"Credits", in the case of Hopkins, means your actually receive credit for the class, as if you were taking it at JHU. For example, I took AP Calculus BC during my junior of high school and received the credits for the corresponding courses at Hopkins (Calculus I and II). So that gave me 8 credits and I didn't have to take the those two courses...thank goodness. :D

In your case, for AB Calc if you were to score a 4 or 5 on the exam, you would receive 4 credits towards your major/graduation requirements and you would not be required to take the course if you were to come to Hopkins. The same process would also be used for Statistics.

Hope this helps! I know AP exams save a TON of time and money so it's great that your looking at exams ahead of time.  B)

Thanks guys, your answers were really helpful. I guess its quite worth it to take the tests then in that case!

I used my AP and IB credits to place out of Chemistry and Spanish. Although I took 3 years of chem in high school (including the IB and AP chem courses) I thought that chemistry at Hopkins would be way more difficult than my high school experience. So, what do I do? I decide to retake Chem. I fall semester of freshman year. IT WAS SOOOOOO BORING, b/c I had already learned all the material in high school.

So, my advice is, if you can, you should use your AP/IB credits and take upper-level courses in that area instead. And, although I am no medical school admissions rep. (nor do I pretend to be), a lot of medical schools that I've heard speak at Hopkins say that they expect that if you test out of a class through AP that you'll take the upper-level version of that course. IN addition, although I'm not sure, I think that California medical schools, as well as some others, don't accept  AP credits regardless of whether you take upper-level courses in the subject. (I just found out that the university of Florida doesn't accept AP credit for Chemistry...) Anyways, take the upper class and then you can simply drop down to the introductory course if you find it too difficult.

You register for your freshman year fall classes over the summer and then your course selections get reviewed by your adviser. However, if you email Academic Advising or Engineering Advising around registration time (June, I believe), they will definitely help you pick classes and figure out what works best for you. Plus, there are 26 of us (students) here who have gone through a huge range of courses and can probably answer a lot of your questions.

plus, it might just be torture to retake classes in college since it won't be as easy as when you took it in highschool...plus it's nice to know you have those credits out of the way

 

thx Liny! your comment is really helpful.
btw about the MCAT, is it most about basic science classes and require a solid foundation in basic chem, physics, calc?

yepp you're exactly right....mcat's concentrate on the basic sciences (bio, chem, physics, and orgo) along with verbal questions and a writing section

haha and yea you can ask us about specific classes and we can tell you about our personal experiences with them, which might be helpful! :-)

Nope. Your score only determines whether you get credit, nothing else.

You don't get any grade of any sort assigned, just credit (and distribution designators, if applicable) toward graduation.

Hey so I know a lot has been said already - but here's a little food for thought for people that are thinking about using their AP credits not to take intro level courses:

I've got a bunch of friends who are Juniors and Seniors and are working on their MCAT prep stuff and something I've realized is that, surprise surprise, there's a reason Hopkins is one of the best pre-med schools in the nation. A lot of people I've talked to say things like, "oh, I wish I hadn't AP'd out of Bio - now I have to work really hard to learn the systems" or people in my Orgo class who are having a really hard time right now because it's been a year since they took AP Chem.

Granted I totally understand that no freshman wants to be bored and retake a class, but from where I'm standing, and especially for major or med-school required classes, you're going to be at Hopkins, might as well take advantage of the excellent education here.

hello i am deciding to take AP biology and chemistry my junior year mainly for the Challenge not much the college credit and was wondering  if i were to get a 4 or 5 on these tests should i use the credits or take the classes again if i become a student at Johns Hopkin  . I really cant decide even though im not there yet but i was thinking that since im taking these classes in 11th grade and there would a a time gap (12th grade)where  i might forget some things . so i was wondering whether i  should take the classes again.

I suggest that if (1) you want to and (2) your high school guidance counselor thinks it's a good idea, then go ahead and take AP Biology and AP Chemistry in your junior year of high school (i.e., Grade 11). Please make sure you discuss this with your high school guidance counselor and/or the appropriate science teachers (e.g., your current science teachers or the teachers who teach those two AP courses) first.

Meanwhile, you can worry about whether you'll need to re-take either subject during your freshman year of college once you're actually a freshman in college. That would be the time when you can discuss the issue with your academic advisor. Keep in mind that I've known students who've found that they might be better off re-taking courses for which they received AP credits, and I've also known students who've decided to utilize their AP credit. Basically, you'll have to see how comfortable you feel with the material.

But for now, you can just worry about taking courses in high school that you find enjoyable and challenging--and about doing well in high school. :)

I agree with both Julia and Kate, and wanted to offer the perspective of a freshmen who didn't use my IB credit for either IB Biology HL or IB Chemistry HL. While both AP and IB offer a strong footing in these sciences, it is really up to your discretion whether or not you believe they adequately prepare you for the higher level sciences that you would take if you passed Introduction to Chemistry and General Biology.

If you breeze through either class and barely have to try at all, then perhaps you have a natural ability and it would be beneficial to you to not take the intro classes. Also, if you are interested in pre-medical requirements, there is a requirement of two years of chemistry and so students that pass over the intro year, have to take a combination of a year of Organic Chemistry, a semester of Biochemistry, and others like Thermodynamics or Physical Chemistry.

Just some food for thought.

Hey FaithLCT! I don't think there is a limit to the amount of AP Credits one can receive, this is mostly because AP credits are considered to be different from transfer credits (there's a limit to the amount of transfer credits you can use). You can most definitely apply AP Credits to fulfill a major requirement or multiple major requirements. For example, I am a Neuroscience major and I am require to complete Calculus I and II as well as Chemistry I and II with the lab components. Since I got a 5 on my AP Calculus BC and AP Chemistry exam I don't have to take any of the above courses and I can still count them towards my major requirements. So instead of starting off in Chemistry like most of the people I know who are Neuroscience majors did I started off in Physics and Calculus III.

As for distribution requirements for double majors, since you plan on double majoring in Neuroscience and Philosophy you could use the major requirements for Neuroscience to fulfill the distribution requirements for Philosophy and vice-versa. You could also use one course that is outside of both of the aforementioned majors to satisfy the distribution requirements for both majors, but you would most likely want to use the courses from each of your majors to overlap.

Some sites that might be helpful for you to look at:

The Academic Advising Manual on AP/IB Credit: http://www.jhu.edu/advising/academic_manual/credit.html
The Admissions Guide to AP/IB Credit: http://apply.jhu.edu/apply/apib.html

Please let me know if you would like more information on anything or if I was unclear in my response.