<p>say I take 10 AP's and get 5's on all. that's a total of 10 college classes (hypothetically, with an A in each). then i go to a college where they grant credit for AP's. most freshmen take 4-5 classes a semester, or about 9 a year. would i then get to hypothetically skip freshmen year? could I take sophomore and more advanced classes immediately? and then only have to pay 3 years of tuition? or, if i do have to attend for 4 years, in place of the 9 AP credits, could I take fun electives?</p>
<p>hey.. this is a pertinent question/topic</p>
<p>depends on the school. You'll need to ask them directly. Some do, some don't. Where mine went they counted towards credits. Helped for registration and housing as well. However, neither is in a hurry to finish in less than four years. Why? You're about to enter some of the best times of your life. You will always have a career, bills and money in your future. College if you do it right is about as close to perfect as you can get. Why leave early></p>
<p>I don't really want to leave early, but I do want to take high-level classes and interesting electives, and possibly take it easy.. eg, since I would have 10 credits, I would only NEED approx. 26 (9 per year, 4 year. standard) more classes... spread that throughout 8 semesters, and I only need to take a 3.2 classes a semester. I could slow down and enjoy myself, and possibly get a great internship or something.</p>
<p>Blairt, every college handles this differently. Some schools will not give you credit, but let you take higher level classes. Other schools will give you credit that counts towards electives, but not your major.</p>
<p>But the short answer is YES, it is POSSIBLE to graduate in 3 years or even less in special cases. And you would save money, if that is the goal.</p>
<p>Or you could get elective credit, and be able to take other interesting classes.</p>
<p>Or you could study abroad more than once, and not worry about whether those credits count.</p>
<p>You should look this up in specific school websites, this is usually information that is easily available. Just last week this girl from Michigan made the news for graduating in 1 year from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, due to her combination of AP credits and Community Collee classes taken in H.S.</p>
<p>But should she have a bachelor's from U. MI? I don't think so (and I'm faculty at a university). A lot of universities apparently agree; my alma mater, which gave me AP credit for US history and French (bio major there) doesn't give AP credit at all for those subjects. My #1D got a 4 on a history AP and only got 3 creditas for it at the state U. The trend I see is away from AP credit and a cap on transfer credit too, or not accepting courses down at communitiy colleges, or not giving credit to courses that are required pre-reqs. Check with the schools for the best info.</p>
<p>When planning your schedule, remember that at most colleges you must carry 12 credits a semester to be considered a full time student. That affects tuition, housing, the health insurance your parents may carry on you, and probably some more stuff I cannot think of right now.</p>
<p>Most top colleges don't give much AP credit. And for those I know who got AP credit or placed out of classes, most spent the full 4 years because the credits are valuable in letting you have more study abroad time or time to take classes outside of major.</p>
<p>It works at schools like UCs though.</p>
<p>^^ Exactly. My S will be getting approx. 27-30 hours credit (AP/ and a math CLEP, assuming he passes the CLEP) at his university. So, he'll be finished with his gen ed requirements and major pre-reqs by the end of his first year. This will allow him to participate in an acclerated B.A./M.S. economics program, which he hopes he'll still be able to complete in the four years. He'll have the first year to decide, but if he chooses not to do the M.S., he's, at least, going to pursue an honors thesis. He's also considering study abroad, but he wants to get out in four years and head to Law School ... that's important to him. The AP credit should help, especially in this day and age of "five year degrees."</p>
<p>zebes</p>
<p>You're getting it:</p>
<p>"I don't really want to leave early, but I do want to take high-level classes and interesting electives, and possibly take it easy.."</p>
<p>OR...double major? Repeat some tougher classes (chem, bio)and have it nailed solid? Easy is a relative term that means different things to different people. Interesting electives are always nice.. why can't somebody plan a career in finance or medicine and enjoy batik? </p>
<p>"since I would have 10 credits, I would only NEED approx. 26 (9 per year, 4 year. standard) more classes... spread that throughout 8 semesters, and I only need to take a 3.2 classes a semester. I could slow down and enjoy myself, and possibly get a great internship or something."</p>
<p>You would still need to take enough hours (credits) for full time status, so you could explore everything a college/university has to offer. </p>
<p>Mine have done what I suggested and enjoyed it greatly. Both are interested in medicine (two and four legged kind) and retaking Bio and Chem really help. Also as one went into senior year, he chose a science elective he didn't need but thought would help in med school and took a lifeguard class, yoga and for all I know basketweaving.. to enjoy his last semester in college. A nice wind down till med school in the fall. So it is possible to do what you're thinking and it does work.</p>