To AP or not to AP... that is the question?

Colleges & Universities University of Pittsburgh
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<p>Hey Guys,
So I am coming into Pitt as an incoming freshman. I’m a U.S Citizen living abroad and AP exams are extremely expensive down here (Almost 200 dollars per subject)… I am planning on majoring in Chemistry or Biology and am going to be doing a pre-med track. Should I take the APs in English/World History and Chemistry or do I simply just take the classes. I want to graduate early and save money. But even if I were to get a 5 on each exam would I save any money or speed up my time at Pitt. Also, I heard some top medical schools don’t accept AP credit? If so is it even worth it? I am interested in taking perhaps 1 honors class and I heard the APs may give me room for that? </p>

<p>Please and Thank you!</p>

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<p>From these websites:
<a href=“http://www.oafa.pitt.edu/pdf/CreditAPIBExam.pdf[/url]”>http://www.oafa.pitt.edu/pdf/CreditAPIBExam.pdf&lt;/a&gt;
and
[General</a> Education Requirements](<a href=“http://www.asundergrad.pitt.edu/requirements/gened.html]General”>http://www.asundergrad.pitt.edu/requirements/gened.html)</p>

<p>It appears you can skip the composition class but only if you have a 5 on the English AP and above 600 on SAT Verbal.
You can also get out of intro Chemistry, but many students elect to retake Chemistry at the honors level.
World History counts for 2 Gen eds, so this one really seems worth taking if you think you can do well. It won’t necessarily save much time for the degree, but at the very least, it will free up your schedule to take something that really interests you.
If you take all 3 AP’s, do well, plan extremely well and take a few heavy loads, you may be able to graduate a semester early.</p>

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<p>And in terms of med school, that won’t do much for you as you won’t be able to start until July/August like everyone else anyway.</p>

<p>I’d suggest taking the APs if you want to, but not using them when you come to Pitt. Retake the classes for your med school application (they should be easier anyway, helpful for keeping a good GPA). Pitt is also a great place for pre-med students as there are loads of opportunities to research and volunteer. I think you’d be better off doing a full 4 years with loads of good experiences instead of 3.5 and rushing through it all.</p>

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<p>I agree with southeastmom. Take the English and history; they will apply. Chemistry you will want to take at Pitt to get the foundation. </p>

<p>Pitt only gives credit for one English, so if you have already taken one English AP, the second will not get you any more credit.</p>

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<p>I definitely agree with Awesome Opossum - best to take all four years. In sum, take the AP tests that will get you out of Gen eds (English and World History) but don’t take Chem. Rather sign up for honors chemistry your freshman year.</p>