[ScubaSteve87]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teerawit Unless there are co-valedictorians with the same GPA.

YEah thats the way it was at my school. we had about 20 I think with a 4.0

 

[K2Grey]

I actually did not know that colleges saw AP test results. I was under the impression their sole use was to get credit after you're already admitted.

For what it's worth, despite taking 6 AP tests and getting 6 5's, I received a paltry amount of credit at my school. And even if it had been possible to skip the first major CS class and the physics class, I most likely would have taken them again for review purposes since I don't trust my memory and I don't want to jump directly to the 2nd level and crash.

 

[a1rocketpilot]

We need to clarify this point. AP scores do not appear on your transcript or anywhere else.

The only way the colleges see them is if you tell the ETS to send your AP scores to the colleges. You can have them sent during the admissions process, in which case the college may use them to consider admissions, or you can send them after you have been accepted, in which case they can be used for credits.

Colleges see AP scores only if you want them to see.

Aditya

 

[zotjen]

Other than getting advanced credit for college courses, the main purpose of AP classes is to show colleges that you are interested in and willing to do advanced work. When I was in high school, only seniors were allowed to take AP classes. Except for advanced credit, the grades we got didn't matter since we had already been accepted to colleges months before we even took the tests. When applying to colleges we indicated to them that we were taking AP classes since it made us look better.

 

[dhp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teerawit So just go to Harvard Medical School instead, and establish legacy that way. There's this obsession with the Harvard name that compels many undergraduates toward it because they think that the Harvard name will give them a leg up in graduate/professional school admissions, but you pre-meds keep in mind that many Harvard College alums go off to the same medical schools as people from "lower" schools. Hard for high schoolers to realize....but hindsight is 20/20.

there are many other connections/opportunities at schools like Harvard, and if you really can't afford the full tuition, they give need-based financial aid, which could potentially make the state school as expensive as the private school

 

[Oistrakh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by K2Grey I actually did not know that colleges saw AP test results. I was under the impression their sole use was to get credit after you're already admitted. For what it's worth, despite taking 6 AP tests and getting 6 5's, I received a paltry amount of credit at my school. And even if it had been possible to skip the first major CS class and the physics class, I most likely would have taken them again for review purposes since I don't trust my memory and I don't want to jump directly to the 2nd level and crash.

and you went to IVy League school? I know someone who went to MIT and didn't always get 5s on the AP exams

 

[saint.panda]

American universities are clearly at the top of the heap in the world but the idea of meritocracy is sometimes nothing but a proclaimed ideal. For instance, 40% of the children of alumni get into Harvard compared with only 11% of ordinary applicants. More than 2,000 high school valedictorians are turned down by Harvard every year to give those on the inside track a clear and unfair advantage. In most Ivy schools, alumni children make up about 10-15% of the freshman class, as they are two to four times more likely to be admitted. A Department of Education report in 1990 concluded that the average Harvard legacy student is “significantly less qualified” than the average non-legacy student in every area except sports. At elite unis, there's a 25 times higher chance to run into a rich student as a poor one, too, since the fees are ridicuosly high, even though the median income family only pays about 30-40% of the sticker price due to student aid and other subsidies. Finally, there's the issue of racial preference but that's probably more of a political discussion. I certainly don't agree with it and think that real life factors such as parents income, etc. are more important. Why should a minority person with rich parents receive an unfair advantage over a caucasian guy with median income parents? Also, it's probably impossible for an American-born Chinese to get into an Ivy school without being superman. This is even sadder in face of, especially Harvard's role at the middle of the century when it opended up scholarships for merit to realise the creed of equality. There's much to applaud when it comes to American unis but the ideal of selection based on merit is on the retreat.

As for the APs, I thought the level of difficulty of my Calc BC and Physics C APs were about the level of what I had to pass at the German final high school exams. The French Lit AP was really tough though. But in any event, it's the universities where the US has the clear advantage over most of Europe (little federal intervention, competition between unis, funding from the industry, broad studies and generalization later, campus life, sports integrated, etc.). Anyway, the best thing is that you only need something like 70% correct on the science APs to get a 5.

