<p>My daughter will be a freshman at Stanford next year and wonders whether she should take the AP Literature exam this spring. Some high school teachers recommend it, but it’s not clear what the upside is beyond the intellectual challenge. We’re not sure what the English distributional requirements are at Stanford. Does anyone know whether a 5 on the AP test would allow her to earn credit or skip a required literature survey course? She loves literature and doesn’t want to skirt requirements, but hopes to take full advantage of the academic opportunities on the Farm. She will likely double major in Earth Sciences and IR, but that could change. Our gut feeling is that the AP test may not be worth the $84 and added stress, but could be wrong. Any insights appreciated.</p>
<p>She will not get any credit for AP Eng Lit at Stanford, so if her school does not require it, there is no reason to take it.
APs can not be used to fulfill distribution requirements, but some may be counted for credit or placement (not AP Lit).
[Advanced</a> Placement](<a href=“http://registrar.stanford.edu/students/academics/adv_place.htm]Advanced”>http://registrar.stanford.edu/students/academics/adv_place.htm)
<a href=“http://registrar.stanford.edu/pdf/AP_Chart_2007-08.pdf[/url]”>http://registrar.stanford.edu/pdf/AP_Chart_2007-08.pdf</a></p>
<p>Thanks! This is very helpful.</p>
<p>Yeah, what nngmm said. There’s no point in taking the AP Literature exam because it counts for nothing at Stanford.</p>
<p>Since your daughter loves literature, I’m sure she’ll be very happy with the IHUM and PWR requirements :).</p>
<p>I really wish I had saved the 84-odd dollars and not paid for the test. It seems so pointless.</p>
<p>or she could do the SLE sequence…i hear that’s really fun for lit/humanities people (called “fuzzies”, at stanford, right?)</p>
<p>wait, since I need to pay for AP test soon, I want to get this right: there is absolutely NO benefit to taking tests not on that list? Aside from getting actual AP credit, could I get placed in a higher level class or something? </p>
<p>Sorry if the answers seem clear already, but I’d like to make sure.</p>
<p>Not really; you don’t get college credit for the tests not listed. Also, know that different subject tests only count if you get a certain score; I remember being so proud of a 4 on the AP Lang, only to learn Stanford only accepts a 5.</p>
<p>My son got in ea and will be attending Stanford. He refuses to take the test since it will get him no credit. He is not fond of literature, to say the least, so I agreed that he shouldn’t put himself through 4 hours of torture for nothing.</p>
<p>To be clear, there is NO benefit to taking an AP exam for which Stanford does not give credit. They used to accept AP English a few years ago, but not anymore.</p>
<p>there is no benefit to take any tests that are not on the list for Stanford. If you think that there might be a chance you would transfer out, you might reconsider, as in that case every credit will be helpful. But not too many people transfer out of Stanford ;)…</p>