<p>I'm thinking about taking the AP U.S. Government and AP English Lit tests but I'm not sure if it's worth it since most AP tests only give elective credit. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Molly - My son is a sophomore at Hendrix. He took all of his AP tests at the end of his junior year, but at the end of his senior year he only took Calculus because that fulfills the math requirement with a decent score. I think that is working well, even though he is an English major who did not take the Lit test. I don't think he would have wanted to miss out on an English elective, but it might have made a minor easier. The only advantage I could see is that you might get advanced standing for some minor things. So you might get to Junior status your second year and have a better shot at your housing choice.</p>
<p>Make sure to get a Hendrix catalog (or look on-line) to make an informed decision.</p>
<p>Molly, my daughter is a current freshman and she just told me an advantage to having AP credits is that you get more "bid points" which allows you higher priority in scheduling and housing.</p>
<p>SplashMom, where can I find out more about "bid points"? My D is taking 7 AP classes this (senior) year and has 4 from previous years. Thanks for any info!</p>
<p>I'll have to ask my daughter. She is on spring break and she and her best friend are currently in the air over Texas. They're on their way to California for fun and sun. When she returns, I'll ask her how that works.</p>
<p>Oh, and let me just add ... SEVEN A.P. classes this year?!! HMoG, she must be one busy and very bright girl!!!</p>
<p>Actually the top academic crowd at my old high school usually took about 5-7 AP classes. I found that some AP classes are actually easier to manage than regular ed classes because the teachers do not have to bog you down with busy work just to make sure you are getting through the material because they trust kids in AP classes have more initiative.</p>
<p>Gosh, my DD had 5 AP classes senior year and between those, her job, and her extra-curricular activities, I don't know how she did it. She had several during junior year, too, but I don't remember those as much.</p>
<p>The deal is that the student can have more priority in getting their choice of classes and housing if they are classified a junior rather than a sophomore, for instance. They try to be fair in assigning those things anyway, so it should not really be a deal breaker.</p>
<p>SplashMom & preironic, thanks for the info. :-)</p>
<p>And yes, SplashMom, my D does have a pretty tough schedule! In retrospect, I wish she hadn't taken quite so many AP classes because it's put a lot of stress on her. She's handling it and still making good grades, though. I've told her that her first year in college will probably be less stressful than her senior year of high school!</p>
<p>my mom said the same thing to me arkansasmom about my freshman year in college being easier than my senior year with 5 AP classes, 1 regular ed class, and 1 8 credit hour community college class... she was wrong in that both years have been about equal</p>