 

[Teerawit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DieInAFire there are many other connections/opportunities at schools like Harvard, and if you really can't afford the full tuition, they give need-based financial aid, which could potentially make the state school as expensive as the private school

Read between the lines more. I was referring to the medical field, which Oistrakh plans to enter. And no, 9 times out of 10, their need-based financial aid won't be better than the state school prices. Besides, you can build connections from other schools too; it's not HYP or death ("connections" only really matter for a field like business; for medicine and law, it doesn't at the undergraduate level). I don't agree that there are necessarily more opportunities at the elite schools.

 

[K2Grey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oistrakh and you went to IVy League school? I know someone who went to MIT and didn't always get 5s on the AP exams

No, I went to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. IMHO the classes are very significantly more difficult than the AP classes (with the exception of AP Biology.)

Edit: I didn't take the same classes over again, though. So I don't mean that the UIUC Calc BC is harder than AP Calc BC, although I definitely think Multivariable Calc is much harder then Calc BC, and so on with other classes.

 

[marvin]

Meritocracy? What's that?

If the system were purely meritocratic, Harvard, Princeton and Yale would be ~ 80% Asian/Indian, ~ 10% white, and ~ 10% Jewish. That's why there's so much anti-Asian/Indian discrimination in "elite" universities. The tail end of the bell curve is a bitch.

And yep, HS, even with AP, IB, etc, is ridiculously easy. Of course, a Biology degree isn't much harder.

/Why yes, I am an ******* engineering grad.

 

[Teerawit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by marvin Meritocracy? What's that? If the system were purely meritocratic, Harvard, Princeton and Yale would be ~ 80% Asian/Indian, ~ 10% white, and ~ 10% Jewish. That's why there's so much anti-Asian/Indian discrimination in "elite" universities. The tail end of the bell curve is a bitch.

Ha! word

 

[cire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teerawit Read between the lines more. I was referring to the medical field, which Oistrakh plans to enter. And no, 9 times out of 10, their need-based financial aid won't be better than the state school prices. Besides, you can build connections from other schools too; it's not HYP or death ("connections" only really matter for a field like business; for medicine and law, it doesn't at the undergraduate level). I don't agree that there are necessarily more opportunities at the elite schools.

yes, but then you specifically refer to undergraduate education at Harvard in your post...

 

[Teerawit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cire yes, but then you specifically refer to undergraduate education at Harvard in your post...

...and that changes things how?

It's helpful to know what context my thoughts on "specific undergraduate education at Harvard" is in and how it plays a role in my larger argument.

 

[dhp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teerawit ...and that changes things how? It's helpful to know what context my thoughts on "specific undergraduate education at Harvard" is in and how it plays a role in my larger argument.

but I was only referring in my post to the part where you said/implied that Harvard undergrad isn't necessary to get into Harvard med school that you can get into from any other school. My only point was that a Harvard undergrad program definitely isn't bad. But my my... you seem to be getting quite defensive

 

[Teerawit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DieInAFire but I was only referring in my post to the part where you said/implied that Harvard undergrad isn't necessary to get into Harvard med school that you can get into from any other school. My only point was that a Harvard undergrad program definitely isn't bad. But my my... you seem to be getting quite defensive

Sorry, it carried over from another college thread *sigh* Harvard is great if you're into it and all. But the match should be based on more than just the name only.

Do you believe me that where you go for undergrad doesn't really matter for medical school?

Be careful with exempting college courses with AP credits if you plan to go to medical school. Medical schools require you to take certain college-level classes (bio, gen chem, and physics, which can be exempted through via AP). Vanderbilt's medical school will not accept AP credits and requires you to take the actual college class. You might want to check other program specifics as well if you're not doing medicine.