To ASE Or Not To ASE by Aiden H. '28

It’s June! Which means of course you’re not interested in the graduating seniors, or Hank Green’s commencement address, or all the cool things people are doing over the summer–you’re interested in me, because I just finished my freshman year, and what a scary and tumultuous time it was! Nonetheless, it is done.

Looking back to last summer, everything I questioned about coming into MIT is absolutely not all what I should have been concerned about. Tragically, I see my peers falling into the same trap. On r/mit,⁠01 yes I am always lurking all of the prefrosh seem to be freaking out over imposter syndrome/is MIT too hard/am I smart enough to be here. And while I do see validity in these questions, what I think is more important is how they answered–instead of answering yes/no, I think simply understanding the class system and the choices you have freshman year will clarify what academic situations you can find yourself in (not just “am I smart enough to be in it”).

Allow me to half-explain/half-give advice on academic preparation for your freshman year.

PNR

This is the simplest and most commonly known, so we’ll start here!

Freshman fall, all classes are taken on PNR, or Pass/No Record. This means that if you get a passing grade (70-100) it will show up on your transcript as simply a P for pass. No it doesn’t matter if you got a 71 or a 99, it will be exactly the same. If you receive a failing grade, it simply won’t show up at all (there will be “no record”). These classes do not contribute to your GPA.

Freshman spring you will start earning letter grades for passing that do affect GPA, but you still will have NR if you fail a class. Failing grades only “count” starting sophomore year.

This should take a lot of the burden off of your shoulders, because you simply won’t need to meet the same standards freshman fall that you did in high school. Yes, MIT is harder than high school, but getting a 60 on a test won’t be the end of the world in the same way. Also, if you’re curious about your academic abilities in these upper-level classes, you literally have a trial period to assess yourself so you know where you should place yourself in classes moving forward.

ASEs are exams taken before every registration season that allow students to test out and receive credit for a class by taking the final for that subject. Scores for ASEs do show up on transcripts but do not affect GPA. ASEs can be taken during any year at MIT, but are most common entering freshman fall because ASEs also fall under PNR.

Some ASEs are known to be more difficult than others. 5.111⁠03 Principals of Chemical Science, aka gen chem is known to have a much lower pass rate than tests like 6.100A.⁠04 Intro to Python, which isn't going be a thing anymore but they'll still have the ASE? This shouldn’t entirely scare you, though, because most of this is external factors (the average MIT student knows more code than college chemistry). The biggest thing to be aware of is how different the ASE is from high school/prior content. 5.111 notably covers content that is not included in AP or IB chemistry, while 18.01 is pretty similar to AP Calc BC. Depending on the test you want to take, you might need to learn new content on your own. No matter what, you should study before.

Now the bigger question: should you even take an ASE, and if so, how many?

In my opinion (which is not fact and not the only one you should refer to), this is how you should approach taking an ASE:

I have extreme interest in this topic and have already taken a similar college-level class — Go for it! You have nothing to lose on PNR, you like the subject, and it wouldn’t be a time suck because you already know a decent amount.

I have taken an AP/IB equivalent and think the class would mostly be review — Take it if you want, but study before and review the test content to see if you’ve actually covered it all before.

I hate this subject and don’t want to spend a semester learning it — This is fair and a common reason for taking an ASE. Go for it if you have a lot of spare time, but remember that you’re still learning the content either way. Is it worth your summer studying something you don’t like instead of taking it with friends later on?

I haven’t taken this class but I think I should so I look smart and can get as far ahead as possible and get started on senior-level classes ASAP — Don’t.

While ASEs seem like a great thing (they can be!), there is something to be said about taking these classes with your peers. Being too studious can bar you from everything else that makes college and MIT special. There was always something fun about walking out of my dorm at 7:00 PM to go to a physics exam and seeing 700 other students trek across campus at the same time, all knowing we were about to go through the exact same pain at the same time, and then hearing everyone on the way back gossip about the answers and that one proctor who was really annoying for no reason etc. etc.

