Thank you very much for the information, Joe, and thank you for the advice, Sarah! I'm quite excited on going there next year -- I got accepted ED so... ^^

I have read a number of the threads here already, though any other advice you'd be willing to give, I'd be grateful.

Wow Miranda, so you have over half of your distribution requirements covered by AP credits!??  That's awesome.

Hey Luvmusic777,

If you end up getting those scores on the IB exams, then yes, you'll come in with 19 credits!

To answer your second question, the IB credit you are awarded is basically the equivalent of taking an intro level course in that subject area, and you're not going to receive additional credit for that course if you take it at Hopkins.  So for example, the IB Biology exam gives you credits for general biology 1 and 2 along with general bio labs 1 and 2, so you can get credit for EITHER general biology OR the IB exam.  If you decide to general biology, then you would basically be giving up your IB credit because gen bio is the only course that your IB credit can replace.

I hope that's a little bit clearer, but definitely let us know if it's still confusing!  It's good that you're asking this now because I didn't understand this policy until like halfway through the first semester when it was too late to use my AP Calc credits!

That's exactly what IB credits mean.  Not only can you go into more advanced classes, but you have a lot more room for electives in your schedule and more flexibility.  Choosing the right courses to take with IB credit can be a little confusing, but the academic advisers contact you the summer before your freshman year to make sure you register for all the right classes.

No need to apologize - that's a perfectly legitimate question!  I'm pretty sure you need 120 credits total to graduate.  You might have come across it before on this page that has the major and minor requirements checklists:  http://www.jhu.edu/advising/majors.htm

Hey kwang,

Whether or not to take the IB credits and skip general bio is a personal decision, but the academic advisers usually say that if you're comfortable with the course material (which I'm sure you are if you get such a high score), then you should consider taking the credits to save yourself both time and money.  It's tough for me to give you a straight answer here because I'm not an adviser, but I can tell you as a bio major that you're probably perfectly capable of taking the upper level bio courses without having taken general biology and lab.  In fact, for the Molecular and Cellular Biology Major, general biology isn't even a requirement anymore because the majority of students pursuing the major already have AP or IB credit for this course.  I've never heard any upperclassmen in advanced bio courses say that they felt disadvantaged by skipping general biology, and I have a friend in general biology right now who took bio in high school who says that gen bio is one of her easiest classes.  I was in your situation last year, and I don't regret at all my decision to take my AP credits and skip general bio.

On the other hand (I'm not sure if this is applies to you or not, but just in case), students placing out of intro chem and lab with AP credits tend to consider a little more carefully whether to take the credits because intro chem lab is pretty intense, and I've heard it really prepares you for upper level labs.  However, in terms of course content (disregarding the lab), I haven't heard anyone in organic chemistry or biochemistry complain of feeling disadvantaged by not taking the intro class.

Hi Tasha,
When I took the subject tests, I simply used the subject-specific practice books that I bought from Barnes & Noble. They helped me just fine, and I found the practice tests at the back of those books most helpful.
They're good guides if you want to figure out what kind of material will be covered on the tests, but you'll still have to try and retain as much as you can from your classes to be able to do well. After all, the guides are there to help you with your testing and give you a feel for the material. They are by no means the only way to study. So keep up with your schoolwork, perhaps ask your teachers what they think you should cover from what you've done in class, and depend on a combination of both the guides and your homework.
Most importantly, don't stress. The subject tests are actually way easier than you think!

So will i get any credit for AP Lit? or IB english HL?  or AP World History?   it looks like they don't give credit for any of those tests.....

This was originally posted on the old Hopkins Interactive Forums on July 30, 2011.

Hi everyone! I know I get credit for my AP Spanish test, but I read on the freshman planner thingy that language tests don't get assigned an area designation (ex. H, S, Q, etc), but engineering students can use it to fill their H/S reqs. I'm not an engineering student, but can I still get H credit?

No, you won't get a H distribution if you're not an engineering student. The school counts an AP course as the intro course and Arts and Sciences major don't get distribution for the first level language.