How do students most commonly use AP/IB credit? (assuming that they attend a school where credit units, subject credit, and advanced placement is available for at least some of what they bring in)
I.e. which of the following (could be more than one)?
A. Instead of taking typical common frosh level courses, the student takes more advanced courses and/or additional free electives in place of the courses that the AP/IB credit can substitute for, but still takes eight semesters and the full number of courses/credits to graduate.
B. The student uses the AP/IB credit to graduate in fewer than eight semesters.
C. The student uses the AP/IB credit to graduate in eight semesters after taking fewer than the usual required number of courses/credits.
In my own case many years ago, I did A (substitute more advanced courses and free electives).
If I remember correctly, at my kids’ colleges only 2 AP credits were allowed and they used them to fulfill distribution requirements. One of my nephews, at a state university, used his ginormous number of APs to graduate early. And to have time to party with his fraternity.
D. Attempt to grade-grub for supposedly-easy A grades by retaking the courses that the AP/IB credit allows skipping, even if the student got a top score on the AP/IB test and knows the material well enough to take the more advanced course.
A1: take upper level courses following the AP/IB course(s)
A2: use AP/IB credits to fulfill GE/distribution/core requirements enabling other electives/double major.
my daughter did B - used AP credits to substitute for intro classes thus allowing her to graduate in fewer academic semesters. All of these AP credits went towards fulfilling core requirements.
I think bluebayou’s option A2 is very popular. It’s one reason for the recent increase in dual/double majors…
My daughter is more of an option 3 (lighter class loads), she still taking all of the core engineering courses (Calc, Physics, Chem, etc.), but instead of taking 15, 16 or 17 credits a semester, she’s taking 13 or 14. It’s given her more time for ECs and such. If she wasn’t majoring in engineering, she likely would go the dual/double major route.
There are a couple of other options as well which my sons have opted for.
1- co-op for 12 months and still graduate on time
2- participate in programs like Bama’s University Scholars and earn their masters during those 4 yrs.
First daughter did B, getting BS in ChemE with Spanish minor in three years.
Second daughter is doing A2, pursuing dual degrees in non-overlapping areas (BS in BME and BMusic in performance). She is still maxing out her course load to graduate in nine semesters (as opposed to 5-6 years).
I don’t think “most commonly” applies in this case; there are too many variables with university credit policies/gen ed policies and students’ goals. For me, I’m doing a combo platter: Place out of intro courses/take more challenging version of intro course/possibly 4 year BA/MA.
My daughter started with 60 AP credits which fulfilled the entire core at her university. She has four-year scholarships so does not plan to graduate early. Instead she is using the extra bandwidth to take a foreign language that interests her, and to take honors courses that don’t contribute toward her major but will be useful when applying to graduate school (four-sequence honors Calculus, e.g.). She also plans to study abroad a semester, and is considering two minors or a possible double major. Since she is a freshman, this is all evolving.
Me, DH, S1: Take more advanced courses. That said, I saved a semester’s tuition in grad school by using the grad school level courses I took as an undergrad that were over and above the minimum required to graduate from undergrad.
S2: Got out of many Gen Ed requirements and it made his schedule flexible enough that he was able to do a whole year abroad even though he got hardly any credit in his department.
Can’t answer most common but my S’ plan is to get out of gen ed requirements not related to his major and take a lighter load allowing more time for work, ECs, studying abroad, a non-summer internship and if he chooses a program with a five year masters option to begin that or even get it done completely.
He is considering not taking the credit for Calculus I since the common advice is not to if you have to take Calculus II but not sure about that yet. He is getting conflicting advice on that and we are sorting through that between now and registration.
Option A.
D1 had enough AP credit to fulfill all her distribution requirements and some intro classes for her major. She had a lighter load her first year (engineering) and has senior standing as a sophomore. She could graduate in three years but is currently aiming for a coterminal masters which looks like it will take 4-1/2 years total and is covered by her scholarship.
My daughter’s plan would be A, she wants to add several minors she’ll also use those credits it get early registration time slots so she can get the courses she wants.
First off, the vast majority of students don’t get enough AP/IB credits to do B or C. Secondly, even if they do get plenty of credits, many can’t go towards major requirements so they’re not generally going to be able to reduce the time in a program.
Personally, I was A. It allowed me to get a 2nd degree while in undergrad. Two bachelors in 4 years while taking plenty of elective courses.
D13 did B. She was able to skip her engineering physics courses, first semester chemistry and Calc 1 and 2 plus a good number of gen eds (a total of 42 credit hours). It allowed her to take between 12-14 hours of academic classes as a ChemE as well be part of the orchestra which was a 2 hour class she enjoyed and was an easy A. It also gave her plenty of time to work on research both for credit and for pay. She will still graduate in 5 years because she has a 5 term coop but she’ll graduate with 22 months of work experience.
My son’s plan is A2 as well. He is taking English and History HL even though he plans to major in Physics Education Those combined with the APs he took as electives will knock out a fair bit of his general education classes allowing him either to take more advanced Physics than required for his major or to add a Chemistry minor.