<p>Could a current Harvard student discuss the Advanced Standing track at Harvard? I am Harvard '11 and am considering that path. Do a lot of people opt for it? Is it very time-consuming? Also, if you don't pusue Advanced Standing, do AP courses count for anything? I've heard Harvard gives credit only for Foreign Language. True? Thanks so much!</p>
<p>A very large percent of Harvard students are advanced standing eligible, and a very small percent actually "activate" advanced standing (and my hunch is that many, if not most, of them use it for reasons other than graduating in 3 years).</p>
<p>Advanced standing (graduating in 3 years) is logistically tough–you lose a ton of electives and have to be really efficient in course selection. It's also tough for a bunch of other reasons–you don't graduate with your class, you miss out on a year of extracurriculars, you might be at a disadvantage for fellowships like the Rhodes, etc. And the question is what's the advantage? Hopefully the financial aid office has kept money from being the issue (but talk to them if it is)! If that's not the case–what do you need to rush off to? You'll get a great letter from Harry Lewis soon encouraging you to "slow down."</p>
<p>However, Advanced Standing can be really useful, outside of graduating in three years. It can let you take a semester off (to work/travel/etc), and still graduate on time. For certain fields, you can also use advanced standing to graduate in four years with a bachelor's + a master's.</p>
<p>You're right that if you don't activate Advanced Standing, the only thing you officially get out of is the language requirement (and you don't even get credit for that, just a waiver). You can "use" your APs to skip intro level classes (ie ec10), but then again, you can also do this without APs if you feel qualified.</p>