As for Chemistry, the CS Advisor told us you can’t proficiency out of it. You can place into a higher course, but the Chem 102/104 (I think those are the correct course numbers) are required. I have also heard that Chemistry at UIUC is very difficult.
Here again is the link for you to use to see what you need on the AP Chem exam to get the credit. Note it appears also that you only get the lecture, not lab credit, however, that doesn’t make a lot of sense to me that someone would have to just take the lab.
http://admissions.illinois.edu/academics/placement_ap.html
My son took Honors Chem and took the AP chem exam after studying for a couple nights and got a 5 on it. He doesn’t have AP CS on his transcript either but has a 5 on the exam. I am not sure if they match the AP score with the course on the transcript, before deciding on giving credit. Does anyone know about this?
And I just looked up the credit hours worth and my son is/will be up to 49 (possibly) without the 4 college courses - that should help significantly, should he decide to enroll.
Yep, in general, it makes the most sense to get credit through AP tests in subjects that are not in your major and which you will not build on (and there are a lot of them). Note that the cost of an AP test is nothing compared to the cost of tuition.
BTW, if anyone is proficient in Chinese, a 5 in AP Chinese gets you 20 credit-hours, which is by far the most generous AP policy I have seen anywhere.
If costs are an issue and you had a well-rounded HS education, racking up enough credits to graduate in 3 years from UIUC certainly seems doable (tougher in Engineering, though).
@takanuva I do not think they match up the AP score with the course. If your AP score meets their criteria, you get the credit for the course that it corresponds to. I have heard of some kids graduating from UIUC in 2-1/2 years from Engineering due to all the credit they’ve received. They also have a winter break session that is new and a lot of kids do that as well taking General Education courses.
@purpletitan 20 hours for AP Chinese? Nice. Our high school offers Chinese, too bad I didn’t know that when my kid started. I may have pushed him towards that language.
@kaustubh0328 Since you are focused on the UIUC Engineering School and undecided as to which major, it is not as easy to map out direct requirements at this time. You will need to look over the curriculum of ENG majors that interest you.
I am familiar with ECE dept, so lets look at EE as an example.
https://www.ece.illinois.edu/academics/ugrad/curriculum/ee-curriculum-06.asp#overview
129 hours total for EE degree (not the 128 that as listed ... 33+66+18+12=129)
31 hours - ENG core
28 hours - ECE core
03 hours - Other Adv Math
04 hours - RHET 105
27 hours - ECE Tech Elective
06 hours - Non-ECE Tech Elective
https://www.ece.illinois.edu/academics/ugrad/curriculum/tech-electives-06.asp
12 hours - Free Electives
18 hours - Social Studies + Humanities
https://www.ece.illinois.edu/academics/ugrad/curriculum/ed-requirements.asp
Most AP credit can be used for ENG core, SS+H, and Free Electives. There are only 30 hours total for the non-technical classes and SS+H has some specific requirements, so for example 20 possible hours of AP Chinese credit might cover at least 12 hours of Free Electives, but need to determine how the remaining hours cover SS+H requirements. I am not sure if there is a UIUC accepted AP course that meets the “Non-Western/U.S. Minority Culture” class requirement list.
Once registered at UIUC and you have an account, the AP credits, ACT scores, and any other transfer classes will show up in the Academic History tab and credits will be shown. There is also a script that can be run to show which credits meet all the specific requirements of the degree.
Graduating in 2.5 years with a major in LAS (even in one of the CS+X majors) thanks to AP credits is easier (heck, you could conceivably spend only 4 semesters on campus and pick up credits through study-abroad), but graduating in 2.5 years from Engineering is definitely possible as well.
@mybstnw or anyone that wants the advice on chemistry. I took regular chemistry in high school in 10th grade. General chemistry is very difficult here. It’s considered a “weed out class”. I don’t like chemistry, but I had to take it for my major and it’s definitely one of the hardest classes I’ve taken.
Also, for those that have AP credit in math (can’t speak for other AP credits), I suggest you use it to place out of certain math classes, like introductory calculus classes because they are considered “weed outs” too. Math here is pretty hard (I’d say I’m pretty mediocre at math) and I had the option to opt out of Calc 1 with my AP scores, but I didn’t and I highly regretted it. When you meet your advisers in the summer, they will try to convince you to not use your math credit. Don’t listen to them and go with your instinct. If you think you can handle harder math, go for it. If you think you need a “refresher”, don’t use it.
Good to know @GeologyRocks. My son has Calc BC credit already and is currently enrolled in Linear Algebra and Multivariate Calculus and they told him he can place out of those. That would leave only 1 Math requirement left, neither of which those courses is really necessary to take.
Also, thanks too for the Chem advice. That is what I have heard. Same with foreign language.