New York University

Gallatin School of Individualized Study

• June Orientation
• August Orientation
• Convocation
• AP Credit / Placement Exams
• Advising
• First-Year Program
• Mandatory Advising Questionnaire
• New Student Academic Resource Guide
• Albert, NetID, and NYUHome
• Course Selection & Registration
• Tuition & Financial Matters
• Student Life
• Welcome Week
• If You Have Questions

About AP Scores

NYU students may receive credits toward the 128-credit degree requirement for results of 4 or 5 on most AP tests. To learn which tests are accepted and the number of credits you may receive, please consult the AP equivalency chart on the Gallatin website: http://www.nyu.edu/gallatin/current/ba/apequivalencies.html

To request that AP scores be included on your record, please have the College Board send them to:
NYU Undergraduate Admissions 665 Broadway, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10012

Important Notes about AP Credits

• If you choose to request that AP credits be posted on your NYU transcript, they will become a permanent part of your academic record. This can result in you reaching 128 credits—the threshold for graduation—earlier than you had anticipated. This can also affect any financial aid you receive because financial aid typically ends after eight semesters or once a student reaches 128 credits, whichever occurs first.
• NYU designates course equivalents for most AP subjects. If you take a course equivalent (or a less advanced course) in a subject for which you have earned AP credits, you will lose those credits. At Orientation, we will clarify which NYU courses count as AP equivalents.
• AP scores can be used for elective credit only.

You should bring your results with you to Orientation, as the results can be used to place you in the appropriate level classes!

About Placement Exams

Several NYU departments require that you take a Placement Exam even if you submit your AP score for that subject. While you may have received a 4 or 5 in an Advanced Placement course, the material covered in high school may not be the same level as an introductory course at NYU, particularly for pre-health and pre-med courses. You must register for placement exams by filling out the “RSVP.,” located on the Gallatin First-Year Orientation website.

Below please find information on specific departmental policies regarding placement exams.

• Biology Placement Exam
  If you are interested in creating a pre-health or pre-med concentration, we encourage you to take Principles of Biology I and II even if you received credit for AP Biology. Graduate and medical schools place a higher value on courses taken during your college career than they do on AP scores, and Principles of Biology will prepare you well for the Biological Sciences section of the MCAT.
  
  Molecular and Cell Biology I and II
  If you plan to take Molecular and Cell Biology I and II during your freshman year, you must take NYU’s placement exam. To qualify for the placement exam, you must have scored a 4 or 5 on the AP Biology exam.
  
  
• Chemistry Placement Exam
  All students who plan to enroll in chemistry classes and have not submitted AP scores to the Office of Admissions must take the chemistry placement exam. An assessment of the chemistry score may result in an invitation to take a chemistry honors section if you have also passed high school physics. Please note: Calculators may be used during the exam.
  
  
• Music Theory
  Students who wish to register for a music theory course in NYU’s Steinhardt School of Education must take the Music Theory Placement Exam.
  
  
• Mathematics
  Placement is based on your AP scores and self-reported high school record; there is no placement test.
  For students who wish to place into Calculus I they should take the self-diagnostic test on the calculus website to help determine how well you will do on the actual placement exam: http://math.nyu.edu/degree/undergrad/calculus.html Students should be able to correctly answer at least half of the questions in each section for placement into Calculus I. If students incorrectly answer more than half of the questions in each section, they should place into Algebra and Calculus. Please note that the diagnostic tests should only be used as a guideline. The math placement exam will serve as the final indicator of placement into Calculus I
  
  
• Foreign Language Placement Exams
  Although Gallatin does not have a foreign language requirement, many of our students take language courses. If you received a score of 4 or 5 on a foreign language AP test, be certain to bring your copy of the scores to Orientation so that you may register for the appropriate level class.
  
  Students who wish to enroll in a foreign language course and are unsure as to what would be an appropriate level course should plan to take a placement exam. Foreign language placement exams are reading tests, and we encourage you to choose the language in which you read the best. Students who speak a language fluently must still take the placement exam. You may not test twice for the same language.
  
  If you want to take a placement test for Arabic, Hindu/Urdu, Persian, Turkish, Cantonese, Swedish, Danish or Gaelic, please contact Gallatin’s Office of Advising at (212) 998-7320. These tests are administered by specific professors and departments; we will provide you with their names and contact information so that you can schedule an exam.
  
  
• Writing
  All first-year Gallatin students are required to take Gallatin’s First-Year Writing Seminar & First-Year Research Seminar, which comprise a two-semester sequence intended to help students develop their writing skills and to prepare them for the styles of writing they will encounter in other courses. All entering first-year students, regardless of writing ability or advanced placement, are required to complete this sequence.