for that number of hours. Some medical schools have a more lenient policy on AP than others.
I guess it varies from school to school slightly but the general idea remains the same.
I just as soon not have my kids (or myself) take any AP classes at all. There are plenty of more-beneficial alternatives such as Middle College/Cooperative-Education/other programs that give you actual credit hours (rather than just exemptions) and college experience.
OP [Finally]: Depends on the teacher? Calculus isn't hard really. The hardest stuff will be the trig. side of it, which hopefully you picked up in Pre-Calculus (in my old school they split Pre-Calculus into two classes worth half-credit each: Pre-Calculus Algebra and then Pre-Calculus Trigonometry. Both of which had to be taken to get a full credit for Pre-Calculus). The workload, as in number of problems, will be lighter but the problems take longer to complete usually. Sometimes, like with limits and crap, it's easy and takes like 5 seconds.