My biggest piece of advice: don’t try and go crazy on the ASEs just cause. There are so many people who have to take every single GIR, and are still just as successful and smart as everyone else here. Yes, you will graduate on time–the majors are designed to be that way.

For me, I’m going to MIT so I can go into biotech, not physics research–there’s no reason I should be a physics genius before having taken the classes (or the bio/chem classes, too, considering I’m here to learn and therefore should not expect myself to know everything that I’m going to be taught in my major).

There is very very little shame here that I’ve experienced. Everyone has a collective understanding that we’re cracked nerds, so we don’t walk around flexing about AP/SAT scores or what we self-studied. In fact, I feel like I talk about academic validation so much less than I did in high school because I know everyone here is smart and just trying their best. No one will praise you if you take an ASE. No one will shame you if you take a slower-paced class. You’ll be fine nonetheless.

Math/Physics Prep

By far most people freak out that they don’t fit the “math genius” standards of MIT students in popular culture. I’m here to tell you that you don’t need to know the graph theory from Good Will Hunting or win the MIT Integration Bee to be adept enough for MIT math.

As a part of the GIRs, everyone must take 18.01,⁠05 Calculus I, which is confusingly the accelerated combination of Calculus 1 and 2 at other schools 18.02,⁠06 Calculus 2, which is Calculus 3/Multivariable Calculus other places 8.01⁠07 Physics: Mechanics , and 8.02.⁠08 Physics: Electricity and Magnetism Unlike potential expectations/assumptions, most students will take these classes. It is rare to meet someone who knows all the material of the classes already for two reasons: 1) Most people don’t have access to/don’t spend the time studying ahead in these subjects in high school, and 2) The MIT version of these subjects (8.01 and 8.02 specifically) are notably harder and involve more complex foundational math. The most common class to have tested/placed out of is 18.01 through an ASE or a 5 on AP Calc BC (a 2009 newsletter said about 1/2 of the freshman class does–however, I don’t know if this is still true). From there, a handful test out of 18.02 or 8.01, and even fewer test out of 8.02. If this is you, that’s beautiful! I, and many many other students didn’t

To make things even more confusing, these classes come in ~flavors~. Each class has a regular and an “advanced” version (e.g. 8.01 and 8.012). The “advanced” version is typically much more mathematically rigorous with a focus on proofs, but covers the same content and counts for the same credit. (Before you ask, no, taking the advanced version does not make you cooler, it just means you might have a harder time or you really really love the math behind Newtonian Mechanics). The vast majority of students will opt for the “regular” version.

18.01 and 8.01 also include slower-paced versions (18.01L and 8.01L) for students with no prior experience or students who find the grueling pace of your first semester to be easily fixable with these versions. These classes continue into IAP⁠09 Independent Activities Period, or our J-Term and have that extra month to spread out content over. People on the outside of MIT assume we judge when people do/want to learn at a slower pace, which is absolutely not true. Every single time I’ve heard 8.01L come up in conversation, it has never been “oh my god are you stupid why aren’t you good at physics” and has always been “I should’ve taken 8.01L, too”.

So where should you start? You’ll talk with your advisor when you register for classes, and I should of course not be the only person you take advice on this from, but if you ask me:

Physics

If you like physics and got a 5 on both AP Physics C exams: Take 8.02 or 8.022

If you don’t like physics/forgot it all and don’t know how in the world you got two fives: Take 8.01 or 8.012

If you take AP Physics 1 or 2, or didn’t get two fives: Take 8.01

If you’ve never taken any physics: Take 8.01L or 8.01

Calculus

If you like math and got a 5 on AP Calculus BC: Take 18.02

If you don’t like math/forgot it all/don’t know how you got a 5: Take 18.01A/18.02A (good if you don’t want to completely restart but also don’t want to jump straight into multi)

If you only took AP Calc AB, didn’t get a 5 in BC, or would just feel better learning it again: 18.01

If you’ve never taken calculus: Take 18.01 or 18.01L

tl;dr you’ll be great!